Adhering to deadlines in a large-scale construction project is as essential as working within the budget. Every team working on a full-scale construction project, either public or private, knows the importance of completing and handing over the site on time. Anyone operating in the construction industry can vouch for the high pressure around sticking to the deadlines and minding the budget. None of the involved parties from builders, architects, labour, to management appreciate delays. But more often than not, unforeseen circumstances arise and mess with the deadlines.

This is where the combination of ERP and BIM can play a role. If optimally used, construction companies can save on time and money by putting the project back on track with the help of ERP and BIM.

What is ERP?

In our context, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is business solution software that maps the various processes and workflows in the project, lists tasks and assigns responsibilities, and allows greater visibility and trackability at all times. In essence, it provides powerful analytics using data from various construction processes.

It takes an army of people to make a successful enterprise and the construction industry is no different. Construction ERP integrates diverse software systems used by various teams into one comprehensive solution by pulling together all the relevant information and provides the construction/project managers with a set of insights and tools for driving the efficient execution of the project.

In this perspective, the success of a construction project lies in efficient project planning and accurate data management. This can be achieved by integrating BIM models and the ERP management solution.

Benefits of Integrating BIM and ERP

The world is increasingly shifting towards the digital age and it’s clear that technology is going to play a critical role in the success of every industry, including construction. The companies that utilize technology to its optimum level will survive and thrive. Of course, this suggests that the traditional ways of working cannot find solutions for issues arising in the technological age. One of the biggest obstacles in this digital age is the management of the humongous volume and variety of data created at every step of a construction project.

As you become dependent on digital means to drive efficiency then questions about data become important to consider. Is the data accurate? Is it relevant? Is it current? Is it useful to deliver insights? Are those insights actionable? What is the impact of those actions? And so on.

Integrating BIM and ERP allows integration of actions and controls through effective communication of information that is made available to everyone from a central location. Always-on access to updated data will enable managers to get transparency into the real state of the project and then assist with making profitable business decisions.

Of course, there’s much more to ERP and BIM integration than just collating data. Let’s look at the other crucial benefits of integrating ERP and BIM in a construction project:

1.    Financial Management

Contractual work is the norm in the construction industry. Tender bids are issued for large-scale projects. Accurate estimates of material and labour are key in both situations. The BIM + ERP combo can be used to derive accurate estimations for every item in the BOM and for the effort involved in delivering the project too. These calculations are more precise and accurate. This helps achieve more profitable, predictable project resource planning.

2.    Enabling Better Performance

Communication is an essential factor in deciding the success of a construction project. The integration of BIM and ERP provides a centralized source of information for every person working on the project. It feeds into defined workflows so that the right people get the right info when needed. The updates are made and recorded in real-time, thereby eradicating errors due to the time lag in communication. What if scenarios can be analysed quickly along with its implication downstream This helps the people and teams deliver better and be accountable for their efforts.

3.    Avoiding contractual conflicts

The solution helps in avoiding contractual conflicts with the client. It does this by creating a baseline estimate and then keeping track of inventory, raw material requirement, workforce, finances, and budgets of the project against the estimates. The meticulous analysis of the construction facets leaves little to no room for misunderstanding and helps drive more timely interventions if deviations become inevitable.

4.    Streamlining data across projects

Handling multiple projects or multiple facets of a single project at a given time is bound to create confusion in communicating information and instruction within the organization. Going through data for numerous projects on excel sheets and various other software amongst different departments is a cumbersome task. The BIM + ERP solution streamlines this chaos into one centralized source that is accessible for every employee of the organization. It helps break down the chaos into smaller, more manageable tasks, and allows individuals and teams to address them better.

5.    Increased efficiency and productivity

A centralized source of information for everything from cost estimations, inventory management, human resources, project management to facility operational management helps to increase the efficiency of the project. Provisioning resources based on these accurate estimates ensures that there is less downtime due to material or resource unavailability.

It’s fair to say that better planning is the backbone of more efficient execution in a construction project. From that standpoint, the future of the construction industry may lie in the integration of BIM and ERP-driven business strategies. Such seamless integration of BIM and ERP may well help drive higher ROI for the projects undertaken by a construction company.

