Digitalization and BIM are the hot topics now in many levels. Lots of hype and talk are around the topic. Like, Mr Philip Jackson said in Tampere InfraBIM Open Key note speech on January, every time you open a new door in the path of digital engineering you will have more new questions ahead of you. As a public client – in my work in the Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency – I am often facing the question: “What are the real benefits of open BIM? Are they too ambitious in real world?” Especially the question is mentioned with the high level of voice when the project is in urgent busy phase before deadline and the new way of working – BIM is seen as a burden.
EU BIM Task Group – the collaboration group of European public government organizations www.eubim.eu – defined that the potential benefits of using open BIM in the European construction sector is huge. Reports* forecast that the wider adoption of BIM will unlock 15–25% savings to the global infrastructure market by 2025. If the wider adoption of BIM cross Europe delivered 10% savings to the construction sector then an additional €130 billion would be generated for the €1.3 trillion**. The full benefits of Open BIM will be reached, when the information of the built environment is sailing through the life cycle without borders, and is fully computer readable and in open use by all partners in the life cycle process.
BuildingSMART International (bSI – www.buildingsmart.org) is the non-profit organization fighting for open BIM – called also the home of open BIM. The organization is a worldwide network getting industry and users together – bSI is divided to regional Chapters. BuildingSMART Nordic (bSN) is the Nordic regional chapter consisting of Finland, Sweden, Denmark, Estonia, Lithuania and Latvia. Countries in bSN are working in co-operation and exchanging information related to the best practices in the field of Open BIM and they combine forces in the international standardization projects inside bSI. BSN representatives meet regularly with different themes and have common seminars for hot topics.
As the chair of buildingSMART Nordic Chapter I am really happy to see Lithuania as an active member of the Nordic Open BIM family. Digital construction – Skaitmenine statyba – is making important work in coordinating the digitalization process of Lithuanian construction. The path to the big success is just in the beginning and not ending soon. Open BIM is like the marathon, you have to run long time smoothly towards the goal, but after the first race you feel extremely good and desire more.
I warmly welcome You all to the journey of Open BIM – Sveikas!
Tarmo Savolainen, Chairman of the BuildingSMART Nordic, Development manager InfraBIM of Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency
* BCG, Digital in Engineering and Construction, 2016; McKinsey, Construction Productivity, 2017
** FIEC, Annual Report, 2017
