Blog | OBJCT X : the solution for complicated design programs
Building Information Management, digital construction in proper Dutch, is rapidly gaining ground. Yet BIM is not yet the magic wand that solves all challenges. Design programmes are proving complicated. And in particular, managing and choosing from the thousands of assets is time-consuming in practice. Cadac is working on a solution: OBJCT X. A fast and accessible search engine with filters, like, for example, the big consumer webshops use. With easily shareable information. Cadac's Jr Product Owner Johan Verbrugge explains.
Johan Verbrugge likes to shop at Coolblue. Not directly because of the attractive prices or the promised service, but for the wide choice. 'Look,' he briefly runs through the website, 'more than 900 laptops for sale, 800 televisions. Stress of choice you might say. However the filters make searching easy. A few clicks and there are ten options left at most. That makes shopping fun and choices clear. Because with the filters you immediately get rid of a lot of ballast and you immediately find what you are looking for. That is also how a BIM program should work.'
Approachable BIMing
Comparing a digital BIM design programme to a white goods shop Coolblue. Daring. 'Why? A BIM model is also all about choices. In current models, this is unfortunately complicated. Searching the library is the same as leafing through a table of contents. Not wrong in itself, but a building consists of countless assets and therefore an endless table of contents. A facade alone consists of hundreds of components. All those assets can be found somewhere in the model. But where? And how do you find exactly what you are looking for? Finding your way around a BIM model is complicated. And that in turn means that working with BIM becomes something for specialists. For people who need an extra course. We think this puts a brake on BIM, the entry threshold becomes high.'
The power of BIM
Too high even, with which BIM as a magic wand is losing its power. Bad news, because it is precisely BIM that is widely seen as the innovation that can revive stagnant construction. Digital building should bring order to the construction process, from design to management. It should allow all parties, clients, designers, contractors, suppliers and executors, to work together in one digital building process. Which will reduce notorious failure costs and, by combining with industrial construction, minimise nitrogen emissions on site, one of the latest stumbling blocks to construction ambitions.
BIM knowledge distribution
‘A building structure is complex, data management complicated and specialised,' acknowledges Johan Verbrugge who studied Bouwkunde at The Hague University of Applied Sciences and then worked at several construction companies. 'Search and find is essential at every stage of construction. BIM may well be complicated at the back, but not at the front. Everyone in the sector must be able to deal with it. It should not be necessary for you, as a company, to specially train people to comprehend a BIM model. That costs time and money. And what if the specialist is not there or leaves? It is already so difficult to recruit staff. The complexity for the end user must be solved. Knowledge and usage should not depend on a few people. Every stakeholder and person involved in the project should be able to navigate through the model and find, display and share his/her assets.'
Simple sharing of assets
Within Cadac, we are working in a small innovation team on a plan called OBJCT X. The basis is a clear index in which all assets are captured. And on which the end user can click through to the smallest detail, from any pair of glasses. Here, supported live with a visual 3D representation. The selection can then be purposefully shared with stakeholders. 'Overview of assets is essential for the success of BIM. Purposeful visualisation prevents speech confusion. Each party can search the assets and make choices.'
Experience and conversations with builders show that a lot of time is now lost in searching, in meetings, in printing out overviews every time. 'Ad hoc working is common. Decisions are often postponed or vague orders are sent out. Resulting in wasted time and the risk of failure costs. Exactly what we no longer want. With the additional tool OBJCT X, sharing assets and communicating becomes child's play, as easy as operating an app in your phone'.
Circulair building
Understanding and overview of assets is crucial at every stage of the construction process, argues Johan Verbrugge. 'During design, construction and in the maintenance phase. Even at the end of life when demolition takes place. Circular construction is becoming standard, so it is useful to know which assets your building is made of and which can be reused. The more parties get involved, the better the cooperation.'
More information
The Cadac team is currently working on the further development of OBJCT X. Want to know more? Johan Verbrugge is happy to explain.
