buildingSMART International aims to improve the exchange of information between software applications used in the construction industry. buildingSMART International is leading the digital transformation by enabling better collaboration and digital workflows through the solutions and standards it delivers. Digital workflows are critical in projects involving many disciplines, software applications, and organizations that must collaborate and exchange information to achieve success. The buildingSMART International Board and the bSI Management organized a CIO Roundtable at the bSI Rome Summit in March 2023 to further this.
AEC organizations, technology providers, and industry bodies were part of the roundtable. Seniors representatives from AASHTO, Arup, Autodesk, Bentley Systems, Bond Bryan Digital, CRBIM, ESRI, FTIA, Lombardi, Mott MacDonald, Nemetschek, Ramboll, Royal HaskoningDHV, Schneider Electric, Siemens, WSP deliberated on two topics: Collaboration for Greater Impact and Preparing for the Future of AEC Technology, which were moderated by Jugal Makwana, Global Director – BIM/Digital Engineering – Royal HaskoningDHV.
Session 1: Collaboration for Greater Impact
In the session the participants agreed that collaboration is the key to solving many problems; however, it should be initiated at the start of a project, not towards the end. Another pain point for the construction project teams is that they must consider various information when making project decisions. And many specific system design and implementation issues must be addressed in detail before commencing the project; therefore, a reference architecture model in AEC is required.
The AEC industry is at the cusp of a complete digital transformation. The rise of digitization and the demands of sustainability will drive innovation that will further optimize efficiency, agility, cost-savings, and collaboration in the industry. The panel also agreed that Innovation, Digitalization, and Sustainability will go hand in hand.
Session 2: Preparing for the Future of AEC Technology
The participants discussed the current state and the prospects of technology in the AEC sector.
The workplace is changing, especially after Covid companies across the globe are looking to optimize their systems and resources to balance efficiency, connection, and employee expectations. The demand for everything is booming – more buildings, products, and content must be delivered faster and sustainably. Meanwhile, technology is creating its hurdles. Teams juggle too many products, and most of them are disconnected. People, processes, and data are siloed and often don’t work together easily, resulting in lost data and opportunities.
The challenges of today need to be turned into the opportunities of tomorrow. We need open and integrated systems, not closed-point solutions – an integrated technology environment where data is the enabler.
Another trend is automation – delivering projects more efficiently and spending time creating value by automating manual work. It augments processes with AI-powered simulations, standardized automation, and customizable workflows. Additionally, insights deliver the outcomes that project managers desire by supercharging the decision-making with predictive analytics and data-driven insights in real time throughout the entire project lifecycle.
The panel also highlighted the need to align schemas so there’s no interoperability issue; tech and data providers must enable the AEC sector. They have to open data and make it interoperable.
Conclusion: The demand for new and sustainable infrastructure will only grow in the coming years. With this growing demand for sustainable construction and the increasing digitization of work, the AEC sector needs to collaborate, upgrade standards, and adopt innovative technologies faster. By pairing the spatial element with BIM and smart building tech, designers gain an accurate visual representation of buildings. They can quantify and analyze sustainability parameters such as energy efficiency and carbon footprints. The aim is to move forward with a common goal.
The following people attended the roundtable:
- Aidan Mercer, buildingSMART International
- Aymeric Jouannet-Capogrossi, Autodesk
- Bjorn Stangeland, Nemetschek
- Darren Gibson, Ramboll
- Dashuang Li, CRBIM
- Emma Hooper, Bond Bryan Digital
- Jag Mallela, wsp
- Jugal Makwana, Royal Haskoning
- Julien Moutte, Bentley Systems
- Liming Sheng, CRBIM
- Marc Goldman, Esri
- Matteo Orlandi, Arup
- Michael Gaunt, Mott MacDonald
- Mike Kennerly, AASHTO
- Oliver Lebherz, Siemens
- Pierpaolo Canini, Lombardi
- Tarmo Savolainen, FTIA
- Trinidad Chardin-segui, Schneider Electric
