Technologies of tomorrow are working in RIEL today: how to design, calculate, build and control huge construction objects in one laptop

The main idea of ​​the forum is to study both private and public experience and discuss approaches to the use of BIM technologies (Building Information Model) - tools for modeling a construction site.

This time, the meeting brought together more than 200 experts in the digital technology industry for business process automation. Our state was presented by representatives of two institutions – the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development and Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning. They talked about approaches to government regulation of digital construction.

This time, the meeting brought together more than 200 experts in the digital technology industry for business process automation. Our state was presented by representatives of two institutions – the Ministry for Communities and Territories Development and Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning. They talked about approaches to government regulation of digital construction.

Ukrainian business – developers in particular – was also represented by REC RIEL. We shared our experience in applying innovative solutions for construction control: from the building design stage up to the stage of its maintenance by the management company after putting into operation.

In short, thanks to these technologies, we can implement any of our objects virtually – that is, long before its actual completion. Designers, working at BIM, reduce the risks of incorrect design decisions. In the same way, the incorrectness of the volume of the project, and therefore the budget, is canceled out. The possibility of deviations from the construction period is minimized. And in order to negate these risks, we came to the use of a number of tools: in particular, design in REVIT, use of NEVISWORKS capabilities, process analytics in Power BI.

In REC RIEL, all these tools are combined into a single ERP-system – resource management system – and have a number of intermediate checkpoints and codes, so that all information is automatically transferred between all systems.

In practice, it looks, for example, like this: when we receive a model of an object from the designer, we transform it through NEVISWORKS into an Excel-table, extracting the entire list and volumes of basic work and materials from there. This makes it possible for us to form a basic version of the estimate, which forms the basis of our budget. Engineers of the specialized departments check the results obtained, add materials that are not taken into account in BIM – that is, secondary ones – and we get a more or less correct budget. Then, together with the project managers, we automatically load this data into PROJECT and get a timeline of activities.

Further, there is the issue of monitoring indicators on the project map: in our reports, we see, for example, the basic deadlines for the completion of projects and the specified deadlines for their implementation – so we can understand whether there are temporary deviations and whether additional costs will arise because of this. It also contains data on monthly planning, analysis of tasks to be completed, the number of completed tasks, comparison of sales, etc. – this is enough analytics to make decisions and move on with the project.

Having a high-quality BIM-model, we use it in many of our business processes, including during construction – thanks to the ability to visualize complex design solutions for construction workers. So, when we have questions about what and how build, we can always literally look at it. Besides, we can qualitatively plan building and installation works in time, carry out the distribution of materials and their cost – that is, qualitatively distribute both financial and labour resources.

In marketing – in particular for our website. There, each of the users can, let’s say, using their phone, “inspect” any of our objects in any host city, choose the current layout, a specific floor and make the final choice. Such opportunities on the site are also provided due to BIM-model.

Thanks to BIM, we can very timely, very promptly respond to changes occurring with the object. At the moment, having projects that we are completing without using the Building Information Model tools, and those that we are already working on within BIM, we really feel a big difference in the course and efficiency of their business processes. For example, in a case study, when project documentation comes to our profile department in 2D, on paper: by the time it reaches our sales departments, the apartment is likely already sold with the old layout. But in our projects within BIM, we track these changes much faster, avoiding many risks and mistakes. And this is a very important efficient point for us.

Of course, our further goal is ever deeper integration of digital technologies into our projects. After all, the use of BIM in construction can hardly be overestimated – this opens up many opportunities: from a quick response to changes in design solutions to the possibility of forming a technical specification for the purchase of materials. It will also be possible to involve partners in real-time cooperation – in particular, those carrying out technical supervision. On top of that, the BIM model will be an excellent tool at the stage of house operation by the management company – for example, during routine maintenance and repair work.

The main advantage of using BIM technologies for both us, developers, and customers is the ability to achieve maximum compliance of the characteristics of the future object with the customer's requirements. For this, we at REC RIEL are ready to further integrate information technologies and increase the use of BIM at all stages of our construction.