The government has suspended discussions on the concept of digitization in construction

Prague - The government today suspended discussions on the concept of digitizing construction. The Ministry of Industry and Trade stated this in response to a query from ČTK. The concept includes the introduction of the BIM (Building Information Modeling) method into construction practice in the Czech Republic. The goal of Construction 4.0 is to achieve higher productivity, innovation, and competitiveness in the sector. BIM aims, among other things, to reduce the costs of building renovations or decrease the risk of cost overruns in public contracts.

"The implementation of the BIM method will save costs for acquiring and renovating buildings and their operation. Thanks to the introduction of the BIM method into the hitherto non-digitalized construction sector, the state, as a good steward, will be able to construct and maintain more buildings for the same amount of money than before," states the document.

The implementation of the BIM method is of similar significance to construction as the Industry 4.0 initiative is for industrial sectors. BIM can sometimes be simplistically understood as 'digitization'. The implementation of the BIM method is a fundamental condition for the digitization of construction, known as Construction 4.0.

According to the document, the innovation for public sector clients means that the construction and management of buildings should be more efficient, the risk of cost overruns on projects, especially public infrastructure, should be lower, and transparency in the use of public funds should be higher. Savings from the use of the BIM method are reported to be 20 percent of the total costs over the entire lifecycle of the building.

Within the BIM system, a digital multidimensional model of the building is created, which contains geometric and descriptive information, serving as an open database of information about the building for its design, execution, operation, and the interconnection of these phases.

The BIM model is thus a digital counterpart of the actual building. "BIM combines the use of computer 3D modeling with information about buildings to improve collaboration, coordination, and decision-making processes in construction and their operation," states the material. The model also includes non-geometric data. This includes a whole range of management and support documents related to the construction, such as a construction diary, schedule, outputs from decision-making processes of building authorities, and others.