Implementation of cloud platform provides just-in-time 2D and 3D models

With this, digital data flows on project and process management can be realized. At Van der Heijden, digitizing the organization is seen as an important and necessary innovation. "As a builder, you will more quickly qualify for interesting projects in a BIM environment if you have digitized the entire project management," explains Rens Hoevenaars, work planner at Van der Heijden. "With digital building information models, we make project information digitally visual for our partners, subcontractors and executives on the construction site." Construsoft guides and advises Van der Heijden construction and development in this transition to a digital working environment. 

Hoevenaars explains that Van der Heijden used to constantly encounter certain problems, such as miscommunication, inefficient use of time and wrong or incomplete information on the construction site. "We also notice that the construction industry is changing significantly. The lead time of the engineering process is changing, which includes placing the responsibility of engineering on the contractor more often than before. A contractor must be involved in the data flow as a construction partner as early as the design phase. This allows a contractor to influence detailing and execution methods." 

Consultants from software company Construsoft of Zevenaar conducted a pilot at Van der Heijden bouw en ontwikkeling on an ongoing project to introduce the organization to Trimble Connect. The implementation of this sharing platform ensures that project data contains correct, up-to-date information and is accessible just-in-time for all construction parties involved. "The entire construction team participated in this and was supervised on site by Construsoft for several weeks," Hoevenaars says. The workability of the software and the reactions of the team members after this pilot were very positive. "It turned out to be a user-friendly sharing platform that we quickly got the hang of. This summer we started using Trimble Connect with all project teams."

On the construction sites of Van der Heijden construction and development, 2D working drawings are still used, while engineering is partly carried out in 3D. The condition for implementing Trimble Connect was therefore that both current 2D and 3D information models must be available side by side.    

Hoevenaars explains that working with 2D drawings is excellent. "But, we find that it is difficult to mix 2D and 3D models. It's fine to engineer in both 2D and 3D, only 3D has the advantage that the model contains more information and is more clearly visualized." Currently, Van der Heijden has a mix of parties working with 2D and 3D models. And they also work with 2D and 3D on the construction site. "Getting 2D drawings and 3D models to communicate with each other is not complicated, but it is laborious for the modeler, draftsman and work planner.

My aim is therefore to engineer all models in 3D and to use the 2D drawings for task-oriented work on the construction site, where 3D models are not yet sufficient." There is no hard deadline for this yet, but Hoevenaars is convinced that if constant attention is paid to this, he will get more and more parties on board. "Information flows are growing enormously fast in a relatively short period of time. For me as a work planner, it is important that the most up-to-date information is always available to every party, so that work can be done with the right documents. Because you check for clashes in advance, you minimize the chance of errors in practice. This reduces our failure costs."

The transition to a BIM environment has done the company no favors. "Meanwhile, clients who want to realize a project executed in BIM already know how to find us. If this client-driven trend continues, we choose to go along with it. For example, by preparing the company step by step for 4D and 5D developments," Hoevenaars states. "We are already implementing 5D calculating and are looking at to what extent the 4D plans can help us in the future."