SJSC “State Real Estate” (SRE) has improved the building information modelling (BIM) requirements to be implemented in development projects and for the promotion of digitisation in the public sector as a whole. The second version of BIM requirements has been updated and made available for public use, based on the practical experience gained within the project and the development of BIM technologies,” informs Renārs Griškevičs, Chairman of the Board.
The BIM requirements developed by SRE are a document that defines clear and comprehensible conditions for BIM ordering, development and delivery, as well as specifies requirements for quality control and information exchange. Referring to the practice since 2019, when the requirements were first published, the document has been improved – its most significant changes include detailed requirements for BIM quality control, the creation of 2D drawings, the created control point “Asset information model” and clarified information to be included in the BIM execution plan. Among them, the requirements for the 3D laser-scanning process, the use of point clouds and, based on facility management needs, the information to be added to BIM items were clarified, as well as a point system was introduced for evaluating sample models during procurement.
BIM requirements have been updated in order to be able to use the currently available digital technologies as much as possible. The need to make the customer's requirements more understandable for service providers and to provide BIM as a basic integral part of the design process, which is used as the initial information for the creation of construction design drawings and further development of solutions, is also taken into account.
“BIM, as a complex set of knowledge and technologies, is significantly transforming the industry and is necessary, both from the point of view of sustainable projects and construction quality, as well as financial savings in the long term. This will allow for more successful cooperation between customers, designers and builders in the future, reduce the risks of potential errors and additional costs, as well as construction processes to be planned more effectively and information exchange to be controlled between the parties involved throughout the building's life cycle. At SRE, we provide our contribution, as it is not a quick and easy process to learn all the expertise and advantages that BIM offers. Therefore, our team of experts has developed new, improved BIM requirements and is educating other public clients in order to promote its application and digitisation of construction in the Latvian public sector as a whole. We expect that this approach in the implementation of BIM projects will make it possible to fully use all the possibilities and advantages of BIM, both in Latvia and internationally,” comments Renārs Griškevičs, Chairman of the Board.
You can familiarise yourself with the current version of the document on the website of SRE in the section “BIM Competence Center”, as well as in more detail in the series of online seminars “Implementation of BIM projects” organised by SRE on 29 November and 6 December from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Every industry representative and interested party is invited to participate in the events. You can apply for the seminars by filling out the form.
The new BIM requirements will also be translated into English, and it will be possible to use them in international projects and procurement tenders, thus attracting foreign service providers. It is also planned to develop the documents further, for example, defining specific requirements for the performs of the construction work, thus promoting the greater involvement of builders in the BIM processes, develop detailed modelling requirements, create quality control automation tools, etc.
In 2018, the SRE team started the first BIM pilot project in the reconstruction of the historical building at Aspazijas bulvāris 7; in 2019, having gained confidence in the benefits of BIM, it developed the first BIM requirements for construction procurements for the Latvian public sector. The first version of the requirements has been practically applied in several SRE procurements and construction projects, such as the rebuilding and renovation of the Great Guild at Amatu iela 6, as well as the renovation of the General Prosecutor's Office building at Kalpaka bulvāris 6. In total, since the pilot project started in 2018, we are currently implementing 17 projects with BIM components, including the convent (kastel) part of Riga Castle, the New Riga Theatre and the modernisation of the Latvian-Russian border crossing point “Grebņeva” and elsewhere. Among them, the requirements have also been used by other public clients, such as the Ministry of Economics, the State Procurement Agency, VSIA “Šampētera nams” and the Pauls Stradins Clinical University Hospital in various projects.
