First the digital twin. Will VIM technologies become mandatory in Ukraine?

Ukraine is studying the possibility of adapting the experience of leading European countries in the mandatory implementation of virtual construction of objects that are being renovated with budget funds. The draft law on this is already ready for the second reading. After its adoption, 80% of construction companies will switch to using this technology.

This is reported by RBC-Ukraine with reference to the speech of the head of the Verkhovna Rada Committee on the Organization of State Power, Local Self-Government, Regional Development and Urban Planning, head of the Servant of the People party Olena Shulyak, commenting on the study on the implementation of BIM technologies in the countries of the European Union, published by the EU Commission.

According to her, we are talking about BIM technologies that involve the implementation of building information modeling. This is virtual construction of an object, which can be implemented long before its actual completion. It details all the physical, technical, technological, time, environmental and cost characteristics of the object.

“Back in July 2022, in the first reading, the parliament supported the corresponding draft law – No. 6383. After its adoption, the use of BIM technologies, including the calculation of the cost of the life cycle of the object, if it is built with budget funds or under state guarantees, will become mandatory in to Ukraine. If we can implement it, as international experience shows, up to 80% of construction companies will start working according to the new rules,” she explained Shulyak added that currently draft law No. 6383 is ready for the second reading.

She explained that currently Ukraine is actively studying the possibilities of adapting the experience of such countries as Estonia, France, Germany, the Netherlands and Ireland to the new digital regime in construction. In each of them, the use of VIM technologies has its own characteristics.

Estonia

Estonia's renowned digital innovations in construction are evident through its BIM-based building permit system and e-construction platform. BIM is widely used here at all stages of the building life cycle and is fundamental to the fully digitalized building permit process in Estonia.

“BIM has been successfully integrated into the Estonian education and training system. The country maintains high indicators, exceeding the EU average, in the field of vocational training. The tool is used in the country at all stages of the public project life cycle. In addition, BIM is being adopted by an increasing number of construction companies in Ireland. The private sector in Estonia is actively involved in the dissemination and implementation of BIM practices. In the context of the BIM-based application process, a permanent cooperation between public and private stakeholders has been developed,” said the Chair of the Urban Planning Committee.

She added that the vision for Estonia's construction sector by 2035 is an environmentally sustainable and efficient sector that is at the forefront of new technological solutions. The country strategy sets out actions and initiatives involving both the public and private sectors, including upskilling the workforce, promoting the use of BIM, and using public procurement as a tool for digitalisation and increasing the sustainability of the construction sector.

“The country has been actively using BIM for several years, demonstrating its commitment to digital innovation in construction practice. Estonia's implementation of the BIM-based building permit process is recognised worldwide as a best practice, demonstrating the country's advanced approach to digitalisation,” Shuliak stressed.

Germany

According to Shulyak, this country is one of the first member states to develop a national BIM strategy. Back in 2015, it developed the “BIM Stufenplan” as a roadmap that formed the path for the gradual implementation of BIM in public works. In addition, relevant implementation roadmaps for individual industries were published.

“The implementation of pilot public BIM projects was launched in 2017. In the subsequent process, starting in 2021, public procurement rules and guidelines were developed, which made the use of BIM mandatory in several public projects. As a result, by 2023, approximately 70% of construction companies in Germany were using BIM at various levels. Most of these companies are architects and design companies,” said Olena Shulyak.

She added that the German government, in collaboration with stakeholders from industry and academia, has developed various national templates and standards to support and promote the use of BIM in public works. In addition, in an effort to accelerate the digital transformation of the construction sector and the adoption of BIM, Germany has mobilized a significant amount of public funding, emphasizing support for the digitization of construction SMEs and the upgrading of German professionals.

Since 2021, the use of BIM has become mandatory in the design and construction phase of federal public works projects in the fields of transport, construction, energy, etc. In October 2022, the German federal government launched a new BIM portal, which provides a number of tools to support public authorities in publishing technical specifications for BIM construction projects that have been tendered.

Ireland

Ireland, Shulyak emphasized, is considered the first country to adopt BIM, as the country prioritized the transition to BIM since 2014, established a National BIM Council and developed a national BIM roadmap in 2017. In Ireland, the use of BIM is not mandatory, although BIM is widely used in public projects of various types and is adopted by approximately 76% of Irish construction companies.

“The Irish authorities are constantly working on the implementation of international BIM standards and the development of new technical parameters and data components in accordance with the needs of the Irish market. Currently, the country is developing special national BIM templates and recommendations within the framework of the Build Digital project,” noted Olena Shulyak.

She added that to accelerate the digital transformation of the construction sector and the implementation of BIM, the Irish state provides financial support, emphasizing the acceleration of the digitization of construction enterprises and supporting the upskilling of professionals in architecture, engineering, construction and operations.

Furthermore, in Ireland, BIM has long been integrated into the education and training system. In addition, the country, with a share of 15%, is one of the leading Member States in terms of participation of construction sector professionals in vocational training programs.

BIM is integrated throughout the life cycle of various public assets (buildings, infrastructure, etc.) in Ireland. The Irish government supports continuous collaboration with industry and academia on the implementation of BIM. This has enabled the joint creation of a national BIM roadmap, the Build Digital Project and related joint initiatives, which have accelerated the implementation of BIM.

Netherlands

The Netherlands, Shulyak reported, has achieved one of the highest BIM implementation rates in the world. This was facilitated by the national BIM roadmap, which considered BIM as an information management tool rather than a modeling tool, and promoted data exchange and the use of open standards.

“In the Netherlands, the use of BIM is mandatory only for large-scale public projects. At the same time, even in cases where BIM is not mandatory, this technology is present in 80% of general projects. Even despite the lack of strict legislative requirements, BIM is widely used at the design, construction, operation and maintenance stage of public projects,” Shulyak said.

In the Netherlands, she added, the state supported various research projects, which in most cases were developed as joint initiatives between industry and the public sector. The state also provides financial support to promote the digitalization of enterprises and improve the skills of specialists. This allowed for the joint creation of a national BIM roadmap and relevant national templates and standards, which accelerated the implementation of BIM in public projects. In addition, the Netherlands is among the top three Member States in terms of participation of construction sector professionals (17%) in vocational training programmes.

France

As Shulyak noted, this country has had a BIM strategy since 2014 based on two plans – a digital transition plan and a BIM 2022 plan for direct application in public infrastructure and other building construction projects. BIM, she emphasized, is widely used in public projects, mainly at the design and construction stage.

“Already in 2021, 50-60% of construction companies used BIM in their projects. The country's entire national BIM strategy is based on cooperation between state authorities and the construction sector and academia. In addition, the construction sector has taken several initiatives to promote BIM in the country,” the MP said.