Digitalisation, Infrastructure Expansion And The Pandemic

Frankfurt am Main, 20 September 2021. From planning and building to the operating phase, numerous people work together over the life cycle of a construction project. Throughout, digital technologies have an enormous potential for exactly coordinated timing, improved quality assurance and cost reductions.

Building information modelling (BIM) depicts the complete life cycle of a construction project: from the design and planning of a 3D model, via construction and operation, to final demolition. Thanks to the model, everyone involved in the project has access to digital plans, control of the various processes involved and extensive databases. Thus, all can work together in harmony. The prerequisite for companies wanting to tender for construction projects requiring BIM is the introduction of IT-aided processes and technologies, as well as the accumulation of the appropriate expertise.

Digitalisation by plan and with perspective The starting point for the digitalisation of the planning and construction sector is the phased plan of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), which called for the rollout of BIM by 2020. Since then, this process has been obligatory for infrastructure projects in Germany. When it comes to building construction, however, the BIM standard is less widely used. Although there are some major projects, such as the new hospital in Frankfurt Höchst and the head office of Volkswagen Financial Services in Braunschweig where the developers called for tenders with BIM as standard, the process is still the exception for most new and modernisation projects. Accordingly, the level of expertise is this field varies greatly on the planning side. While many planning offices and construction companies are still gathering initial experience with the new working methods, digital planning and building is already standard for others. A study by the accounting and auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) entitled ‘Digitalisierung der Bauindustrie 2020’ (Digitalisation in the Construction Industry 2020) published in December 2020 reveals the gap seen by many companies of the construction and building-planning sector between the potential and the level of expertise necessary for implementation: despite the obligation to use BMI for public infrastructure projects in the future, 68 percent of the construction companies polled rated their skills as having room for improvement. The situation on the planning side is similar: 73 percent regard the use of digital planning and construction processes as an opportunity but only 27 percent consider themselves to be skilled in this field.

Digitalisation by plan and with perspective

The starting point for the digitalisation of the planning and construction sector is the phased plan of Germany’s Federal Ministry of Transport and Digital Infrastructure (BMVI), which called for the rollout of BIM by 2020. Since then, this process has been obligatory for infrastructure projects in Germany. When it comes to building construction, however, the BIM standard is less widely used. Although there are some major projects, such as the new hospital in Frankfurt Höchst and the head office of Volkswagen Financial Services in Braunschweig where the developers called for tenders with BIM as standard, the process is still the exception for most new and modernisation projects. Accordingly, the level of expertise is this field varies greatly on the planning side. While many planning offices and construction companies are still gathering initial experience with the new working methods, digital planning and building is already standard for others. A study by the accounting and auditing company PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) entitled ‘Digitalisierung der Bauindustrie 2020’ (Digitalisation in the Construction Industry 2020) published in December 2020 reveals the gap seen by many companies of the construction and building-planning sector between the potential and the level of expertise necessary for implementation: despite the obligation to use BMI for public infrastructure projects in the future, 68 percent of the construction companies polled rated their skills as having room for improvement. The situation on the planning side is similar: 73 percent regard the use of digital planning and construction processes as an opportunity but only 27 percent consider themselves to be skilled in this field.