Mixing BIM and Geospatial at GEOBIM 2019

Three weeks ago, I attended and spoke at GEOBIM 2019, a conference which bore the theme "Digital Engineering Driving Innovations." The conference is a product of Geospatial Media & Communications and is part of a series of related forums globally, and my company Hexagon (through my subsidiary Leica Geosystems) was a co-sponsor of the event. The conference goal was to initiate dialogues "across the geospatial and the Building Information Modelling (BIM) community for utilizing integrated solutions, i.e. spatial technologies and BIM – duly augmented by digital technologies (Internet of Things, Cloud, Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality, Big Data Analytics) etc., to intelligently and efficiently model construction projects."

I was part of a panel moderated by Henk Schloten of GEODAN entitled, "Monetizing Investments in GEOBIM," which was presented as two halves, "Where is the Money?", and "GEOBIM: Why Invest Today?"

GEOBIM: Where is the Money?

Luke Cooper of ARUP showed the way to monetizing investments in GEOBIM by outlining the innovative ways ARUP is both applying and creating technology at the intersection of Geospatial and BIM to add value for themselves and their customers. Especially impressive is the generosity of spirit with which these innovations are shared with the broader community.

Joana Meneres Pimentel de Melo and Alberto Avecilla Garcia of Sacyr Construction showed how investment focused on information usable in the field on vast civil works projects leads to return on investment. Again, their innovations like those from ARUP combined off-the-shelf software with bespoke solutions custom-fit to their business needs.

GEOBIM: Why Invest Today?

In the second half of the panel, I explored the reasons why the time to invest is now along with Michele Positano of Colas and Oliver Beurkler of FARO Technologies. I do believe the thesis statement: the time to invest in GEOBIM technologies is in fact today.

First, the statement that today is the slowest pace of change you will experience is true: if you think the pace of change and innovation will slow down for you to catch up - think again! Further, the combination of a talent shortage and a vastly expanded set of available, connected technologies sets the table for short-term ROI in the form of reduced waste (material and labor), increased safety, and improved quality. The potential impact on operations in the field is nothing short of transformational.

Other Panels

Several other panels and presentations stood out from the others for me as listed below - in no particular order:

As part of the kick-off, Bram Mommers, CDO of Arcadis, summarized his views on critical elements of a Digital Twin, including the application of IoT, integrated BIM and GIS across the built asset lifecycle, and a focus on the User Experience. He also showed results of a study indicating the rapidly accelerating investment technology in the space, with more than double the spend to $18B in the 2013-2018 period, as compared to $9B in the previous five-year timeframe. Theo Agelopoulos of Autodesk and Jeroen van Winden of ESRI showed how their industry partnership has taken hold since its announcement only two years ago.

In a panel on the Integrated Digital Built Environment, Thomas Gilbert of Newcastle University did a great job summarizing the similarities and differences between IFC, CityGML and LandInfra. I expect to see further work in this regard through the development of plain-language use cases that industry and technology providers can take forward.

Paulus Eckhardt of Ballast Nedam led a panel of several construction firms and technology providers regarding "BIM 2 Field," where examples were provided by Ballast Nedam and Heijmans regarding the application of technologies in the field. Much of the benefit stemmed from the application of drone, or Unmanned Airborne System (UAS) technologies and from incorporating Reality Capture information with BIM and GIS data.

The conference closed with a Women in BIM panel led by Vicki Reynolds of Multiplex. In this panel, Vicki, Sreelatha Chanduri of BAM Group, Marina Machado of Erasmus Universiteit, and Joana Meneres Pimentel de Melo told their stories of how they achieved success in BIM and Construction. The variety of backgrounds and perspectives was amazingly broad, but the one thing that stuck in my mind was perseverance - each of these women had overcome obstacles ranging from language barriers to male-centric working cultures.

Summary

In all, this conference holds much the feel of an academic symposium, but in a way that engages industry firms and technology providers in fruitful information exchange. I hope to be back next year ready to both contribute and learn again.

Matt

#digitalconstruction #gis #bim #geobim2019