You would have heard me often say that BIM technology is playing a pivotal role in revolutionizing the construction industry. Adoption of this digital technology is growing in India and many countries like the UK and Germany are mandating the use of BIM for public infrastructure projects. Several known challenges in the traditional construction methods can be minimized or completely eradicated with the use of BIM. It’s not only the industry but also the academia that has taken a keen interest in the application and implementation of BIM in civil engineering, architecture, project management, operations, and facilities management.

I believe that the effective use of BIM can help in increasing the efficiency of our construction industry. It’s a widely accepted stat that a construction project takes roughly 20% longer than the initially estimated time to complete and is approximately 80% over budget. A potent BIM implementation can play a crucial role in controlling these time and project costs.

BIM is mostly considered as 3D modeling software, but in reality, it’s far more than that. The seven dimensions of BIM allow us to add focus on time, cost, as-built, and sustainability. The technology helps in rectifying errors, controlling costs, efficient planning, and better operations management of a facility. This means that, apart from improving construction operations, it could play a key role in defining a sustainable and competitive construction strategy as well.

Benefits of Integrating BIM in Construction Strategy

The role of BIM in construction strategy is often debated. BIM can be considered as an extended version of the project manager in a construction project. BIM helps in integrating the different aspects of a construction project through effective communication. It can validate the design for constructability by building a visual picture. And, it can help, estimate accurate project costs and times. The seamless collaboration between the various teams is an added benefit.

The BIM model considers the entire lifecycle of a facility from design to operations along with all the required information. The virtual model of the actual facility provides an insight into the physical and logistical characteristics of the facility. The digital prototype plays a significant role in meeting the design shortcomings before the construction begins, thereby reducing the time lag occurring due to redesigning or rework during the construction phase. Let’s look into some significant benefits of integrating BIM into the construction strategy:

1.   Effective communication and team building

More often than not, lack of effective communication amongst the involved parties causes errors that result in increased costs and delays in a construction project. In the absence of BIM, the interested parties work independently to achieve exclusive goals from the project. BIM unifies and integrates the architects, engineers, operations and systems management, and project management into a collaborative process. The collaboration leads to a unified and common goal definition right at the planning stage, thereby improving the chances of all the teams being aligned at each phase of construction.

2.   Cost and time estimation

Time and cost are two major factors attributing to the success of a construction project. BIM model helps in estimating costs and the time required during the designing and planning phase. The model-based cost and time estimation helps in eliminating human error by providing the most accurate numbers. Getting a reliable estimate of these parameters at the construction planning stage can significantly ramp up the effectiveness of the financing and planning function and in the case of commercial real estate projects helps in driving sales.

3.   Eliminating on-site redesigning and rework

The final constructed building is often quite different than its first blueprint. Every design undergoes numerous changes before the construction begins. The digital prototype of the facility provides a real-time view of the building. The visualization of the final design in the preconstruction phase allows the involved parties to analyse the constructability of the design. Without BIM, these changes are observed during the construction phase, and time is lost while reworking the design. The BIM model helps in eliminating such situations. Having an accurate picture of the facility as it is, rather than imagining the design can help drive expansion and future redevelopment strategies.

4.   Cost reduction with material quantities

Calculating quantities of the raw material is crucial in any construction project. Traditionally, the consultants estimate the quantity with the help of 2D drawings and thumb rules, which often results in over or under-estimation. The quantity take-offs with BIM are far more accurate and precise, which helps in reducing costs due to wastage or lack of raw materials. Being able to procure materials with confidence can help the procurement teams get better deals and assure a more predictable supply of materials over the duration of the project.

5.   Building handover and operations management

The most important thing during handing over of a building is the building information which plays an essential role in the operations management of the facility. The digitally centralized information in the BIM model is easily accessible to the operations management team, unlike the traditional way where one needs to manage a bunch of files and papers making it challenging to access information during an emergency or crisis. This has strategic implications on issues like driving efficient energy usage, green practices, and safety management.

I guess the point I’m making is that BIM has more to offer than just faster and more efficient construction. The benefits of integrating BIM into your construction strategy are aplenty. I hope that the widespread adoption of BIM technology will revolutionize the construction industry by raising the bar a notch higher for all of us.

How many times have you landed at an airport and been taken aback by the magnificent and complex structure? Some airports, mostly international, are more than just airports. They are more like small towns in themselves from cafes, restaurants, shopping malls to hotels – you name it, and they have it.

