With the increasing degree of digitization, the chances of the construction industry anchoring their solutions in the plans of the architects and thus being advertised as a lead product more often increase. In addition, information about availability and delivery times can be added more easily. However, according to BIM expert Matthias Uhl, the degree of digitization in the construction industry is still lagging behind other sectors, depending on the size of the company. “BIM represents one of the greatest opportunities of the last decades. From the design to the operation of the building, processes and steps can be mapped more efficiently, cheaply and transparently. But building material manufacturers now have to digitally prepare and provide their data for this,” states Uhl, who has developed a BIM solution for manufacturers with BIM & More Orchestra. He gives three reasons why manufacturers now have to prepare their product portfolio digitally and provide planners and architects with BIM data.
Firstly, the construction and real estate industries are already digital
The degree of digitization of the large construction and real estate companies in Germany has reached a significant level in the past two years. The big players in the industry such as Drees & Sommer, Goldbeck or ZECH together make up a large proportion of the total planning volume. They have now become so digitized that they are increasingly dependent on digital products. “Out of necessity, they fall back on the products that are available in the leading planning programs with the appropriate level of detail,” explains Uhl. Building material manufacturers must realize that they only exist in the digital cosmos if they are digitally visible. Especially in view of the delivery and material bottlenecks, digital visibility is more important than ever for planners to check prices and availability beyond technical specifications.
Second: All future trends have a digital component
Construction methods and trends are increasingly developing out of digitalization. Uhl: “Whether modular construction, sustainability or prefabrication: all relevant ideas have a digital component. Without digitization in planning and implementation, it doesn’t work at all.” This also suggests that manufacturers now have to deliver their data digitally if they want to participate in the megatrends or want to shape them. With the amount of data, the possible combinations increase for planners and offices, with which not only new structural solutions can be found. In addition, alternatives become visible in the event of other unavailabilities.
“Let’s take a look at the sustainability megatrend using the example of the Building Circularity Passport in the coalition agreement,” says Uhl, giving another example from climate protection. With the Building Circularity Passport, the federal government has anchored the topic of circular economy as a mandatory element for the future in the coalition agreement. Only access to transparent product information allows consideration of recyclability. The circular economy does not work without information on the material composition, manufacturing method, service life, repairability and recycling options of the products. “Product information forms the basis for a transition to a circular economy,” says Uhl. There are no laws yet, but they will come soon. The first municipalities in Germany want to introduce the Building Circularity Passport for their new buildings, regardless of the legislation. Any new school, kindergarten or office building will require products whose recyclability has been assessed, calculated and certified.
Third: the complexity of the planning processes is increasing and with it the need for data
Another reason for the provision of BIM data: The requirements for planning processes and thus for planners in terms of verification and calculations are becoming more and more complex. Planners and architects are therefore increasingly open to support from industry. “While today evidence of circular economy plays an increasingly important role, it used to be physical building requirements such as energy consumption, for example in the Energy Saving Ordinance (EnEV), in passive house calculations or energy-plus house concepts. These topics require a new level of data volume and information quality on the part of the planner,” explains Uhl. This need would continue to grow. This circumstance also requires the industry to make data available digitally now. “Product information from the industry has never been more popular than it is today. It has never been easier for manufacturers to gain acceptance from planners,” sums up the BIM data expert.
