Welcome to the buildingSMART International digital newsletter for April 2019. This special edition is an extended review of the International Standards Summit in Dusseldorf, Germany. This edition also covers a variety of news from the community including notification of an extension to the awards program, availability of a new case study from Oslo airport and registration for a webinar.

The buildingSMART International Standards Summit and German User Day Exceeds 1,000 Attendees

The latest buildingSMART International Standards Summit held in Dusseldorf, Germany has concluded. The Summit and German user day saw over 1,000 attendees from over 30 countries with many interesting topics and presentations taking center stage. There was also high volumes of working output through the variety of rooms and projects. There were more than 70 individual working sessions throughout the week. The conference welcomed new attendees and benefited from government officials, senior keynotes and technical experts. The event also included a first. There was a first viewing of an “IFC Rail” conceptual model. This fantastic occasion was heralded by buildingSMART Chairman, Patrick MacLeamy as “the most spectacular project in buildingSMART today”. Read the full report here.

The past, present and future

Richard Petrie, Chief Executive, bSI discussed the “past, present and future” and acknowledged the work done since buildingSMART's inception in 1995. Richard reiterated the need for more industry engagement to benefit outputs from standards and solutions.

Over 70 working sessions throughout the week

The Summit brought together the international community to work on projects. Some of the rooms housed over 120 people. It was also announced there would be two new rooms called "Utilities Room" and a "Manufacturing Room".

BIM at Its Best

The newly introduced side program called "BIM at Its Best" saw a new focus on the benefits of BIM. Ernesto Minnucci presented their Naples Station Project, a winner from last years awards program. You can read the case study here.

openBIM is a mindset

Viktor Várkonyi, Executive Board Member, Nemetschek Group, said his company is fully committed to open standards and interoperability. He also stated that openBIM was more than technology – “a mindset” that needs companies to think about better ways of working.

Government representation

This event included government representatives, including Ina Scharrenbach, Minister for Community, Local Government, Construction and Equal Opportunities, who delivered a speech at the welcome dinner. 

Digital Twins for buildings and infrastructure

Peter Löffler, Siemens, and Mark Enzer, Mott MacDonald, discussed the hot topic of "Digital Twins" in a thought-provoking session. This session showcased examples of how digital twins could be used for differing asset types and the potential benefit for society. In the Q&A, questions arose around the real-time nature of a digital twin. Do we require one that is in real-time or one that is just-in-time? With vast amounts of data and sensors providing constant information, the future appears to be depending on digital twins to improve productivity and asset performance. 

Women Leaders in buildingSMART

buildingSMART is proud to be improving diversity in the community. Two leaders from the community received fellowships during the welcome dinner. Susan Keenliside (Canada) and Birgitta Foster (USA) are now buildingSMART Fellows as a recognition to their contributions to the industry. "Women Leaders in buildingSMART" is planned to continue for the next summit with more working sessions scheduled for Beijing 2019.

Solutions and Standards Program

The closing plenary included wrap-up reports from the various rooms. The conclusions and next steps were highlighted by the room leaders. This included reports from (Left to Right), Jeffrey Ouellette (ISG), Ken Endo (Construction), Tomi Henttinen (Regulatory), Tiina Perttula (Infratructure), Alex Worp (Airport), David Ivey (Building), Roger Grant (Product) and Greg Schleusner (Technical). The plenary also included some interesting sessions on the value of product data as well as a summary report from bSI colleagues Richard Kelly, Richard Petrie and Aidan Mercer. One significant update is improvements and re-branding of the standards program to now be called "Solutions and Standards". Richard Kelly explained that the Solutions and Standards program responds to industry needs for whole-life value management and the development of rooms is part of the strategic direction.

For a detailed report, read it here. 

Next stop, Beijing! Save the date, 29 October - 1st November 2019. 

The awards program has been extended by two weeks!

The buildingSMART International openBIM Awards has been extended by two weeks. Submit your project for a chance to win this prestigious award. Submission will be accepted until April 30, 2019, with all supporting documentation to be completed by May 14th, 2019. The competition is open to anyone around the world, with no requirement to be a member. What you should do next:

1. Mark your calendar for Beijing in October
2. Submit your project
   1. Register your submission by 30th April 2019
   2. Complete submission with all documents by 14th May 2019
3. Demonstrate your use of buildingSMART standards or solutions
4. Be ready to present your project at the Summit

Please visit the website for more information including FAQs.

New case study available

Oslo Airport Expands its Terminal with openBIM® and Environmentally Sustainable Design. Read the latest buildingSMART case study and find out how this airport enabled on-time delivery by mandating open standards. Read the case study.

Board, SAC and International Council Meeting

The agenda has been updated for the board, SAC and international council meeting in Helsinki. For chapter leaders, board members and SAC members, we recommend you book your place at the event. More information can be found here. 

Membership:

buildingSMART International has launched a benefits table. This table lists the benefits your organisation gets when you join. Interested in joining? Check out the benefits table here.

Webinar:
The Pontsteiger Project - Setting a New Standard for Construction.

Register now for this webinar to see how over 350 IFC’s and 600 BCF issues contributed to realizing the housing project Pontsteiger in Amsterdam.

25th April, 2 p.m. (CET), 1 hour.

Register now!

Strategic Members:

Want to join in?

If you have a story you'd like to share, please contact buildingSMART International and we will do our best to put your story in the next newsletter. Email us. 

Invite people to share your newsletter with their colleagues or on social media.