BIM me up!

Mountains of documentation, designs, drawings and descriptions – such is the daily toil for those involved in the construction process. However, for this they are now being assisted by the latest, ever-improving, computer software. A new form of building construction and the coordinatinon of the entire process is being introduced to Poland: BIM (Building Information Modelling). Even though the system has been in use in the West for many years, it is only now that it is taking off in Poland. “BIM is a relatively new concept for the Polish market. But the method has been in common use in the UK, Scandinavia, the US and Brazil for a decade now,” remarks Krzysztof Kałuża, the operations director of ECM Group Polska.

Only pros...

All the experts asked to comment in this article were of the view that the BIM system pretty much only has advantages – and the benefits of using it in the construction process cannot be overestimated: shortening the project construction time, obtaining a full set of the data required, the ability to make an automatic bill of quantities, and the possibility of subsequent building management based on the information included in a digital model. And this is only the tip of the iceberg. “After performing a comprehensive data upload, our building can be seen very clearly even though it still does not exist. This is when we obtain the feedback on possible hitches in the construction process, which allows us to redesign it or, in the case of schedule-related problems, adjusting the deadlines to avoid possible problems and have time for the implementation of new solutions,” explains Robert Handzel of MCKB, which is a member of the BIM for the Polish Construction Sector association. The system is so effective that it now has many supporters. It not only streamlines the work, but also has real advantages that even the tenants, who after all are not involved in the construction process, can benefit from. “In my opinion the BIM method is the future of the construction sector. Adequate planning is the most important part of the process of creating a building. The software for generating 3D models offers countless possibilities and it is continuing to develop. This is great for saving time and money – not only for the developer but also ultimately for the clients. Predicting all the difficulties at this early stage of the project makes it possible to test all the parameters inside the building – such as the temperature and ventilation in different configurations – and to plan how to deliver the finished office building on time, which is very important for tenants,” claims Jan Hübner, HB Reavis’ chief construction officer for Poland. The savings that can be generated thanks to using the modern system are also not without importance. “The digital modelling of a building reduces the need for introducing changes on the building site – a bonus for the investor. This way of doing it is simply cheaper. One additional measurable benefit is the fact that the cost estimates are made based on a defined model, due to which much more precise estimates can be made than by using older, traditional methods,” comments Jarosław Szepietowski, an associate technician and the BIM manager at Buro Happold Engineering. The operations director of ECM Group Polska is of the same opinion. “The benefits of using BIM vary for different groups. However, it is unquestionably a process optimisation method, which involves savings of money and time as well as the better coordination of the individual stages,” says Krzysztof Kałuża. Maciej Dudkiewicz, an architect working for the Grupa 5 Architekci studio, identifies a number of other aspects. “Even today BIM is a tool useful not only for designers, constructors and facility managers, but also for training the staff, crisis management, and simulations for the police or the fire brigade. In our opinion this direction of thinking in design has a great future, even more so if you take into consideration the fact that apart from the tools used for drawing and visualising buildings, the methods for architectural design themselves have not progressed since the end of the 20th century,” insists Maciej Dudkiewicz. BIM is not merely software that offers wider possibilities, it is more a way of thinking about the modern construction industry and the project implementation process. This is a complicated process, in which many different parties are involved. So far Polish constructors have only just set out on the road towards the full utilisation of BIM technology. In the West, however, it has already become the standard. According to an EU directive issued in January this year, from 2016 the BIM standard will be mandatory for member states in public tender procedures. Thus work on amending Polish legislation should be in progress already. Shouldn’t it? “Unfortunately, the term BIM does not exist in Polish legislation. We are now trying to change this, setting ourselves the goal of preparing a draft resolution that would make it possible to implement the new technology and to use it freely – and to a certain extent make it obligatory to use it, at least as far public buildings are concerned,” comments Robert Handzel.

...and a few cons

All the above-mentioned benefits pay off in the ideal situation where all the entities involved in the construction process cooperate with each other. “The number of structures built entirely, from start to finish with BIM can be counted on the fingers of one hand. More and more projects are being built at least partially with the help of BIM, but unfortunately most are still handed over to the construction site in the form of flat drawings just as in the past. Few construction projects are entirely carried out with the use of BIM. The use of the possibilities offered by this tool is still only partial. Thanks to it is not only has the cooperation become smoother, but so has the coordination of all the processes taking place on the construction site,” explains Robert Handzel. Problems also exist in terms of the availability of the experts specialising in BIM. “The BIM method is still something of a novelty on the Polish market, so it is not easy to find architects, designers and constructors who have perfected it,” says Jan Hübner. “We do not have any influence on whether designers provide us with a design created with BIM or according to the traditional method. In this situation we use BIM to create the first visualisation for the investor, who we submit the individual stages to – such as what the construction site will look like after two months. Subsequent tasks include the bill of quantities. It is also profitable for us just to make a digital model that enables the program to provide us with the data for how many walls, windows, columns and beams we need. This works with great precision if all the data is uploaded diligently and the model is properly created. There is more precision here than in the case of manual calculation because we have more data. All the geometrical aspects are taken into consideration. For example, if we have surfaces that penetrate each other, or slanted and curved walls, under the traditional method we sometimes use approximations and estimate numbers to make things easier, whereas the program exports precise calculations and values,” explains Robert Handzel. Paradoxically, this could provide the catalyst for making the use of BIM on the Polish market common. HB Reavis, for one, insists that it only wants to cooperate with those with expertise in BIM. “The designers who currently cooperate with us prepare drawings in a 2D format and our internal team then makes a 3D model based on these and checks for any conflicts using a variety of Autodesk software. The corrected solutions are marked by the designers on the 2D drawings. In our latest projects we have already introduced this new approach – external designers will have to provide us with 3D designs,” emphasises Jan Hübner. Maciej Dudkiewicz also believes that things are moving in this direction. “The more detailed requirements for projects and investors’ higher expectations will make the use of current design methods extremely inconvenient or even impossible. Grupa 5 Architekci has been successfully implementing BIM design methods and is looking for new ways to introduce such tools, making it possible to carry out even better projects in the near future,” claims the architect. However, one drawback of BIM are the costs involved in using it. “One of the reasons for its current lack of popularity is the return on the investment in BIM. It is quite an expensive method at the preliminary stage of its utilisation: it requires the purchase of software, its installation and extra training for the staff. There are also the costs related to operating it and integrating it with the current system. However, BIM should be viewed from the perspective of the entire project and the benefits it can generate later on. Basically, I’m talking about the project’s rolling costs, which involve viewing the investment account as a sum of the investment costs and operational costs. This is what BIM is for,” stresses Krzysztof Kałuża. 3D modelling, therefore, is rather an expensive technological solution. “You need to take into consideration a cost much higher than for a standard program for making flat drawings, while the prices are determined by the specific manufacturer of the software,” remarks Robert Handzel, providing us with other examples of the difficulties in using BIM. “Making a model with BIM technology is much more difficult than making flat drawings. We cannot simplify this because we will then be unable obtain the feedback we need. This is a laborious method that requires extreme precision and diligence. However, over the long term, it does pay off,” concludes Robert Handzel. ν