Building Information Modeling for Small and Medium-Sized Businesses
Issue
How can methods and tools from the field of building information modeling be implemented in small and medium-sized planning and contracting companies?
Approach
In order to establish a new way of working in the domestic construction industry, you have to start with small steps. This is the purpose of the BIM@KMU initiative, which was launched by the Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria. This is based on the cooperative qualification projects “BIM Coaching Basics” and “BIM Coaching Advanced”. A special format of action-oriented learning was developed for this purpose: Under the guidance of a BIM coach, employees of Lower Austrian companies take their first steps in BIM following a “learning by doing” approach. The application of BIM methods is practiced on the basis of company-specific activities and implemented together as part of a concrete practical project. This ensures that the participants quickly learn to use the tools themselves. The exchange of experiences and networking with other participants creates additional benefits for the companies.
Based on this, different focal points were set in the numerous cooperation projects, for example the use of BIM tools in different application situations and the associated workflows. In one such pilot project, specialist planners and component manufacturers were faced with the task of implementing BIM and Lean Management methods that are tailored to the needs of the participating companies. Another cooperation project dealt with the development of an open BIM workflow for specialist planners. In doing so, interfaces for data exchange were defined, tested, optimized and put into practice together with the inclusion of so-called BIM objects from manufacturers on the basis of a specific construction project.
In all these cooperation projects, those involved receive a form of qualification tailored to their needs and benefit from the exchange and joint learning with other companies in the industry. The BIM get-togethers organized up by the Cluster also bring various project groups together to exchange experiences. Excursions to real construction sites demonstrate the new possibilities BIM creates.
The BIM cooperation projects were sponsored by Dept. WST3 of the Province of Lower Austria.
Result
Once working with a digital building model has been established among all those involved in a construction project, they all access the same data and the same level of information. A digital model of the building created in the planning phase is continuously enriched with further information including all the relevant planning data in execution, operation and maintenance and always shows the current status.
Contact
Green Building Cluster of Lower Austria
Michaela Smertnig
+43 664 601 19664