It is not enough that modelers, work planners and digitizers can handle data well, thinks Pim van Meer in this Digital Maze. With good data you can make decisions, so how do you make that data readable for administrators, buyers, builders and consultants?
In response to my earlier column Thank you work planner, I received a good follow-up question from Sandra van Ravenzwaaij. Not just about modeling, but about something bigger: when does it actually work to build information based on 3D models in such a way that you can actually use it to make decisions? Not just locally, for one smart team member, but chain-wide.
This is a strong question.
Perhaps just the right one to make it understandable to all levels of government in the chain as well.
The short answer is simple: yes, it is defined and made testable, from sketch design to completion. And the way of working, meanwhile, is also simple.
But let me be honest about that: it took us years to get there. It cost a lot of money to learn. But now the solutions are there.
The core of Sandra's question touches on something I often see in practice: information works fine locally, but breaks as soon as you want to scale it up. The work planner gets by with it, the estimator gets by, someone manually adds some more, and everyone says: see, it works.
Until that same information is needed for transfer, for a uniform data strategy, for key figures at the organizational level, for a delivery file, or for the customer at the end of the chain. Then it turns out that what seemed smart locally was actually just not finished.
So what do we do internally to ensure that information is not only useful, but also remains useful for the next one?
We start with contracts.
No longer steering by drawing as an end product, but by information needs. That is a fundamental difference. You don't say: deliver a nice set of pieces. You say: deliver the information needed to make targeted decisions right now.
Next we'll do a kick-off.
Because I don't believe in imposing. I believe in explaining and educating. In such a joint session, we explain to all stakeholders who will make and assess the design how 3D digitization and the new way of working help to make targeted decisions. With or without AI, with or without parametric designs, with or without a link with digitally parallel plans, but in any case data-driven and based on a BIM model.
And then comes the step that may make the most difference in practice: entry control. There need an (objective) gatekeeper for that. Not one for just the techies, but rather one that is readable for project leaders, managers and directors as well. Because if only the most technical people can see whether the data is correct, then decision-making will still be stuck on interpretation.
The most approachable solution I know of is BIMsentry. That's a data service for the Digital System for the Built Environment, where Digigo is working with the market and the Ministry of VRO to make digitization work for the construction supply chain. Internally, we just call it a digital validation bill. Different names, pretty simple function: demonstrate whether the data is complete enough to pass.
Why is it so important?
Because you can only do good analysis if the data is complete. That applies from developer to builder, from builder to housing association or investor, to completion dates, and just as much toward initiatives like BIM Legal. If the data is not complete, semi-automated decisions become arbitrary. If the data is complete, you can focus on value, reduce failure costs and make much sharper decisions.
And for me, that's where the real payoff is.
I will become less of a referee then.
The system shows if something is good enough.
This gives peace of mind in the chain.
Important to add: This is not one magic tool. It is a combination of standards, agreements and tools. IDS Helps make information requirements explicit. Validation services help verify compliance. And more such solutions will emerge in the coming years. That's only right.
Large parties may well invest in it so that smaller parties can use it. That's not a crazy thought. If it allows us to make better, faster and more consistent decisions, that's exactly how a mature chain is supposed to work.
So Sandra: thanks for your question.
And to the rest of the chain immediately also an invitation: please respond.
Where is this already working well for you?
Where is the information still breaking? Do you know how to find the minimal-information needs of the stakeholders around you?
Where are already succeeding in making data not just locally smart, but chain-wide useful?
Because this conversation is too important to have only between modelers, work planners and digitization people. Directors, buyers, builders and consultants, in particular, need to participate in this.
Filing moment
Work planner: if it works for you, you're good to go. But if it breaks as soon as the next one in the chain has to move on with it, it's not finished.
So the real question is not how much you model.
The real question is whether the data is complete, understandable and testable enough for the next person to make a good decision.
And if it's not there yet, there's no shame in that. But then don't pretend it's already good enough.
