The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) has launched a report called ‘Which way to go? Strategic scenarios for consulting engineers in times of high uncertainty’ aimed at business leaders making critical decisions in difficult times, such as following the Covid19 global pandemic. The EFCA’s Future Trends Committee, together with the Center for Strategy and Scenario Planning at HHL Graduate School of Management, Leipzig, explored the future and examined possible strategic developments.
A way of providing direction in times of uncertainty is to start with scenarios that show how the future might unfold in completely different ways. The report describes four scenarios for the consulting engineering industry, based on ‘critical uncertainties.
Although digital technologies have turned a lot of our processes and work behaviour upside down, they are no longer regarded as ‘uncertain’. We know we need to continue with digitalisation. What we are less aware of, or at least, less able to accept as a direct impact on our performance, is the mixture of external challenges: the daily threat of climate change, over-indebtedness and highly pressured global financial systems, an increasingly discordant European Union, even war, conflict and refugees affecting our borders. Such issues can directly, and jointly, impact consulting engineers. But how? The future is foggy, and visibility is poor. Where will the changes end? Which trends will prove to be decisive in assessing the future? What will our industry look like in five years´ time? Which key drivers will be formative for our market? How can our companies stay successful in a changing environment? These questions are not easy to answer in the increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. This report aims to highlight some potential scenarios which may exist in the future related to these challenges.
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The publication of ISO 19650, an international quality standard governing the organisation and digitisation of information about buildings and civil engineering works, helps the client, project manager and contractor to agree on things, develop a shared understanding and exchange data more easily. Besides making the construction sector more competitive, BIM is driving innovation and sustainable growth while delivering improved infrastructure quality.
The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) provided guidance to its members for introducing the ISO 19650 standard and highlighting its far-reaching benefits. For engineers, BIM under the ISO 19650 concepts represents unprecedented opportunities for improving their added value during the construction process.
The BIM Booklet addresses the new ISO 19650 standards and their relevance to consulting engineers. It describes the beneficial outcomes of using them within the BIM approach, and from a project management perspective. It highlights the benefits of lowering risk and reducing financial losses, which are possible where reliable project information is available in a structured, re-usable form and where it is efficiently shared. It illustrates how, by managing the ownership and liability of project data, project managers can stay in control during the whole lifecycle of assets, including operations and maintenance, experiencing less contradiction or misinterpretation of data. It supports Part 1 and Part 2 of ISO 19650, which relate to concepts and principles. EFCA believes it is important to get a better grasp on the new ways of working together and adopt a more digital approach, thereby speaking the same language. The Booklet will help all stakeholders optimise their use of the ISO 19650 standard.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
In 2018, four major European industry federations, CECE, Construction Products Europe, EBC and FIEC, organised a joint event under the framework of the “EU Industry days” to discuss a common approach towards digitalisation for the construction industry.
By working together with other organisations from the construction value chain the document ‘Smarter Construction, Stronger Economy, Inclusive Society: The European Construction Industry Manifesto for Digitalisation’, was published.
It was supported by 23 European industry organisations, representing a whole range of stakeholders within the construction value chain.
The manifesto outlines why the digitalisation of the construction sector must be one of the main priorities of the EU political agenda because:
- the European Union must take the political lead on digital construction
- an appropriate regulatory framework on data policy is necessary
- the new EU budget must focus on digital skills, R&D and deployment of IT infrastructure.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
The EU BIM Task Group completed the important work of looking at the cost benefit of BIM in public tenders. The document aims to build the case for the introduction of BIM in public procurement for individual public projects by demonstrating costs and benefits from the perspective of public clients. It reflects the analysis performed during the project and the results obtained. It is conceived as an informative, easy-to-read guide meant to prepare the public stakeholders to apply the model developed for evaluating the costs and benefits of using BIM in public tenders.
The Cost-benefit Analysis (CBA) user Handbook is structured in five main chapters:
- Introduction to the topic, presenting the purpose of the handbook to public entities.
- Insights on the present status of BIM adoption in the public sector, through literature research, interviews and an on-line survey.
- Development of the CBA tool, describing the approach and methodology used to create it, including a step-by-step guide for using the tool.
- Practical implementation of the CBA tool in six case studies, representing various types of projects (small-scale infrastructures and buildings with differing budgets and covering diverse phases of the lifecycle), to show validation of the model.
- Conclusions of all the work performed.
The European Commission awarded the EU BIM Task Group funding for two years (2016-2017) to deliver a common European network aimed at aligning the use of Building Information Modelling in public works across the region. Europe’s public procurers, policy makers and public estate owners recognise the positive and transformative effect that digitisation brings to both public works and the construction sector. The Task Group’s vision is to encourage the common use of BIM, as ‘digital construction’, in public works with the common aim of improving value for public money, quality of the public estate and for the sustainable competitiveness of industry.
The EU BIM Task Group was formed to deliver a pan-European approach to best practice in BIM (building information modelling). It brings together national efforts into a common and aligned European approach to develop a world-class digital construction sector. The website highlights the current developments and outputs of the Task Group, including current news, events, documents and resources. It also offers the EU BIM Task Group’s Handbook for BIM implementation and the Cost Benefit Analysis for BIM. Publications are available in several languages.
