08 Jul Building Information Modelling: The Foundation to a More Efficient Project Lifecycle and Sustainable Civil Infrastructure
08 July 2021: Considering South Africa’s civil infrastructure needs, which are sure to mount as our young population grows and urbanises, it is vital for our civil engineers to keep their finger on the pulse of technological developments, which can aid in the provision of quality and sustainable infrastructure. Continuous Professional Development (CPD) opportunities are a valuable way to expose the civil engineering community to innovative methods for project planning, design, and implementation.
Aligned to this, the South African Institute of Civil Engineers (SAICE) recently offered a CPD webinar sponsored by Peri, in collaboration with Autodesk Gold Partner and BIM Technology Consultants, Baker Baynes – who specialise in BIM implementation and associated BIM software training. SAICE members had an exclusive opportunity to learn about Building Information Modelling (BIM) and the intelligent efficiency it offers to infrastructure development.
Kuben Govender, a member of the SAICE IT division kicked off the event: “SAICE’s mission is to provide for the engineering interests and needs of its members, to facilitate sustainable skills and professional development in the sector.” He introduced the presenter, Shuaib Yunos, Baker Baynes’ BIM Technical Specialist for Civil Infrastructure and Mining. Yunos presented on the details of BIM, the power and potential it holds, and the rationale for its use. He also covered a range of case studies both globally and in South Africa, where BIM has been leveraged to help facilitate a smooth project lifecycle.
Demystifying BIM
Yunos explained that BIM is an intelligent 3D model-based process – not a software package – which offers architecture, engineering, and construction professionals the insights and tools to more efficiently plan, design, construct and manage buildings and infrastructure. “It offers a common data environment for various role-players to collaborate on, throughout the lifecycle of a project. BIM supports the creation of intelligent data, which can be helpful in solving many of the pain points experienced on construction projects.” He cited seven key challenges facing South African civil infrastructure development as:
- Increased design complexity as firms strive to meet the needs of a changing landscape.
- Design errors due to the capture of inaccurate data.
- Project overruns on time and budget.
- Lack of effective cross-team collaboration.
- Difficulty transitioning from 2D to 3D models.
- Project management difficulties with scheduling and forecasting.
- Failure to maximise existing resources to become more profitable.
“We want to encourage the digital transformation of the civil infrastructure industry, and BIM is the way to do it. Making use of one centralised model aids with cross-team collaboration – and in some cases, cross-continent collaboration, too,” said Yunos. He cited an example in Morocco, where multiple teams from three different continents worked together to design and build a 950-metre, cable-stayed bridge comprising two 200-metre high arched towers, two sets of 20 pairs of parallel multi-strand stay cables. In South Africa, he explained how a BIM convergence workflow was used by CONCO Energy Solutions on the construction of Kangnas Wind Farm in the Northern Cape.
Demonstrating the true value of CPD opportunities such as this webinar, Yunos’ presentation was followed by a powerful Q&A session, which saw the event extended and accredited for further CPD points. Attendees were interested to learn more about the full functionalities of BIM, how to start implementing it in their workflows, and how to influence colleagues and sub-contractors to adopt BIM processes. He concluded by sharing industry and Baker Baynes resourses and considerations to start your BIM journey, and went on to add that “BIM is scalable, but it each organisation would have to first understand which problems they want to solve”.
“Thanks goes to PERI, sponsor of the webinar and well-known provider of innovative construction products. We also thank our willing presenter Shuaib Yunos and Baker Baynes for sharing their knowledge, and of course our members for their interest and dedication to furthering the civil engineering industry,” concluded Govender.