With annual revenues of nearly $10 trillion, or about 6% of global GDP, the engineering and construction industry is the cornerstone of the world’s economy.
The industry is ripe for change: labour productivity in construction has been stagnating for decades and companies have been slow to adapt to new challenges and innovate. The whole industry is about to be transformed, however, by digital technologies, with BIM at their core.
Digital in Engineering and Construction: The Transformative Power of Building Information Modeling was produced to explain that individual companies that ignore digital transformation will struggle to survive. For the adopters, speed matters: there is only a narrow window of time during which a digital savvy outlook provides a significant competitive advantage over the average industry participant.
This report outlines the main technological advances that will soon transform the engineering and construction industry and highlights the crucial digital opportunities along the asset lifecycle. It assesses the overall impact of technological transformation through three case studies and explores the implications for stakeholders.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
The Ministry of Physical Planning, Construction and State Property (Ministarstvo prostornoga uređenja, graditeljstva i državne imovine, MPGI) has taken a lead to promote the use of BIM and digital technologies within Croatia. The construction sector is strategically important for the Republic of Croatia and the European Union because it creates buildings and infrastructure that are necessary for everyday life and the economy. It also acts as the backbone for all accompanying activities in the European Union (EU), from economic to social initiatives. It represents 9% of EU GDP with the highest number of employees in industry, of which as many as 43.6 million are directly or indirectly related to the construction sector.
With a view to creating a common European approach to the development of the digital construction sector, the European Commission has brought together interested Member States in the EU BIM Task Group. Since 2017, MPGI has been an equal member of the EU BIM Task Group and actively participates in promoting BIM and implementing it.
To implement BIM in the Republic of Croatia, the Ministry has formed a working group called the HR BIM Task Group, consisting of representatives of architectural and engineering chambers and national administrative bodies. This website acts as a repository and signpost for the activities of these groups and the progress on BIM adoption in Croatia.
The Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers (Hrvatska Komora Inženjera Građevinarstva) is an independent professional organisation of certified civil engineers, construction engineers, head of works, and other construction professionals based in the Republic of Croatia. The chamber is set up for people who perform the tasks of the regulated profession, in accordance with special regulations governing the performance of activities in the field of zoning and construction.
The Croatian Chamber of Civil Engineers represents its members and their interests. It seeks to improve engineering activities in order to protect the public interest and interests of third parties. It preserves the reputation, honour and rights of certified civil engineers, and provides conditions for the proper performance of design and/or professional supervision of construction.
This document was produced by the Chamber of Civil Engineers to enable and support the adoption of BIM on projects. The guidelines cover the introduction to BIM and how it can be used in Croatian projects. They also explain the full information management and data exchange process alongside how models can be used on projects. The guidance can be used by organisations to make their first steps towards the introduction of BIM.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
BIM Croatia (BIM Hrvatska) is a non-profit association that was founded in 2018 with the main goal of expanding and encouraging the national application of BIM. BIM Croatia brings together professionals of the Croatian construction industry, including engineers with many years of experience in the application of BIM in the design, construction and management of buildings. Given the many wide applications and technologies that support BIM, clear rules and procedures need to be set.
This was the guiding thought of the founders of the association, who want to contribute to the implementation of BIM in Croatia through their own experience. BIM Croatia contributes to its implementation by setting standards through different professions, jobs and software. It also advises, educates, encourages and informs. In view of these goals, the establishment of a citizens’ association as a non-profit and independent entity has emerged as the best way to achieve this.
The goals of BIM Croatia are:
- Initiating changes in the way buildings are planned and constructed, how they are used and managed using the BIM approach.
- Information on the construction industry, especially regarding BIM access.
- Encouraging and accelerating the implementation of BIM in construction.
- Increasing the competitiveness of the construction industry in domestic and foreign markets.
- Connecting professionals with domestic and international organisations, investors and companies.
- Standardisation of the application of BIM and the encouragement of better cooperation in construction.
Mideplan presents Costa Rica’s National BIM Strategy to encourage the development of the construction sector, improve the execution of public contracting, provide greater transparency in the bidding processes, as well as contributing to the optimisation of the maintenance and operation of buildings and infrastructure.
