The key to the digital future

Thinkproject Virtual Design & Construction Management helps enable digitalisation at Implenia – from quantity determination to construction process simulation

A clear strategy: Implenia implements BIM

Project

The company made a strategic decision to take Building Information Modelling (BIM) from the planning office to the construction site. Working with digital building models is interesting for executing companies as well as planners— as it’s much easier and more precise to determine quantities from a model, link the model and schedule, and simulate the construction process.

This strategic objective is also reflected in Implenia’s corporate structure. A BIM team has been added to the Project Excellence and Services (PES) division in all national subsidiaries. The “Global” division in Switzerland provides the guidelines and also selects the software solutions to be used in all national subsidiaries.

  • “Our work goes far beyond conveying. Some colleagues are still very skeptical about digitisation. We want to break down this skepticism and make it clear that the ‘I’ in BIM will take us further.”
    Marina Do Amaral Pimentel
    Senior BIM Specialist
  • “This is much more than just a nice movie. In the visualisation you can see the critical points, especially between the different trades, much more clearly than on a beam. In the future, Implenia will also use the digital models to compare target-actual during the construction phase.”
    Marina Do Amaral Pimentel
    Senior BIM Specialist
  • “Thanks to Thinkproject, we are becoming increasingly successful in anchoring the building model in everyday working life.”
    Marina Do Amaral Pimentel
    Senior BIM Specialist
Managing the progress of change

Challenge

Establishing new methods and standards is not child’s play:

Challenge – Every methodological change means a challenge.

Insights – Pilot projects need more attention because you have to gain the experience and evaluate the findings.

Results – As the benefits become apparent, so does acceptance. Especially for younger colleagues, digital models are preferred over 2D plans. This is where the viewer from Thinkproject VDC MANAGER shows its strength—even without a lot of software know-how, you can find your way around.

Construction professionals using a tablet
BIM on the construction site

Solution

BIM is involved in all areas of construction planning and execution. Implenia, the leading Swiss construction and real estate service provider has implemented the method.

Thinkproject Virtual Design & Construction Management is the tool of choice for: model testing, coordination and quality determination, and empowering employees. get to know the processes and the application cases, and understand how to handle the projects with BIM.

Developing

The BIM team in the PES division is responsible for developing standardised processes and creating content, which is required for calculation and quotation preparation.

Training

At the same time, the colleagues in the branches are trained: they get to know the processes and the application cases, and understand how to handle the projects ”with BIM”.

Supporting

The PES team is also involved in the first BIM projects as: BIM manager and/or BIM coordinator.

Thinkproject Platform as a central tool for building models

In order to analyse and evaluate digital building models, Implenia has opted to use Thinkproject VDC MANAGER and obtains the software centrally from Mensch und Maschine Schweiz AG (MuM). MuM has been a competent BIM project partner for software, training and consulting for many years.

VDC MANAGER offers functions for the visualisation, review, evaluation and extension of models. This makes BIM accessible to all project participants. This improves transparency and supports the decision-making process. However, VDC MANAGER can only unfold its full potential if content and processes are developed using the BIM method and introduced throughout the company.

Using models

Project partners don’t always deliver their plans as digital models. Even when they do, building models that meet the requirements of the architect, structural engineer or building technician do not necessarily contain the information the executing company needs. “Only if we are in contact with the architect at an early stage can we contribute our requirements and the architects can ‘install’ the information we need,” says Marina Do Amaral Pimentel, Senior BIM Specialist at Implenia.

If the models don’t meet the company requirements, the employees in the branches must supplement the information or model the planned building themselves. VDC MANAGER helps to evaluate the models and determine quantities for tendering. If a new model is delivered every two weeks, it will be possible to quickly see the deviations and effects.

In practice

Result

BIM as a method and Thinkproject as an important software tool have proven their usefulness in the new building of the Technical Town Hall in Mannheim. Around 700 people will work on a floor area of 30,000m2. In addition to the offices, there is a meeting area, a public cafeteria, a company daycare centre and an underground car park at the inhabitants’ disposal. The high energy requirements are met by a photovoltaic system.

Thanks to Thinkproject the architectural model could be checked for informational content and quantities for the tenders could be generated. A construction process simulation of the supporting structure, the façade and the expansion planned with BIM also brought important insights.

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