Coordinated planning: How to get started with BIM

June 9, 2021

This is how BIM works: The general contractor Depenbrock gives an exciting insight into their BIM implementation and work with Bimplus.

There are a number of good reasons for getting started with BIM. Depenbrock has summed up the two most important ones for themselves extremely aptly: 1. to meet the increasing expectations of clients and 2. to be better than the client expects. Clients have long since ceased to demand pure construction services, but nowadays increasingly demand an holistic concept to communication and information for everything to do with the property. This applies in particular to public projects and the infrastructure sector. BIM is the tool of choice for generating the desired added value. An integral part of this improved value chain is model-based coordinated planning. The Allplan Customer Insights from Depenbrock show how BIM can be successfully introduced.

BIM-coordinated planning delivers numerous advantages. For Depenbrock, the most significant advantages are planning reliability, greater transparency in planning, collision detection in early planning phases, and the resulting structured conflict resolution - all in the form of end-to-end digital planning processes. The basic prerequisite for this value creation from the BIM method is, on the one hand, 3D model-based planning and, on the other hand, collaboration in a virtual planning space. For the latter, the planners at Depenbrock relied on the CDE (Common Data Environment) Allplan Bimplus right from the start.

Rendering01.JPG© Depenbrock Bau GmbH & Co. KG


Model coordination in the cloud

When working on a coordination model in Allplan Bimplus, the advantages of BIM quickly become tangible. All the specialist models - architecture, structural framework and building services - are combined here. A coordination structure, structured according to trades and levels, enables easy navigation in the cloud-based BIM Explorer. Relevant information from the individual specialist models can be displayed and less important information can be hidden. For example, the architectural model can be reduced to its rooms, the structural model can be reduced to the supporting structure, or the building services model can be limited to individual MEP components and checked for consistency. Thus, completely individual model views can be generated for specific use cases and tasks.

Rendering03.JPG© Depenbrock Bau GmbH & Co. KG


Transparency through issue management and revision comparison

If the test of the coordination model reveals a need for change in the models, this can be coordinated clearly and transparently via issue management. To do this, an issue is created directly at the relevant point or component in the model with a title, description of the task to be completed, the person responsible for it and a due date. All issues are listed in the Issue Manager and can be filtered according to numerous criteria such as due date, status or responsibility. When these issues are selected, not only does the associated information appear, but also the relevant area in the model. Such tasks are initially created in draft mode, where only the author can view them until they are published. After completion, the task is saved as solved and a new model revision can be created.

Another added value results from the revision comparison between different planning statuses. For maximum transparency, Bimplus makes the changes to the previous revision visible in the geometry, and also lists changed properties (attributes), as well as deleted and newly created objects. To compare the changed objects, the planning statuses can even be viewed simultaneously.

Rendering05.JPG© Depenbrock Bau GmbH & Co. KG


Complete documentation in document management

Document management is of enormous importance in every project. Here, Bimplus offers the possibility of an individual project structure in which the documents can be stored in the virtual planning room according to their function. In addition, roles and access rights of the project participants can be managed in this structure. Another advantage is the transparent version history of the documents. Thus, similar to the revision comparison in the model, different planning statuses can also be traced on the basis of current and previous versions. At the same time, Bimplus documents who uploaded, updated or downloaded which plans or documents and when.


Conclusion: A whole range of added values

The bottom line is that Depenbrock achieves a whole range of added value by working with Bimplus and without having to install any software. The software simply runs in the browser. Thanks to the very high level of transparency in planning, the specialist planners achieve significantly improved collision detection and resolution and thus also error reduction. Another important advantage is the wealth of information in the form of attributes that complement the geometry and contribute to a holistic planning picture, regardless of location, which in turn contributes to enormous flexibility. And ultimately, the totality of this BIM-based Smart Working results in perhaps the greatest added value: satisfied customers.




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