4.3.7.2 BIM as a methodical foundation for data acquisition

In all construction activities, on the one hand physical objects are created or changed (e.g., structures are modernized) and, on the other hand, information is generated and exchanged that is necessary for the target-oriented execution of these construction activities. This information is essential for the operator, both during the construction phase and especially after commissioning of the completed construction object. 

While the requirements for the technical tasks are formulated in the relevant professional standards, the BIM standard ISO 19650 formulates requirements for information management to achieve the goals of the construction project and to support its subsequent operation. The application of ISO 19650 is particularly useful in the case of multiple project participants. Experience shows that good information management has a positive effect on the efficiency of the actual project activities on the one hand, and on the other hand enables a smooth transition from the project phase to the operational phase after completion of the construction work. 

Projects in which information management plays a key role include projects for the network-wide monitoring and evaluation, such as pavement condition data. Therefore, the execution of the projects for the pavement condition acquisition in accordance with ISO 19650 provides many benefits. 

The German System for the monitoring and assessment of pavement condition ZEB (German abbreviation from Zustandserfassung und -bewertung) is based on the same established management rules as the British Standards series BS 1192:2007 (BS 2007). This standard was prepared with the aim of spreading digitalization to the entire construction industry. It was the first introduction of the then pioneering idea of a Common Data Environment (CDE). Since then, the CDE approach has been one of the most important features of all BIM-oriented construction projects. 

Immediately after the publication of the British standard BS 1192, some of the ideas presented there were examined and validated in Germany with the aim of applying them in the framework of ZEB. In the same year of its publication (2007), the CDE concept was put into practice in a first pilot project for ZEB on state roads in Baden-Württemberg. Further BIM solutions were also successively adopted in the ZEB.