Bricks and mortar are a thing of the past as BIM and GIS integration has entirely changed the face of construction industry. Be it design or planning, digitization is the way forward. Having done over 70 projects in various countries, the contribution of ‘The BIM Engineers’ under the leadership of Parveen Sharma, CEO, has been recognized by various international firms. Giving more meaningful insights, the CEO conversed with Geospatial Artha and spoke of challenges and labor shortage at length.
How can BIM, when integrated with GIS solutions, enhance productivity of stakeholders, and ensure sustainable delivery of construction projects?
Of late, we have seen a huge demand for large-scale infrastructure projects in India and in global construction market. The BIM and GIS integration facilitates stakeholders to have a better control over these mega projects. Now, digital dashboards are being widely used for better connectivity among various stakeholders for monitoring and communication.
Do you think integrated GIS & BIM enables a more proficient O&M workflow in terms of complicated large-scale projects?
Operation and Maintenance has always been a weak link in our industry. Now with BIM and GIS integration, all the components and equipment are digitally mapped. The locations of these components can be inside a building or across a larger area. This integration makes it easy for the maintenance agency to have a better control over the facilities.
How will the government’s plan to use a GIS-based Enterprise Resource Planning system with 200+ layers for evidence-based decision-making help in coordinated planning of infrastructure?
Recently, we have witnessed a lot of action from the government authorities’ side in terms of GIS-based system guidelines and implementation in large-scale projects. Decision-making with so many stakeholders has always been a challenge, but the new generation technologies are bridging that gap. Things are improving, and I am hopeful that it will pick up pace in the months and years to come.
How are global megatrends such as ESG, hybrid work, AI & Automation, Build to Rent, Geospatial, and more transforming real estate?
Now, the industry is moving towards a centralized approach in the real estate sector. From the Initiation to construction and facilities management, various technological advancements are being widely accepted and being mandated. In the coming years, the new-gen technologies like AI & Automation and hybrid, etc. will bring more efficiency in the system. The graph is already moving upwards and we will see a quick rise in the adoption of these technologies in the coming years.
What are the challenges of Digital Twin technology in India?
In larger countries like India, decision-making is more or less slow. The same is being witnessed in the adoption of Digital Twin (DT) technology in India. Private players have done successful trials and DT is being implemented in almost all the upcoming mega projects, but the larger government-funded developments are lagging in adopting Digital Twin. Another big hurdle is the availability of experienced manpower, considering the current and future demand in the Indian construction industry. We must train a whole new generation of technology people, which in turn, will change the scenario.
How does BIM narrow the information loss gap between designers, building owners and the construction team?
The process to pass information between various design phases in the construction process is never streamlined. From schematic design stage to design development stage, from DD to tender, from tender to construction and from construction stage to facility operation and maintenance stage, the information exchange always causes a big loss of information. Most of the time, submissions from consultants are being done in non-editable formats like printouts and PDFs. Now with the implementation of BIM, things have changed and the loss of information between different stakeholders and design stages has narrowed down.
What if drones and robotics are unable to tide over labor shortage?
In western countries, there is an acute shortage of trained labor and the cost per hour is very high. That is why, robotics are being widely used to automate the repetitive construction activities. But the real idea is never to replace but facilitate humans. With drones and robots, we can increase the productivity of our workforce by 300% and make it more efficient. The time and cost savings can change the way we are currently working. It will further facilitate the faster movement of perishable goods and the shorter delivery time will bring more efficiency.
What projects are in the pipeline and how do you plan to cut corners, which you have been doing ever since the technology revolutionized the construction industry?
Infrastructure in western countries needs an overhaul. The US has announced a $3 trillion plan for infrastructure redevelopment. On the other hand, countries like India and China have witnessed rapid growth in infrastructure development in the last decade or so. At ‘The BIM Engineers’, we are preparing our workforce to get ‘future-ready’ for mega and giga projects. Automation, programming, AI, augmented reality, virtual reality, precast and prefabricated construction technologies need a precise outcome for the BIM industry, and we are ready to take up these challenges.
How do you plan to reshape the industry using the construction technology in order to prepare a better workforce for better and robust infrastructure?
We are working on advanced technologies to speed up technology adoption in the AEC industry. We have witnessed a sudden surge in domestic Indian and global construction industry after the pandemic and are providing international exposure to our staff. The team is well prepared for the future workload of large-scale projects.
What is the roadmap of BIM Engineers for the next five years, and how aligned it is with the vision of ‘Gati Shakti’?
Our belief is that ‘Technology is for betterment’. We are looking to expanding our horizon so that we become global leaders in the BIM space. We are very well aligned with the vision of ‘Gati Shakti’ and ‘Make in India’. We are among the largest exporters of BIM services to global markets and brought the foreign exchange (Forex) to India. The next five years will witness a huge surge in technology adoption in the Indian construction industry and our company is already working to cater to this increasing demand.
AEC (architecture, engineering and construction) has hitherto been a sector inertial to tech adoption and automated workflow integration. What do you think needs to be done to promote the utility of BIM and other technologies in India?
Since AEC is one of the largest industries with a lot of stakeholders, it has always faced challenge in technology adoption, but now things are changing at a fast pace. The best way forward is to showcase the benefit of technology adoption. Money and time are two most important factors. BIM and peripheral technologies can save both of these for the AEC industry. Government is already working to prepare a guideline framework to push technology adoption. One more push can come from the government to announce some perks for technology adoption in the form of incentives and tax rebates. Gradually, we are witnessing a big change and I am sure that it will pick up pace in the coming years.
Apart from adaptation issues, are there any other obstructions in the path of widespread BIM adoption in the country?
Any new technology requires a lot of investment. Similarly BIM adoption requires a lot of investment in the ‘Man’ and ‘Machine’. Workstation computers required for BIM are costly and the software fee is also high. Trained manpower is scarce and demands huge investment. We at ‘The BIM Engineers’ are working to bridge the gap of manpower scarcity.
Due to the looming possibility of climate change induced natural disasters and abrupt disruptions such as the pandemic, there’s a steady focus on a blueprint for resilient infrastructure. What is your viewpoint on it?
The world has changed after the COVID-19 pandemic. The demand for risk assessment and the ability to resist a disruptive event is considered as a priority. The AEC industry must invest in new technologies to analyze the ‘what-if’ scenario for all the possibilities in future. Technologies like BIM are always a base for any sort of analysis and calculations. 3D environment enables the prediction analysis.
How can BIM be best leveraged for green mobility transition and developing connected smart cities in India?
BIM brings collaboration and all the stakeholders on a common platform. This is a primary requirement for a smart Infrastructure. BIM is a great enabler for ‘Smart’ projects, which can witness a smooth collaboration between various consultants, contractors, sub-contractors, manufacturers, project management agencies and facility management team. BIM brings more efficiency in design so the facility can be more energy efficient and user-friendly.
