Augmented Reality to maximize the efficiency of the digital twin

BIM files series: 3D @ Probim

By Mouna Drira, BIM Manager at Probim.

Introduction by Caroline Zigrand, COO at GenieVision

This blog post is the first in our ongoing series entitled “The BIM [email protected]”. You’ll hear the GenieVision partners and customers share their BIM insights and ideas in these articles.

Our first guest blogger is Mouna Drira, BIM Manager @Probim in France. Probim is a team of engineers and architects who rely on a digital model based on digital innovation and new technologies to meet the design and construction needs of buildings.

Mouna believes that BIM has proven its value in the design phase, and now sees the value of relying on digital models to monitor construction, anticipate the implementation of predictive maintenance, and ensure the monitoring and wealth management of buildings.

Here is her contribution to the AR revolution in BIM.

CONSTRUCTION BIM – Innovation and experience

When it comes to BIM, every business is different. The needs and use cases vary according to the size and scope of the projects (hospital, residential, industrial …) and the type of work (new construction, rehabilitation, renovation). The BIM must also meet the objectives of the client’s MOA (Maîtrise d’Ouvrage – Project Management). A better understanding of the overall objectives will contribute massively to the overall success of the project.

Our work focuses on using our expertise to help the client’s MOA/project manager overcome these obstacles and take full advantage of the BIM benefits in their construction projects. By adopting an integrated approach to technology and partners, Probim implements a BIM process that is fully adapted to the specific needs and requirements of each customer. That is how we can ensure complete control over a smooth production process, fully coordinated according to the digital model outline. The Probim offer:

• AMO BIM (BIM project management assistance for the client)
• BIM management of construction projects in the design and implementation phase
• BIM deployment in companies and architectural agencies
• BIM Operations and Maintenance Management
• Modelling
• Immersive 3D film
• Studio VR
• Training in BIM tools, modelling, and visualisation software for the digital model
• As-built verification

Because of our personalised approach, each project comes with specific requirements and complexities. For example, what type of building is the client building? Is it a hospital, a residential unit, or an office building? Different projects require different approaches – there is no one-size-fits-all solution.

Customer requirements are identified, and then a team with different and complementary specialties gets assigned to the project. Each of these project managers has different technical skill sets and uses different technologies and tools.

We are always looking for those technological innovations that support our expertise and drive all the different components of the project forward.

Explore next-level BIM with Probim

Probim is used to meeting the requirements of clients and never shies away from new questions.

Let’s take the example of a project for which we used GenieVision. One project owner requested we first verify the progress of the construction process in relation to the digital model and then check if the BIM model complied with the as-built so they could use it in the future for operational maintenance. Our role as AMO BIM partner was to ensure the accuracy of the digital model on site and the handling of the subcontractors. Was the status of the work conducted and equipment used conform with the reporting information linked to it?

The management of operational maintenance in BIM depends on the final deliverable of BIM construction. This digital model will be the support and starting point for the BIM GEM (Gestion Exploration Maintenance or Management Exploration Maintenance). This means that the graphic, numerical stats, and the data that are linked to it must be reliable and subject to non-stop rigorous control.

We’re committed to meeting the challenges of customers, which is why every year we choose to participate in BIM World to discover the latest technological advances and exchange experiences with our partners.  One edition, we were looking for an accurate way to monitor digital models on site and assess on-site construction progress. The purpose of these audits is to provide the MOA with a way to monitor the construction and production of the final deliverable – consisting of both the building and its digital twin – and to ensure that the work is carried out in the most optimal way possible.

The goal? Maximise the efficiency of the work done on the BIM by leveraging the digital twin.

Our range of software solutions allowed Probim to carry out our customer offering, but it did not allow on-site evaluation of the digital model with the expected fluidity, reliability, and accuracy.   We needed a tool that would allow the model to be superimposed on the site. We needed Augmented Reality (AR) technology – and we needed it to be reliable and accurate.  At BIM World, we found what we were looking for: GenieVison and its Augmented Reality AR BIM application.

Augmented Reality for BIM – verification, not manipulation

The data entered in the digital model is crucial for both the construction and the operation of the building. Verification of the accuracy and precision of the modelled and rendered information of the BIM is essential. It is the task of Probim to scrutinously check the location and the deviation of the equipment to the most precise cm and compare the accuracy of the information provided to what is built on site.

Using the GenieVision augmented reality (AR) app, Probim has achieved that demanding level of accuracy of the digital twin. The AR provides us with a simple and easy-to-use tool for the as-built model while providing illustrated evidence for better collaboration and rendering optimised for business and MOA.

The verification is carried out by superimposing the digital model onto the building rendered in the GenieVision application embedded on the tablet. The comparison will detect and reveal discrepancies, failures between the reality of the site and the 3D model. After this audit, Probim drafts a report that highlights the discrepancies and lists localised remarks on the model in BCF format.

Our team verifies the conformity of the built building with the “digital twin” on site and throughout several stages and milestones of the worksite.  The use of AR technology allows Probim to compare the plan to the work done on site, without interfering with any of the project management.

Based on the outcome result of this industrial project use case, we see great potential for the use of AR for BIM in projects such as hospital buildings.

The future of BIM and the industry

We are noticing a clear evolution in the acceptability of the changes in working methods in construction technology.

Project managers (architects, design offices) who were previously reluctant to apply these methods, now see the value of relying on them to carry out studies, to decide on constructability, to evaluate energy performance, as well as assess the financial aspects and essential communication lines of the project. This is the new generation that carries this evolution in working methodology. This is the generation that grasps the potential and value of adopting and investing in new technology.

Let me conclude by quoting the architect and urban planner Fernand Pouillon: “The construction site is the way to make everyone think together, it is the way to make everyone participate in the value of the building.” I believe that in this present-day BIM is the way to get everyone together to participate in the value of the building.

“The as-built must perfectly reflect the reality of the building in all its components. Applying AR on the 3D model, proved to be the powerful and reliable tool we needed.”

 

“We immediately saw the impact of the application of this AR technology onto BIM. Within a week, we were up and running and could immediately spot, report and correct the digital model. Our client was satisfied with our methods, the Probim team was delighted with such a professional partner as GenieVision.”

Mouna Drira, BIM Manager @ Probim