OEBV Property Service

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is one of the key topics of the future in the construction industry. Although the definition of BIM is not uniformly clarified, the term encompasses the digitization and continuous use of data along the entire value chain in the construction industry – from the client to the planners, the construction companies with all subcontractors, the manufacturers of building materials and components, and the authorities involved – as well as the further use and maintenance of the information throughout the entire life cycle of the structures. To counteract this, efforts have been made in recent years to standardize the structure of digital building models and the naming of component properties, both at the international level (see buildingSMART Data Dictionary) and at the national level (feature server of the University of Innsbruck). Due to the required procedures for standardization (intensive coordination between the interest groups to reach a common consensus), this standardization could not keep up with the developments in software development and internal company development processes in terms of time.

ÖBV has worked with its members to develop a new approach to managing the definition of component properties and sharing them with others. This was validated in the course of a proof-of-concept development of a prototype. Building on a fundamental analysis of current BIM working practices as well as existing technological tools, a concept was created that supports both BIM professionals and novices, as well as allowing for a standardization process and thus standardization over time.

In cooperation with the Business Informatics Group of the Vienna University of Technology and the ÖBV, the Research Studio SAT is developing a web platform for the administration of internal data standards from the BIM area, as well as for cross-organizational cooperation within the framework of projects. The platform helps to translate between different standards by an intelligent suggestion system that learns from already existing translations, as well as an efficient comment and notification system that makes the experts for the respective data object available for inquiries.

With ÖBV, maintenance and replacement investments can be optimized in the future. In addition, greater cost certainty can be achieved through the visualization of planning variants based on comprehensive data, and shorter construction times can be achieved through the digital simulation of construction processes in BIM models. Fundamentally, the project promotes constant transparency by enabling important decisions to be made and documented on a secure basis.