The BIM Application Guide (Guide d’ Application BIM) and its appendices are the result of a project that has brought together different representatives from the building sector in Luxembourg, who formed a working group led by the CRTI-B. Its content is drawn from reference works and standards in the field, as well as from the experience of the working group’s various members. The guide is based on a document drawn up by the OAI (Ordre des Architectes et des Ingénieurs-Conseils -Order of Architects and Consulting Engineers). The guide was written to help its members address the challenge presented by BIM. In this context, the OAI was able to define, for a BIM project, the collaborative framework within the project management team and the interactions with the owner. Since BIM is such a vast subject and one that impacts upon everyone involved in the sector, the OAI handed over its studies to the CRTI-B so that a cross-sector working group could complete it by getting all the industry’s actors in Luxembourg to work on it together.
The BIM Application Guide has been devised to provide a shared reference for everyone involved in the construction industry. When it comes to understanding what BIM is and the changes it will bring about for projects, it is absolutely essential that everyone talks the same language and operates on an equal footing.
The guide is divided into four main sections:
- Introduction – it explains the purpose of the guide and the background to its creation.
- “BIM: What You Need to Know” sets out important theoretical principles that need to be grasped to ensure a sound understanding of BIM.
- “Setting Up a BIM Project” describes the steps that have to be followed and the standard document templates that can be used (appendices).
- “Conclusion” and a forward look to future developments.
In 2015 the Resource Centre for Building Technologies and Innovation (CRTI-B, Centre de Ressources des Technologies et de l’Innovation pour le Bâtiment,) launched the first steps for the development and implementation of a national strategy for BIM. The BIM working groups in Luxembourg are under the guidance of the CRTI-B, which, as a neutral construction platform – has brought together a table of experts made up of different construction actors. The intention was to create a cross-sectoral working group including clients, architects, consulting engineers, contractors, scientific researchers and project managers. The CRTI-B aims to define, document, introduce and keep up to date standards governing construction projects’ contracts.
In view of the great interest in the subject of BIM in Luxembourg, and taking into account the different economic actors involved, different “working sub-groups” have been created to organise the development of BIM related projects more efficiently. To better meet the needs of all construction stakeholders, the CRTI-B launched the digitalbuilding.lu website on July 14, 2017, which will serve as a centralised platform for all matters relating to the digitisation of the construction sector. This website contains several resources including details on classification, training, BIM application and interoperability documents.
RB Rail AS is a multi-national joint venture of the Republics of Estonia, Latvia and Lituania, which has been established to implement Rail Baltica, the largest Baltic-region infrastructure project in the last 100 years with a goal of integrating the Baltic states into the European rail network. The Rail Baltica BIM documentation includes overview presentations (video & PDF) along with a comprehensive package of programme-specific BIM guidance and templates aligned with international standards.
Presentations cover Rail Baltica’s BIM Implementation Vision and Strategy in addition to presentations from recent events. The Full BIM Guidelines Package can be downloaded as a single *.zip package and contains the BIM Manual, BIM Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR), BIM Execution Plan (BEP) Template, Codification Tables and instructions, BIM Objects Attribute Matrix, BIM Objects Level of Geometric Detail (LoG) Matrix and instructions, Task Information Delivery Plan (TIDP) Template, Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP) Template, BIM Delivery Report Template, Quantity Extraction (QEX) Template, Quantity Take Off (QTO) Template, DataDrop Template, CAD Template and instructions and Clash Check Report Template.
The BIM Conference is organised by the Association for Construction Industry Digitalisation (BÅ«vniecÄ«bas Industrijas DigitalizÄcijas asociÄcija), a public, non-governmental organisation. This annual event brings together experienced professionals in the construction and technology sectors who understand the difficulties and challenges of the built environment and are able to find the right solutions. The association also cooperates with a number of academic institutions to deliver the event.
Representatives of the Latvian state, non-governmental organisations, the private sector and representatives from other countries speak at the conference, sharing their experiences of the benefits of using BIM in both public procurement and production, design and construction processes.
The conference generally consists of three parts: presentations, discussions and practical workshops. While there is usually a fee to attend the conference, the organisers make recordings of the sessions, which are available free of charge after the event.
VNI (Valsts Nekustamie Īpašumi) is the most active customer of construction projects in the public sector and is working to promote the digitalisation of construction in Latvia. In accordance with the priorities of the BIM Roadmap, VNI developed guidelines for BIM in public procurement (including standard customer information requirements) and established a training program that allows other public sector organisations to be educated on the use of BIM.
The BIM Competence Centre’s website shares VNI’s guidance and templates in addition to information regarding BIM seminars, organised in cooperation with the Ministry of Economics and National Standards Body. The site also collects case studies from VNI’s BIM projects.
The Ministry of Economics – in cooperation with other state institutions and capital companies, representatives of the construction sector, educational institutions and construction customers – developed a Roadmap for the implementation of BIM in Latvia.
The Roadmap sets out the case for change, programme vision, targeted benefits, schedules, lines of action and key activities. It provides a focus for national transformation and demonstrates public leadership.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
This site is the primary destination for public sector information regarding the implementation of BIM in Latvia. It provides a summary on what BIM is and why it is important to Latvia, along with links to resources such as the Latvia BIM roadmap
Reinforcing public sector commitment to BIM transformation, this content is replicated under the policy section of the Ministry of Economics’ website.
Part of an ongoing programme of research, summary descriptions, results presentations and key reports are published on subjects such as, for instance ‘identifying the investments required for the implementation of building information modelling (BIM)’ and ‘Evaluation of benefits from the use of BIM in construction projects and operation of buildings and collection of good practices in the use of BIM’.
Further research is planned to be published on subjects such as the cost of implementing BIM, construction classification systems for BIM projects and providing free common data environment solutions for public procurers.
LVS has provided a single destination for information on locally relevant BIM standards, demonstrating Latvia’s alignment with international best practices, which have been adapted and interpreted for local conditions.
The website provides a summary of locally adopted standards along with a brief narrative summary. It includes ISO standards such as ISO 19650-1/2 and ISO 16739 in addition to local Latvian standard LVS 1052, which contains terms and definitions relating to the construction and real estate sector, contracts, education, legislation, etc.
Latvian Standard (LVS) is the national standards body for Latvia. It organises seminars and training courses on standards and standardisation in Latvia and Europe to help entrepreneurs, experts of technical committees, students and other target groups to get involved.
LVS created an e-learning platform for unlimited free access to courses and training materials related to standards and standardisation (registration via email is required).
The courses are designed to provide basic knowledge in BIM to a wider range of specialists. The e-learning platform includes subjects such as standards and standardisation, BIM management, BIM coordination, BIM modelling, risk management and information security management systems.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
