14 June 2021

Convergence Of BIM And Sustainable High Rise Buildings In The Indian Context


Mr. Paul Wallett
Regional Director – Middle East and India
Trimble Solutions
www.trimble.com


Trimble is developing technology, software and services that drive the digital transformation of construction with solutions that span the entire architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Trimble’s innovative approach improves coordination and collaboration between stakeholders, teams, phases and processes. Trimble’s Connected Construction strategy gives users control of their operations with best-in-class solutions and a common data environment. Mr. Paul Wallett, Regional Director, Middle East and India, Trimble Solutions, in conversation with CE&CR, shares his views on high rise constructions, current solutions, software technologies catered for the Indian market and more.

Mckinsey Global Institute reported that to meet the increasing urban demand for residential and commercial space, the Indian economy will have to build between 700 million (70 crore) and 900 million (90 crore) square meters of residential and commercial spaces every year.

CE&CR: What is the current scenario for high-rise in India?

Paul Wallett: In bustling cities’ ground space has become a constraint. The growth of cities has exploded laterally across all directions, leaving the only scope of development to be in the vertical direction. According to the United Nations (UN, 2014), by 2050, about 66% of the world population is projected to be urban. With rapid urbanization and migration to big cities over the past few years there has been an increasing pressure on land and resources, resulting in a massive need for housing. Which is one of the major reasons why we have witnessed a growing popularity of high-rises, to sustain an ever-growing need for living spaces and well as work.

Mckinsey Global Institute reported that to meet the increasing urban demand for residential and commercial space, the Indian economy will have to build between 700 million (70 crore) and 900 million (90 crore) square meters of residential and commercial spaces every year. To meet the growing demand for vertical structures, industry needs innovation and disruption.

With the growing availability of construction technology, India has finally started looking towards adoption of the right technology to construct high-rise structures at a faster rate and quite often, with sustainability at the core of its construction methods.



CE&CR: Which current solutions/technologies are driving the upcoming high-rise buildings? Are there any solutions that are missing and need to reach the Indian market soon?

Paul Wallett: Contemporary building designs pose unprecedented challenges to the structural engineers. As architects and designers push the boundaries of imagination, structural engineers need innovative tools and resources to execute even the most demanding concepts. Take for example the Capital Gate Tower in Abu Dhabi, which is the world’s most inclined tower leaning at 18 degrees. Its engineers created the westward lean, which is four times the inclination of the Leaning Tower of Pisa, using complex diagrid structures. Tekla’s BIM software was used to align these structures geometrically.

Tekla Structures, the flagship product from Trimble’s construction portfolio, has been used across the world to design, detail and fabricate some of the world’s most iconic buildings, both Steel and Concrete. Constructible BIM, which is the underpinning of efficient and effective construction, provides a reliable representation of the actual building using Tekla Structures, and therefore can be used for the owner and design supervisors to check the feasibility of the design rationale and to clarify construction planning even before the construction actually begins. The model incorporates not only the construction geometry of the complex main structure but also the smaller pieces used for work in high places, such as maintenance scaffolding and ladders. Model simulation ensures safety during construction, and it is used for finalizing proper positions and shapes of all elements.

Using BIM data generated during design and build over the whole project lifecycle enables faster, safer, less wasteful construction and more cost-effective, sustainable operation, maintenance and eventual decommissioning. The BIM environment can transcribe the entire lifecycle of a facility from inception to operation and maintenance. BIM input provided by all project partners aids sustainability by pooling technical, operational, construction and manufacturing knowledge enabling design to be value engineered and optimized for every stage of delivery and operation. Collaboration tools enable design changes made while the project definition is still flexible, to be accommodated without cost and time penalties and whenever one party makes a change, all other disciplines are aware and can adapt their input or find an alternative solution. Constructible BIM enables automatic clash detection, eliminating the need for ad-hoc solutions and saving materials, time and cost.



CE&CR: No other project requires collaboration with specialized teams like high-rise buildings do. What are some important solutions that Trimble offers for better collaboration?

Paul Wallett: One of the biggest challenges in construction is the tendency for teams to work in silos. For all project owners, one of the biggest challenges is to make these diverse professionals work together seamlessly, even if they are working at different times and from different locations. Industry insiders know fully well that several problems arise when experts with different perspectives and skills are challenged to collaborate through the construction project.

We, at Trimble, believe that construction needs to be content enabled, connected and constructible. Connected construction breaks down the barriers that create bottlenecks and miscommunication by ensuring everyone is operating from the same playbook and on the same page. In practical terms, connected construction relies on hardware, software, and services to unify the people, processes, and phases involved in each project.

By giving all stakeholders access to a reliable, current, and central source of truth about the project, connected construction facilitates better communication and smoother hand-offs. These improvements, in turn, enable earlier problem detection and resolution, streamlined operations, and faster project delivery.

Cloud-connected collaboration tools available from construction software players like Trimble are changing the way the global construction industry works. For example, Tekla Model Sharing is designed especially for Tekla Structures (the flagship software for constructible BIM) users and it allows them to collaboratively work on Building Information Models. These tools typically provide a centralized, single location for all documents, models, processes, and communications.

Similarly, Trimble Connect is an open collaboration platform for design and construction that connects project stakeholders with the data they need to inform decisions and improve team efficiency. Project stakeholders can share, review, coordinate and comment on data-rich constructible models, schedules and critical project information in real time—reducing costly miscommunication and improving coordination to keep projects on time and in budget.



CE&CR: Green technology is gaining momentum in high rise construction. Can you elaborate on how Trimble’s products enable green construction?

Paul Wallett: Concurrently with 70% of the buildings still needed to be constructed by 2030 to fulfill the expected demand, the Indian construction sector has a unique opportunity for energy efficiency expansion, by building more sustainably. Given that certified green buildings can deliver energy savings between 20-30% and water savings of up to 30-50%, India should attach greater importance to high-performing green buildings, as it strives to reduce greenhouse emissions by 33-35%.

At Trimble, we believe that sustainable decisions need to be made throughout the workflow to really make an impact. Every stakeholder can contribute to the journey towards green building in their own way. One of the most effective ways to achieve sustainable workflows is through adoption of Constructible BIM throughout the project lifecycle. Keeping the different stakeholders connected throughout all phases of a project contributes to increased productivity across the supply chain by streamlining operations, prevention of delays and material wastage, therefore resulting in the fast project completion. Every step of the process where BIM saves time, improves efficiency, enhances design, and reduces errors, provides a quantifiable opportunity for the building’s lifelong environmental impact to be reduced. In this respect, BIM thoroughly supports the entire philosophy behind sustainable construction, and Trimble with its BIM-enabled products and solutions like Tekla Structures, SketchUp and ProjectSight, is at the forefront of enabling sustainable construction.

Trimble has been committed to our motto of “Transforming the way world works” and sustainability has been at the heart of our company. Per the findings of our recent Sustainability Report 2020, Trimble’s array of solutions enable greater accuracy, reduce rework, and increase efficiency, which yield fuel savings estimated to prevent over 7 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions annually. In construction, Trimble’s solutions have proven to contribute up to 50% less rework, up to 30% cost savings, waste reduction and up to 30% machine productivity and fuel savings. For civil construction, Machine control systems improve accuracy and efficiency of heavy earthmoving equipment, thereby enabling job completion in less time, and using less diesel fuel.

 

 

 

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