Construction industry: The digital transformation is taking place
Recently, the second BIM Congress took place in Zurich. The short conclusion: The topic has now also arrived in Switzerland. Not least because of this, BIM will be taken up at the safety congress.
Digitalization is leading to profound changes in the construction industry. Processes along the entire value chain, the collaboration culture and the role of the construction industry are changing. New business models and revolutionary working tools bring new opportunities. Thanks to new technologies and methods, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), an increase in efficiency, fewer planning and construction errors, and ultimately an increase in productivity are expected. Around 60,000 companies and over 500,000 employees are directly or indirectly dependent on the construction industry. The topic naturally also affects the security industry (see Interview with Markus Weber, President "Building digital Switzerland").
Congress established as new meeting place
After the successful premiere last year, "Bauen digital Schweiz" has further developed the BIM Congress. This year, the event was held over two days for the first time; with 1,400 participants, the event was sold out. The high level of participation and the positive response testify to the great awareness of the topic. Markus Weber, President of "Bauen digital Schweiz", presented the priorities for next year at the congress: "After the focus has been on understanding between all stakeholders up to now, the next phase is about implementation. "Building digital Switzerland will support the construction industry with a digital marketplace as well as analog and digital application tools". He also drew attention to the strong presence at Swissbau 2018, where the association will be a Main Partner in the "Swissbau Innovation Lab" - the new special show on the digital transformation of the construction industry.
Disruptive business models reach construction
On the first day, opinion leaders and experts from Switzerland and abroad discussed the current issues in the three thematic blocks "Politics & Economy", "Business & Transformation" and "People & Collaboration". Highlights included appearances by Ruedi Noser, entrepreneur and member of the Council of States FDP, Gunter Dueck, mathematician and author, Roland Siegwart, professor of autonomous mobile robots ETH Zurich and Nick Sohnemann, founder and managing director Future Candy GmbH. The spirit from Silicon Valley has arrived in Switzerland: Only those who critically question their current business model and dare to rethink established processes will remain successful. Decision-makers in politics as well as in companies are called upon to promote this new way of thinking and to set the course accordingly.
Application method in focus
On the second day, architects discussed state-of-the-art use in practice with all engineers, planners, specialists and ancillary trades involved in construction at the BIM Camp. In an innovative event format, Swiss experts gave live demonstrations on real projects of how they work today. At the BIM Camp, the focus was on "open BIM". Information is exchanged using open data formats, thus enabling collaboration between all participants - regardless of the software used.
Markus Weber, President of "Bauen digital Schweiz", drew the following conclusion after the two-day event: "BIM has definitely arrived in the Swiss construction industry. I hope that politicians will recognize the opportunities and now quickly create the right framework conditions".
Dates - also for the security industry
At the safety trade fair in Zurich-Oerlikon, BIM will be the topic of the accompanying congress, with a focus on the industry: On Thursday, November 16, 2017, it will be called "BIM - new impetus for safety".. For example, the question is addressed as to whether BIM is useful in risk assessment. But it also shows where BIM supports fire protection planning. The answer to the question should also be interesting: How are safety-relevant trades implemented with BIM and to what depth? And finally, the individual safety company should be interested: How do our data get into the digital building?
The third Swiss BIM Congress will take place in Basel on November 8 and 9, 2018.
