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“Residents of the Rottekade in Rotterdam were afraid that when the Rottemerentunnel is put into operation, the headlights of cars entering the tunnel might shine into their living rooms.” Speaking is Michel Dekker, BIM manager at Infranea.
“From BIM we generated 360˚ images, which represented in simulation that there would be no glare. This brought -as far as this aspect is concerned- peace of mind to the residents, who already have enough to contend with due to the insurmountable fact that the construction pit is close to the houses. For us, this demonstrated once again that the combination of BIM and virtualization is not only powerful in the design and execution process, but extends much wider.”
Online, a route information map can be requested, publicly. At its basis are Google Maps and an overlay projected from BIM. Michel: “The BIM model is leading in creating such panoramas. XKP provides the beautiful renders based on 3D models we supplied from BIM. At De Groene Boog, we now know how to use BIM for numerous purposes. So not only standard for detecting clashes and integration, but also for virtualization for all kinds of purposes. The digital twin of the Rottemer Tunnel, the TWIN16, also has the BIM model as its source. We can even virtually test the tunnel from the control buildings. To get to the 3D model in BIM, we had baseline deliveries.”
The TWIN16 can also be used for peripheral issues: “For example, we can place objects, such as windmills, and see what their impact is visually. Shadow effects, reflection of sunlight, clouds, rain ... everything can be simulated. You can view the visualizations from any perspective, including from the position of the car driver. Everything hinges on a structured system of data management. Let that be one of Infranea's specialties.”
During the design phase, at peak times, some 250 users simultaneously used the digital system BIM Collab, hosted at BESIX. “All revisions are stored and are retrievable and traceable. Files are given a status and employees can call each other to account for actions. This system has been fully adopted by the entire De Groene Boog construction consortium. Not only useful in the design phase, but also in execution. At the basis of this is BIM,” Michel outlines. “All disciplines talk to each other. There is a log of clashes between disciplines, linked to the right roles and parties. In this way, solutions can be worked on together. Clashes are quickly insightful, so we prevent problems by working together at the front of the chain. We literally build bridges with it, between digital islands.”
“BIM is also a single source of truth for GIS. In ARCGIS, we have brought together the best of both worlds. GIS contains geotechnical information, natural areas et cetera. From BIM, we brought information about project A16 Rotterdam into GIS as 3D data. I am convinced that in the future we will no longer talk about GIS or BIM, but about information management. From our DMS system, we have agreed on using the same substrates and data. We have shared our single source of truth data with each other. We are proud of that!”
The common thread in everything is systems engineering. “Thinking logically, working and putting information in the right place, that's what it's all about. We work with Relatics for this purpose. In it, the entire project is set up in ‘object trees’. This allows you to make everything clear down to the bolt and nut level, despite the size of the project, without having to search or getting lost in the system.” And in conclusion, “This only works if you have ambassadors within your project. We do it together with shared passion.”
