NDI Group Goes BIM!
Transparency in the construction process, saving time and money, and reducing the carbon footprint – there are many advantages of BIM (Building Information Modelling) technology. And even though the implementation of this modern methodology on construction projects can be time-consuming, NDI Group engineers have no doubt that it is worth it! They are already using it, for example in the construction of a multi-storey car park at the Kraków Music Centre, at the construction site for the city stadium in Katowice, or at the Municipal Waste Recycling Centre in Kraków.
“We are aware that BIM technology is the future of the construction industry, so we will gradually try to introduce it into as many of our projects as possible,” announces Marcin Lewandowski, Vice-President and Director of the Implementation Department at NDI. “Using this technology means benefits for the designer, the contractor, and the investor. And the more complex and unique the project, the greater these benefits can be. And we at NDI particularly like complex and ambitious projects.”
At this moment, NDI Group engineers are using Building Information Modelling, for example in the construction of the multi-storey car park at the Kraków Music Centre, where they are carrying out work based on a 3D model – saturated with the necessary information. As they claim, BIM enables them to have constant access to continuously updated information about the project, its costs and schedules.
Transparency and precision
“At the construction site of the multi-storey car park at the Kraków Music Centre, our model primarily serves the engineers, who can quickly and efficiently calculate, for example, the individual quantities of concrete that will be needed to be poured on a given day. This way they save time and do it with much greater accuracy,” explains Marcin Majta, BIM Manager at NDI. “Additionally, we want to use the model to ‘clean up’ any potential collisions between different disciplines. Such collisions sometimes occur in the 2D version. Meanwhile, 3D geometry is infallible. Our model allows us to detect and eliminate the collisions before they physically occur on site. And this, of course, saves time and money.”
As NDI Group specialists emphasise, modern BIM technology means full transparency in the construction process. It eliminates possible disputes over the amount of work done, work remaining to be done, and additional works not included in the project.
Additional time and quality
“For me personally, the biggest benefit of this technology is that supervisory staff can spend less time on the computer and focus more on monitoring the quality of work on site. Since BIM, for example, reduces the time spent on measuring the work done, settling the amount of work done and other such tasks,” says Marcin Majta from NDI.
The BIM Manager also announces that once the work on the car park in Kraków is completed, the 3D model, along with the as-built documentation, will be handed over to the investor. The investor will be able to use it during the stage of the facility’s operation.
Tribute to the environment
But NDI also uses BIM technology at the stage of designing – e.g. in the realisation of the Municipal Waste Recycling Centre for Miejskie Przedsiębiorstwo Oczyszczania in Kraków.
“We coordinate the design work in the 3D model, additionally ensuring that information is assigned there for further use in the construction works. In this case, designing using elements of the BIM methodology allows us to already look for opportunities for additional optimisation and efficiently calculate the profitability of possible replacement solutions,” explain NDI specialists.
Importantly, the use of elements of the BIM methodology also makes it possible at the design stage to estimate and calculate the carbon footprint that will be created during the construction of a given facility, thus allowing the design to be as environmentally sustainable as possible.