Over the years airports have evolved from being just a landing and take-off place for aircraft to becoming tourism, commercial, and cultural hubs for residents and visitors alike today. Airport terminals and control towers are no longer restricted to functional and operational roles but perform complex roles as landmarks, signposts, and cultural identities. Some of the major tourist destinations like Dubai International Airport, Changi Airport (Singapore), Wellington Airport (New Zealand), and Winnipeg International Airport (Canada) are known for their exemplary and intricate structures. This has ramifications, especially in terms of design. It is here where BIM technology provides a unique solution for building and constructing marvellous structures by optimizing costs and time frames.

Airports and BIM

Large-scale projects like airports which keep evolving over a period of time are complex to build and even more complex to manage over their lifespan.

In BIM you do not merely draw a design, but you build it, and this unique feature is what makes BIM desirable for large-scale projects. This gives the technology its ability to increase the ROI by curtailing costs, material procurement and planning, clash detection, and better collaboration in the build phase of the project. BIM helps optimize the ongoing operations of the facility by providing a reliable base design to define management plans and help gauge the likely carbon footprint of a facility. It’s this integration of technology that makes a building stand apart today and BIM, when implemented from the first phase, allows us to do just that. It becomes easier to build, transform or reconstruct (a part of) an existing building with the help of BIM.

Let’s look at these three airports across the world that are/will be built using BIM technology:

1.    Istanbul Airport

The new international airport being built in the city of Istanbul, Turkey; is going to be the world’s largest modern airport. The new airport is being built from scratch, and is going to be constructed in four phases with the first phase being completed in 2018.  The first phase consisted of one terminal, three runways and a remarkable structure for the air traffic control tower. Once completed and fully operational, the IGA will cater to 200 million passengers annually.

“Since the aviation sector develops rapidly nowadays, efficiency in developing outstanding standards according to our baseline schedule and compared to other projects worldwide is critical for us. We aren’t just creating an airport, but also value for people. BIM is an essential tool for us to deliver this super megaproject,” Yusuf Akçayo?lu, CEO, IGA Airports Construction.

Thousands of people are working daily on the construction site. One can only imagine the task of communicating every bit of change in design across these numbers. According to Dr. Ozan Koseoglu, Director of BIM, IGA – the team has saved on humongous amounts of time and money by identifying more than 320,500 clashes in the design. The clash reports are issued and assigned to relevant parties along with updating the rest of the team through BIM. BIM has helped in preventing unseen time extensions, cost overruns, and any other unexpected claims.

2.    Kempegowda International Airport (KIA), Bengaluru, India

We have written in the past of the impact of BIM on public infrastructure projects in India like the Nagpur Metro. We have also had the privilege of providing our BIM expertise to the Mumbai International Airport.

The T2 terminal at Bengaluru’s KIA will be one more in the growing list of infrastructure projects in India to benefit from BIM technology. Tom Shimmin, Chief Project Officer, BIAL has said, “BIM will enable us to develop new and innovative infrastructure, thereby setting new benchmarks. We are proud to be early adopters – not just in India, but the world,’’ The project will integrate a full BIM lifecycle for the entire project lifecycle.

The combined capacity of both terminals will be over 70 million passengers annually. The government has said that the first phase will be operational by the end of March 2021. BIM could play a vital role in helping achieve that pace of project completion.

3.    Denver International Airport, United States of America

The expansion plan for Denver International Airport, one of the largest airport facilities in the world, included the construction of a hotel, public plaza, and transit centre next to the south terminal of the airport. The construction agency had the complex task of considering the existing structure and amalgamating it with the vast new proposed one.

Another issue faced by the design team was accommodating the weather movement of the existing roof of the south terminal. The roof at the south terminal was an iconic design made of fabric which is supported by a steel cable system with tie-downs that help in maintaining the tension and in anchoring the roof to the ground. Due to weather conditions, the roof moves vertically up to 18 inches. Now, the hotel building that is being constructed required displacing six of these anchors along with incorporating them in its design. The meticulous planning for this was done through virtual models built with the help of BIM. This helped the team in understanding and designing the structure in the most efficient way and faster.

These are but some of the many massive airports that are taking wing with BIM. Large public infrastructure projects offer readymade business cases for BIM with the projected savings in time, cost, and effort. It’s no surprise that success stories like these have made it vital to incorporate BIM technology in large-scale infrastructure projects such as airports.