5D BIM in municipal road building

The seventh semester project work on infrastructure in the Department of Project Management/Civil Engineering at Biberach University of Applied Sciences dealt with the implementation of a BIM process in road construction. The project, called 5D BIM in municipal road construction, aimed to programme a configurator for construction automation in road construction. For this purpose, the ten-member group of the Bachelor's degree programme in Construction Project Management used a municipal road project from the region. Antonstraße, located in the centre of Sigmaringen, served as an example. The locally based engineering firm Langenbach GmbH provided the planning documents. In conjunction with the engineering firm, the students created and tested the BIM process, including the necessary software architecture. The road (Antonstraße) to be planned was modelled in card_1, the integration of times and costs was carried out with the thinkproject solution DESITE BIM and the students used the product customX from the company of the same name as a configurator.

For the project work, the team defined a Common Data Environment (CDE). This is the central storage location for the model file, the schedule and the bill of quantities. Not only can all data be stored in an up-to-date version in a CDE and thus always be available to all project participants, but the processes for quality assurance, internal scheduling and project management as well as coordination and collaboration between surveyors, planners, contractors and clients can be modeled. In the BIM methodology, this central location is key, because the methodology thrives on the fact that there are no different levels of information, but that all project participants have the same understanding of the project at all times. Therefore, when modelling, all data such as lines, points, symbols, tables and lists must be carefully tagged with codes and uniform, standardised labels.

In light of the long-term benefits, BIM processes and digitalisation are therefore an essential innovation for all those involved in the project, and serve as the basis for well-oiled transport routes in the long run. In addition to the functionality of the software architecture, the implementation process is based on both the training of employees re BIM and the definition of responsibilities throughout the process within the various disciplines of planning, cost calculation, scheduling and project management. With their work, the students also presented what a prototype for a partially automated modelling process in road construction could look like. The project group has recorded a precise overview of the project's individual work steps on video.