CU1811

CASE study
The right prescription
StreamBIM enables Helse Bergen Health Authority in Norway to manage an all-inclusive
construction project
In the last issue we looked at
StreamBIM, one of the latest
technologies attempting to widen
access to the information in 3D BIMs,
making it available across all mobile
platforms as well as laptops and
workstations. The ultimate benefits were
the widening of the communication
channels across building sites, the
availability of up-to-date information
sooner, and the ability to make critical,
on-the-spot decisions to facilitate more
efficient construction processes.
StreamBIM is now being used in the
development of a hospital in Bergen,
Norway, the home of the software
application's developers. The health trust
in question, Helse Bergen, believes that
the future of hospital construction
requires digital interaction, such as
LEAN/VDC, and 4D, regarding them as
important tools in the construction
industry, and foresees that adoption by
some of the biggest main contractors will
provide much impetus to the
development of the technology.
As one of the health trusts in the
Western Norway Regional Health
Authority, Helse Bergen has changed
legal commitments in the contracts,
enforcing the use of BIM software,
documentation and processes for all
companies awarded contracts within the
health trust. Sykehusbygg, the stateowned
hospital builder in Norway, has
reinforced that decision, and is also
implementing a new national strategy:
open BIM for all future public-owned
hospitals, both of them choosing
StreamBIM as their partnering software.
"When we started planning the new
hospital in 2006, we started by using
paper drawings. Since then, both the
team's knowledge and BIM software
technology itself has improved, and we
have reached a maturity level now where
we can digitise the entire project," says
project manager Kristian Brandseth,
who has worked with the BUS project
since 2007.
OPEN BIM REDUCES COSTS
The idea of a paperless construction site
is not new, and is the aspiration of many
companies within the industry. It was
discussed as a possibility right at the
start of the BUS project. It found
particular resonance here, however,
because similar large projects had a
history of document related problems
and an enormous amount of money was
wasted on the production of paper
drawings. "Paper drawings need to be
reprinted each time there's an update
and distributed from the printing office to
the on-site office. We needed to update
these drawings frequently during the
week and then cater for the fact that
users on-site didn't have access to the
latest updates. We did not want a project
like that," says Brandseth.
"I would not be surprised if we spent
more than NOK 10 million for just printing
and distributing paper drawings. We have
approximately 200 drawings, which are
updated every second week. We are
talking about 25,000 drawings over a fiveyear
period."
OPEN BIM COST SAVINGS
Kristian believes that one of the biggest
benefits of using open 3D BIM software
in a fully digitalised construction process
is to aid every team member in doing
their work, because everyone has access
to the same revisions of the 3D model
and drawings. Time is money, and
because StreamBIM is able to process
the models in real-time using streaming
technology, everyone in the project can
access the same information as soon as
it's published. Project users don't need to
sync models, or to prepare them for use -
they just have to log in on their device to
access the federated 3D BIM model and
the digital drawings. "Just think of the
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November/December 2018