The National BIM Strategy is a set of methodologies, technologies and processes that configures, designs, builds, operates and maintains the collaborative form of an infrastructure project in a virtual space. This allows cost savings, improved productivity and efficiency of operations, increased quality of infrastructure and reduced environmental impact. This document details the objectives and strategies for the implementation of this methodology in Costa Rica.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
Mideplan is the governing body of the National Planning System. It is a strategic institution of the Costa Rican Government that promotes improvement in public management as detailed in the National Development and Public Investment Plan 2019-2022.
In February, Mideplan launched the National BIM Strategy. The Ministry of the Presidency, through the office of the First Lady, promotes the adoption of this methodology in the country. The coordination of the implementation is overseen by the Ministry of National Planning and Economic Policy (Mideplan), through the Pre-investment Fund with the technical cooperation of the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB) for the development of the national work plan.
This Decree establishes the National Strategy for the Dissemination of Building Information Modelling in Brazil РBIM BR Strategy (Estrat̩gia BIM BR), with the purpose of promoting an adequate environment for investment in BIM and its dissemination in the country. The document gives terms of reference for the Strategy, details its objectives, its actions, and the Management Committee representatives (from various Ministerial departments), among other information. The Management Committee will be advised in the execution of their powers by the Technical Group.
The Federal Government created the Committee for Strategic Implementation of the Building Information Modelling (CE-BIM) in June 2017 to formulate a strategy that would align public and private sector initiatives and boost the use of BIM in Brazil. This document (Estrat̩gia Nacional de Dissemina̤̣o do Building Information Modelling РBIM) was produced to encourage the development of the construction sector and bring more cost effectiveness and greater transparency to the bidding processes, in addition to contributing to the optimisation of process maintenance and asset management.
The report gives the strategy, specific objectives, indicators and targets, a roadmap from 2018 to 2028, and information on the escalation of BIM.
BIM Forum Bolivia is a non-profit organisation that brings together professionals, companies and institutions in the construction sector related to BIM Its mission is to promote the national use of BIM and its implementation in private and state institutions for the benefit of the construction sector and society as a whole.
BIM Forum Bolivia is an active member of BIM Forum LATAM, forming part of a national network that promotes collaboration and associative work between BIM entities from different Latin American countries.
The Survey was compiled by independent companies and professionals in Bolivian construction. The information obtained allows evaluation of the current state of activity in the Bolivian construction sector in the field of digitalisation in general and of knowledge and adoption of BIM in particular. It provides general data such the size, age range and types of projects etc.; types of digital processes and technologies; learning and implementation of BIM and perceptions of BIM amongst non-users.
Transport for New South Wales (NSW) leads the development of safe, integrated and efficient transport systems for the people of NSW. The citizens are the focus of everything that it does, including transport planning, strategy, policy, procurement and other non-service delivery functions across all modes of transport – roads, rail, ferries, light rail and point to point. Transport for NSW is committed to implementing best practice data and information management. BIM and Digital Engineering have been recognised by Transport for NSW as a key enabler to achieving this policy. By structuring data consistently, it can be readily used by all NSW stakeholders to make informed management decisions throughout a project’s lifecycle.
Transport for NSW is using its Digital Engineering Framework to connect emerging technologies with reliable structured data, while recognising that people and culture are key to success. The Framework is being developed to provide a consistent, holistic approach to Digital Engineering across the Transport’s cluster. This will enable a step change in productivity and provide long-term benefits to the industry.
The Framework focuses on five key areas to ensure a consistent approach to Digital Engineering, allowing projects to adopt this way of working simply and rapidly. These key areas are:
- Digital Twin – the set of deliverables (models, documents and data) that represent the ‘digital asset’.
- Procurement – a standard way of defining digital requirements for procurement.
- Ways of Working – how Digital Engineering is implemented and used.
- Technologies – the applications and tools that support new ways of working.
- Skills and Resourcing – the resources and training to enhance skills so that Digital Engineering can be used effectively.Â
The Framework provides the capability for Transport for NSW’s projects to enhance existing skills, process, technology and data standards.
