BIM = Better Information Management?

From November 15 to 16, 2018, the international conference infraBIM took place in Krakow, Poland. The event, organized by the European Certification Centre of BIM with the support of infraTEAM, was dedicated to Building Information Modeling (BIM) and its application for the design, construction and management of transport infrastructure. Among the 220 participants were representatives of road and railway administrations, academics, designers, consultants, contractors and providers of IT solutions.

Dr Agata Ciołkosz-Styk at the infraBIM on Asset Management and BIM

Dr. Agata Ciołkosz-Styk, representing the HELLER Group, lectured on "Information Asset Management and BIM". She stressed the scope of the term BIM, which unfortunately is often only associated with 3D technologies. Building Information Modeling, however, is not only a tool, but a methodology for managing information. From an Asset Management perspective, information is one of the key resources of an organization. By introducing Building Information Modeling, the benefits of this asset can be maximized not only for the organization, but also for its stakeholders.

Fortunately, there has been a trend towards a holistic understanding of BIM recently. The British Ministry of Transport even introduced a new definition of BIM in its "BIM Guidance for Infrastructure Bodies": Better Information Management. The HELLER Group supports this approach. Its mission is to help infrastructure owners, managers and other decision makers integrate BIM in line with the objectives, maturity level and context of the organization. With this goal in mind, the HELLER Group founded the Infrastructure Asset Management Academy (INFRAMA) in 2017.