Between 2000 and 2020, productivity in the European construction industry has only increased by 1 percent annually, which was at the lower end compared to other industrial sectors. Consequently, the sector had to step up its digitization efforts significantly, on the one hand to increase its competitiveness and on the other hand to get rid of its image as dirty, dangerous and physical demanding working environment. The construction industry clearly needed to progress beyond Building Information Modelling when it came to digitizing their processes in such a way that all stakeholders involved in the construction process can be involved.

The true potential of comprehensive digitization in construction can only be exploited if the current status of the construction work is digitally integrated in a common workflow. A Digital Twin provides construction companies with real-time data on the development of their assets, devices and products during creation and enables predictions on workforce, material, and costs. BIMprove facilitates such a comprehensive end-to-end digital thread using autonomous tracking systems to continuously identify deviations and update the Digital Twin accordingly. In addition, locations of construction site personnel are tracked anonymously, so that BIMprove system services can optimize the allocation of resources, the flow of people and the safety of the employees. Information will be easily accessible for all user groups by providing personalized interfaces, such as wearable devices for alerts or VR visualizations for site managers. BIMprove is a cloud-based service-oriented system that has a multi-layered structure and enables extensions to be added at any time. The main goals of BIMprove were a significant reduction in costs, better use of resources and fewer accidents on construction sites. By providing a complete digital workflow, BIMprove helps to sustainably improve the productivity and image of the European construction industry.

Project results

During the project the CEN Workshop Agreement CWA 18046 Position markers for digital applications on construction sites, structural monitoring and BIM-applications was written and published in 2023.

This document is applicable to construction processes where the usual surveyor’s control points are to be used not only for geometry control, but other applications such as laser scanning, localization of autonomous vehicles, photogrammetry, or VR/AR applications.

It provides a framework for making accurate survey point information available to digital applications and other trades. This includes the layout of markers, a naming convention for markers and a common digital interface for the read-out-data of markers.

The document builds on existing standards and conventions and collates them where applicable. The document is intended to be used on construction sites and in existing buildings by planners (architects, civil engineers, …), surveyors, construction companies, software providers, UXV operators, BIM stakeholders, and on site machines/devices/systems. The survey point information may be utilised not only during the construction but also during maintenance throughout the life of the facility.

For further informaiton please see: 
https://www.bimprove-h2020.eu/ 
https://www.bimprove-h2020.eu/markers/

Project duration

September 2020 until August 2023

Project partners

• SINTEF Manufacturing AS (Norway) (Project coordinator)
• Zurich University of Applied Sciences (Switzerland)
• HRS Real Estate AG (Switzerland)
• Vías y Construcciones SA (Spain)
• Robotnik Automation SLL (Spain)
• VTT Technical Research Centre of Finland Ltd (Finland)
• Fraunhofer Gesellschaft IAO (Germany)
• DIN e. V. (Germany)
• Catenda AS (Norway)
• InterInnov SAS (France)
• AF Gruppen AS (Norway)
• University of Stuttgart IAT (Germany)

Project funding

This project has received funding from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 958450.