The Conference of European Directors of Roads (Conférence Européenne des Directeurs des Routes – CEDR) produced this document titled ‘Technical report 2017-05 Utilising BIM for NRAs’. The report was drawn up by a CEDR’s Task Group focused on Information, led by Rijkswaterstaat (the Netherlands). The report has been authored by a collective group with input from national road agencies of the following European countries: Germany, Denmark, Finland, France, Netherlands, Norway, Sweden and the United Kingdom. The goals of this report are to share knowledge about Open BIM, build a sustainable International community that can influence EU decision-making regarding development, maintenance and use of Open BIM Information standards, and also improve the shared investments in the development and use of Open BIM standards.
The purpose of this report is to inform National Road Authorities (NRAs) and other interested parties about the collective findings of the task group in relation to the digital transformation needed to improve information management. For NRAs, BIM means focusing on Building Information Management, with the main goal being to digitally procure asset data using Open BIM standards. Furthermore, an additional goal is to enhance the possibilities of the client in handling data and improving its quality in the lifecycle of assets. The focus of CEDR’s Task group is on the information of constructing, developing and maintaining infrastructure for roads (and their surrounding areas). Open BIM consists of open information in the structured data sets, open exchange standards and software to use them (BIM tools).
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
When you have to work to specifications for a government contract in the context of road construction or road redevelopment, you can call on Standard Specification 250 by the Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV). This standard contains all information about road construction, sewers, signalling and landscaping. Standard Specification 250 includes the requirements for BIM for these aspects of highways.
Specification 250 talks through the Information exchange through BIM on projects as part of a contractual requirement. BIM-oriented working includes:
- preparing and finalizing the BIM design model before the start of the works
- updating and completing the BIM model during implementation
- delivery of the as-built BIM model upon provisional delivery
- updating the BIM model during the warranty period.
The specification also mentions the requirements for data exchange using the Object Type Library (OTL).
The BIM Team of the Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV) is responsible for the elaboration of the necessary BIM engagement documents, such as the BIM protocol and the BIM execution plan. The BIM execution plan for infrastructure projects has been prepared thanks to the insights and information from the AWV’s BIM pilot projects. The Belgian BIM protocol, drawn up by the BIM & ICT Technical Committee of the Belgian Building Research Institute (BBRI), was also a source of inspiration in realising the BIM execution plan.
The BIM execution plan, focused on infrastructure projects, aims to provide practical guidelines for BIM adoption in projects. The general guidelines for a BIM-oriented collaboration are included in the AWV BIM-protocol; the project-specific BIM execution plan takes a closer look at the practicalities of BIM collaboration. The requirements, specifications and practical agreements in the BIM execution plan only apply on the specific project or contract. Typical of a BIM execution plan is also that the practical agreements can be further updated during the project, should this be necessary.
This BIM protocol for infrastructure projects has been drawn up using the Belgian BIM protocol, prepared by the BIM & ICT Technical Committee of the Belgian Building Research Institute (BBRI) as a starting point. This version of the BIM protocol is a publication of the Roads and Traffic Agency (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV) and aims to provide general guidelines for a BIM-orientated cooperation for all parties. In addition to the expectations regarding BIM in infrastructure projects, this BIM protocol also explores the responsibilities of each party and the course of the information exchange throughout the BIM process. The requirements and specifications in this protocol apply to any BIM collaboration with AWV as contracting authority, for both the study phase and the implementation phase of infrastructure projects.
With this BIM protocol, all parties commit to using BIM for project collaboration and organisation. This means that the exchange of models under the collaboration will take place according to the agreements from the BIM protocol and the BIM execution plan. This implies a willingness to use the methods and agreements that comply with the BIM protocol and BIM execution plan, according to the listed tasks and responsibilities. The BIM protocol is a generic document that records the general BIM operation during study and implementation. It is valid for projects in which BIM-oriented work is carried out. Because the BIM protocol follows the BIM principles for both study and performance, not all chapters may be applicable to every project.
The Agency for Roads and Traffic (Agentschap Wegen en Verkeer, AWV) manages about 7,000 km of regional and motorway roads and more than 7,700 km of bicycle paths. Within AWV, the central ‘Planning and Coordination’ department, and more specifically the ‘Team BIM’, is responsible for drawing up and executing the ‘AIM-BIM program’. The BIM Team works closely with experts from the territorial AWV departments and external experts to build up the Object Types Library (OTL) for the various technical disciplines and to develop the BIM guidelines for investment projects and assignments for management and maintenance.
The importance of BIM and digital collaboration in the construction sector is growing, especially for infrastructure projects. As a road manager, AWV wants to guide and support the adoption of BIM, both for collaboration during the study and implementation of projects, and for the use of intelligent information models during further management and maintenance. The AWV knows that this cannot be done in isolation, but that the constructive cooperation with all project partners is crucial for the success of the BIM process. The website disseminates information, FAQ’s and other important documents related to AWV’s BIM implementation plans.
