Digital transformation is necessary for fast economic growth and for development of the construction companies through the application of BIM technology, which will lead to an increase of the competitiveness on the market. This was pointed out at today’s press conference at the Economic Chamber of Macedonia (25/11/2019).
BIM, from Building Information Modeling, is digital tool that changes the current mode of operation of the construction industry by introducing new, efficient solutions such as the platform on integrated design, material planning, construction and cooperation. It provides digital representation of the building characteristics throughout its entire life cycle, whereby delivering a promise of great benefits to the efficiency. The goal of the TRAINEE Project is to train personnel and to share the information on the significance of the BIM technology. The project is coordinated by the Economic Chamber of Macedonia in cooperation with the partners Association of Business and Consultants Creation, the Faculty of Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies within the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University – Skopje, the Public Institution Center for Adult Education – Skopje (COV), Engineering Institution of Macedonia (IIM) and the BIM Academy from Spain.
The requirement to introduce and apply the BIM technology aims to support the strategic commitments of the country to the digitization of the construction sector, in line with the direction of the global technological development, as well as to achieve the sustainability goals in the energy sector, foremost of the energy efficiency, in accordance with the EU directives, pointed out Risto Ivanov, president of the Association of Business and Consultants Creation and partner in the TRAINEE Project.
The benefits expected from the application of BIM are as follows:
- Economic (10% shorter construction time and 20-40% lower construction and maintenance costs, improved competitiveness in the sector);
- Environmental (less waste, optimal energy use, resource efficiency, circular economy and access to analysis of the entire life cycle of the building);
- Social (higher and more secure standard of living, improved public sector services, clean and safe workplaces in the construction sector).
The EU policies intend to digitize the industries. The initiative of the EU Commission for digitization of the common EU market is also included in the digitization agenda. Furthermore, the EU directive on public procurement (2014) encourages the governments of the member states, as large purchasers of construction materials, to influence and encourage innovations and application of BIM on the part of the construction companies. The EU strategy is for the public sector to take the lead in the introduction of BIM in the construction industry and its implementation. The TRAINEE Project aims exactly at presenting the European policies on BIM application on the part of construction companies, institutions and sectors related to construction, to the Republic of North Macedonia.
The introduction of BIM in the European Union countries has already commenced, for example, Germany is supposed to plan and construct all public infrastructure activities using the BIM methodology from January 2020; in Ireland, the BIM methodology is compulsory for every activity in the healthcare sector; in Italy, the BIM methodology is compulsory for all public buildings worth over 100 million euro, whereas in Great Britain, the BIM methodology is applied to all social housing programs since 2017.
The implementation of the industry digitization agenda is assisted with public procurement policies, technical assistance (methodology standardization, security, validation and application), processes (exchange of information) and human resources (responsibilities and skills). In order to introduce BIM to the national economies, a strategic document named Road Map is commonly used, led by the member state governments.
Accordingly, one of the basic components of the TRAINEE Project is the promotion and introduction of BIM to the Republic of North Macedonia through three activities:
- Promotion of BIM before relevant market actors: practitioners (architects, engineers and technicians); construction companies; public institutions; investors; producers of building materials; craftspersons; (2 held in March and 2 held in May 2019, the following will be on 2-6 December 2019;
- Organization of BIM trainings on the part of the project partner from Spain (4 programs)
- Development of Road Map to introduce BIM to the RNM
For the purpose of raising the capacities in the construction sector to introduce energy efficiency in the construction of energy efficient buildings, four BIM training programs have been developed for 50 participants concerning all construction phases, use and building maintenance. The training programs have been developed and supported by the BIM Academy Barcelona, project partner, namely:
- 5 days (40 hours) for practitioners (architects, engineers and technicians); with 20 participants in total;
- 5 days (40 hours) for construction companies and subcontractors, with 10 participants in total;
- 15 hours of online training for the policymakers, public institutions, building owners, with 10 participants in total;
- 15 hours of online training for the construction industry and producers of building materials, with 10 participants in total.
The training participants will receive one-year free BIM license from AKA to operate and apply the acquired knowledge. The trainings are being carried out in the period of February 2019 (the five-day trainings) and March 2020 (online trainings). The training content and the dates will be announced during the project week 2-6 December 2019 (attachment, daily agendas of both promotional events), pointed out Prof. Dr. Lihnida Stojanovska Georgievska, professor at the Faculty for Electrical Engineering and Information Technologies within the Ss. Cyril and Methodius University – Skopje, partner in the aforementioned project.
The development of Road Map for introduction of the BIM tool to the RNM is expected for the period April-June 2019, with the support of the project partner BIM Academy Barcelona, a Slovene expert and a Slovakian expert. The Project Steering Committee will adopt the development plan and considering that the representatives of the ministries are members, the working group to introduce BIM will be formed from its ranks. The project results and the trainings will be transferred for further exploitation and replication to the Center for Knowledge Management and Skills Skopje, added Prof. Dr. Stojanovska Georgievska.
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