BIMSustain – Process optimisation for BIM-supported sustainable planning

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is considered a key technology for digital transformation in the construction industry. However, the question of how BIM tools can actually make interdisciplinary planning processes more efficient, sustainable and coordinated remains a central challenge.

BIMSustain investigates strategies for the time- and cost-efficient optimisation of BIM-supported planning processes – in close cooperation with leading software manufacturers and university partners. The aim is to develop and test tailor-made concepts for process improvement in everyday interdisciplinary planning.

Why BIMSustain?

• Empirical analysis of real BIM planning processes in an interdisciplinary setting
• Cooperation with seven leading BIM software providers to identify potential for improvement
• Focus on the functionality and interoperability of BIM tools for different planning disciplines
• Integration of BIM into teaching to test and further develop sustainable planning processes.

Project

The focus is on developing and evaluating strategies for optimising the digital planning process using BIM – especially for sustainable, interdisciplinary planning goals. The investigation is based on a multi-year experimental study that was carried out as an interfaculty course at TU Wien.

The interdisciplinary course ‘Interdisciplinary BIM-supported planning concepts’ took place in the winter semesters 2012/13, 2013/14 and 2014/15, involving students of architecture, civil engineering and the university Master of Building Science programme.

Three institutes from the faculties of Civil Engineering, Architecture and Spatial Planning and Mechanical Engineering and Industrial Engineering were involved, supported by seven industry partners from the field of BIM software development.

The research focused on the following objectives:

• Evaluation of interdisciplinary collaboration with the help of BIM tools
• Investigation of the modelling capability for architectural, structural and building physics requirements
• Evaluating the interoperability of the tools used in interdisciplinary data exchange
• Analysing efficiency, comprehensibility and the degree of integration in the BIM planning process

Data collection and qualitative and quantitative evaluation were carried out by the Institute for Management Sciences.

Vision

BIMSustain stands for data-based, interdisciplinary and practical optimisation of digital planning. The project demonstrates how planning quality, resource utilisation and collaboration can be improved through targeted process design and tool development. It thus contributes to the further development of sustainable, cooperative planning practices in the age of digital building culture.