In early December, the Autodesk University Annual Conference was held in Las Vegas. Close to 10 000 architects, engineers and designers attended the conference to find out about the latest technologies and developments in BIM- Building Information Modelling. The investments Cibes Lift Group have made in BIM since 2014 were highlighted during the conference. The fact that Cibes made the company’s platform and cabin lifts freely available as digital BIM objects was held up as an example of how technology can save time, reduce costs and simplify the design of intelligent lift solutions.
In front of several thousand people at Autodesk University, Michael Thydell from Sweco Architects Sweden took up Cibes as an example of how an innovative lift company could use BIM to create added value at the regulatory level. BIM was established as a concept in the early 2000s and it is estimated it will save billions in the Swedish construction sector through more efficient construction processes, as well as lower costs for building operations. Michael Thydell felt that developments in the use of BIM had entered a new phase which heralded the arrival of new forces and opportunities.
“Today we are in the middle of a global explosion in the use of BIM. A lot has previously been said about how BIM can save immense amounts in, for instance, construction and now increasing demands have been made that the industry must embrace these technological advantages. In England, regulations have been introduced on the use of BIM and the same will soon happen in Germany. In Sweden there are several large construction and real estate companies who impose BIM requirements for major construction projects. Basically, this should have happened earlier as BIM provides huge profits. Estimates show cost savings of up to 15% of the construction value in large Projects, and considerably more than that in the management phase when a building is completed,” asserted Michael Thydell.
If BIM is to have an impact it is essential that large numbers of companies embrace the technology and also take initiatives to increase use. Michael Thydell describes it as creating an unbroken information chain and moving the focus to an earlier stage in the construction process. This is when opportunities are created to save money and time, but also to come up with new smart (lift) solutions.
“Companies that understand the opportunities here have an advantage today, and this also applies to Cibes. The development of BIM is moving so fast globally it is an exciting parallel to Cibes’ international expansion. Cibes is increasing its number of BIM objects and may also provide a design package with even greater opportunities to tailor lift solutions, that is really exciting,” adds Michael.