Construction contractor as a central instance for digital automated construction documentation

Funders: Ministeriums für Heimat, Kommunales, Bau und Gleichstellung des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen, Projektgruppe Innovatives Bauen

Project term: 12/2021 bis 12/2023

In the life cycle of buildings, a large amount of information is both required and generated by different stakeholders at different points in time. Unfortunately, the information generated - sometimes incompletely - is only available to individual stakeholders to a very limited extent or in isolation. Information management and data consistency in the life cycle of buildings is currently hardly practised in Germany and an efficient, appropriate and sustainable planning, construction, operation and dismantling of buildings is massively impeded. Social challenges, such as the better design of sustainability, also need to be overcome.

The technical feasibility of using standardised markings from other sectors for building products and the use of barcodes, DataMatrix and/or RFID as ICT tools (information and communication technologies) in the construction and real estate industry have been investigated and proven in depth by the BIM Institute over the last ten years. The task now is to convince those involved in construction of the application of digital possibilities and to involve them in the process. At the same time, digital construction documentation is one of the most important BIM applications for private and public contractors.

The objective of the research project is to demonstrate the practical feasibility of data continuity with the goal of digital building documentation on real construction projects as a basis for achieving the "big" goals, such as sustainability, resource efficiency, traceability, etc., both on real construction sites and in the form of a so-called experimental lab "DigiBauDok". To this end, we will first examine how many of the building products from the trade have standardised labels. In parallel, it will be analysed which information is already available through the existing standardised labels and who currently provides them. Based on the results of the analysis, it will be worked out which of this information is relevant for the integration into building information models for which objective. In the next step, the role on the construction site responsible for linking the information to the building information models will be discussed with the practice. In parallel, an application developed for the logistics of the construction yard by the associated partner tabya GmbH, will be extended to include the logistics and installation processes as well as the coupling to building information models on the construction site. In parallel, the construction contractors of the associated partner, BAUWENS GmbH & CO. KG, as well as the associated partners, the Düsseldorf Chamber of Skilled Crafts and BAUVERBÄNDE.NRW, will be involved in the development and application process and the acceptance and manageability of the application will be evaluated by the responsible roles identified in advance. The application tested on the construction sites of BAUWENS GmbH & CO. KG will be documented by shooting a video. In addition, an experimental lab "DigiBaudok" will be made available to all interested parties to touch and use themselves, even beyond the project duration. The experimental lab will probably be set up and presented in the Utopiastadt on the Nordbahntrasse in Wuppertal.