New Ways, New Opportunities: BIM in Water Management

You can listen to the full interview in the podcast here:

#024 BIM in Water Management feat. Daniel Alexander Oehler

Alexander's Way to Water Management

Alexander's career began with an apprenticeship as a draftsman, specializing in underground landscaping. As a draftsman, he had the positive experience of gaining something from both structural design and architecture. His way has always been driven by a thirst for knowledge. During his time in the armed forces, Alexander began to study engineering and thus also gained insights into structural engineering. Then he worked as a technician until he decided to search for new knowledge, and began a distance learning course to become an environmental engineer. There, he came into contact with road and bridge design as well as the extraction and treatment of drinking water.

During his studies, Alexander particularly liked subjects of a physical nature and everything that has to do with water; for example, hydraulic engineering. Chemical and biological subjects, on the other hand, were not his favorite subjects. After completing his bachelor's degree in 2010, he gained experience as a plant engineer. In 2014, he said: back to design. Since then, Alexander has mainly designed wastewater treatment projects, whereby he has a lot of contact with other trades.

Since 2017, Alexander has had the task of introducing the BIM planning method in the company. This is done successively with suitable projects. He particularly enjoys working with BIM, digitization in general, and working with others on these subjects.

What exactly is water management?

Water management is a generic term: It includes hydraulic engineering and urban water management, which is divided into drinking water and wastewater systems. Hydraulic engineering includes rainwater and its discharge: ditches, rivers, lakes, and waterways. Urban water management is directly about water supply and disposal. Alexander works there.

BIM and Water Management

Urban water management, in particular, still has some catching up to do on this issue. In comparison with other trades, the people who write the regulations started dealing with BIM relatively late, as did the design offices. In the context of BIM, the main areas of activity are drinking water production with major structures, water treatment, and water networks. Water networks are linear structures, as known from road and railway.

What does BIM mean for Alexander?

According to Alexander's definition, BIM is a subsection of digitization in the construction industry, with the aim of collecting all information on the model by using a database and making it available to all the parties involved. From designer to client, construction company, and manufacturer, everyone should play a role. It is also about doing the whole thing with as little loss of interfaces as possible. This increases both efficiency and the work success.

The water management can also benefit from BIM.

There are pilot projects in various regions of Germany. 4D and 5D methodology are currently rarely used, because the interfaces for them are missing. Alexander considers the chain of appointments to be important when it comes to 4D: The appointments are visualized and coordinated on the objects. Being able to follow the cost development over the entire period on the 3D model is still a very complex and difficult plan to implement, in his view. The design must always be worthwhile, and what has been created beforehand should be used reasonably.

Various Roles in BIM

The technical coordinator is an engineer or a manager here. He/she can better define interfaces and information requirements. To do this, he/she needs to be familiar with the interfaces as well as the authoring software and the workflows, of course. Project coordinators are responsible for setting up all the model exchange scenarios, helping to develop the project-specific schedule, and clarifying exchange dates and requirements as well as quality requirements. Sometimes, a BIM manager is involved; in other cases, a technical and project coordinator are sufficient. These areas of responsibility are also partially blurred and depend on the client, designer, and project structure. Practical experience plays an essential role in such projects.

Current State of BIM in Water Management

The corresponding pilot projects in industries such as building construction are well funded and tested. According to Alexander, water management, as a marginal sector, has not been given as much consideration and now needs to learn more from the experiences of others. It is necessary to set up regulations, gather experience, and make records for the other designers, clients, and construction companies who do not yet have any experience in the area. For example, the German Association for Water, Wastewater, and Waste (DWA) takes care of this in cooperation with the German Technical and Scientific Association for Gas and Water (DVGW). These professional associations for water, wastewater, and gas are currently (as of 2021) developing corresponding instructions on which general information and the content of BIM are described. Alexander himself is also involved in both teams.

As in all areas, one hurdle is the initial investment of time and money. It is necessary to develop project-specific ideas and workflows in order to move forward efficiently and in a goal-oriented manner. This can only be achieved due to sufficient exchange and knowledge transfer between all parties involved, even if they are competitors.

Knowledge exchange is a central aspect of the new development.

The acceptance of BIM depends on each individual. There are often clients who have not yet dealt with this subject. Most of the time, they do not have the staff to assign someone to take care of BIM. The situation is similar for planning: Not everyone can understand the benefits of the new design method and technologies. However, most will be convinced when using the software directly. It was the same with Alexander.

• “Only when I personally used the software and recognized the advantages and disadvantages, was I able to get used to it."

Future of BIM in Urban Water Management

In this regard, Alexander hopes for the aforementioned leaflets, broader networking and communication, and increased exchange of experiences. Customers should discuss their requirements with engineers in advance, construction companies should come on board and also use the 3D plans, and the plant operation could also benefit from this. However, it will take some time until it is pushed through and fully applied. Of course, there will also be projects where no BIM is required. However, suitable parts can still be selected from the BIM design method.

Future in Construction

Alexander believes that new construction methods will emerge in the future. However, this will only work if everyone goes along with it. Many engineering and manufacturer associations are already working on internal technical reports to show members what is possible, and to give advice on the right level of digitization.

Alexander finds trends like concrete 3D printing very exciting, and he always keeps half an eye on them. He is already thinking about how this technology could also be used in hydraulic engineering; for example, in sewage treatment plants. There is also a lot of potential in existing technologies that are not yet or not sufficiently used, such as drones or AR technology. 3D models will also spread, not just in the context of BIM.

Ecology and Sustainability

When planning, Alexander and his team try to consider the aspects of sustainability. They are often commissioned to perform actual/target comparisons for energy and to prepare studies to assess the potential before planning even begins. For example, there are projects where wind turbines are placed on sewage treatment plants to provide their own electricity. The choice of building materials also needs to be reconsidered: Are they available locally or do they have to be transported from far away?

These considerations must always be made together with the client, as they are associated with costs. There are some promising approaches, such as hydrogen technology for sewage treatment plants. New materials, processes, and technologies are being developed, which should also be kept in mind in the context of BIM.

General State of Digitization in Germany

According to Alexander, Germany definitely has the potential to help drive new developments. We have the right infrastructure, large corporations, and good internal knowledge transfer. The disadvantage compared to the rest of the world is that Germany is not moving forward as quickly, due to extensive bureaucracy. Building Smart, for example, of which Alexander is also a member, is in the process of adapting the standards for the BIM planning process to the reality and needs. Germany is not quite as effective as other countries in promoting these technologies. If we are not careful, says Alexander, we will have to implement the world standard here at home instead of helping to create it.

How would Alexander improve construction practice if he had one free wish?

He would increase the level of support, even if only by bringing the institutions together. Many of them have the same goal. Networking could reduce parallel work. Furthermore, Alexander would like the numerous theses on the relevant topics to be published, at least as a summary. The findings and experience from this work should be documented and made available to everyone.

Alexander's Favorite Building...

... is neither a sewage treatment plant nor a waterworks. Instead, it is the Oresund Bridge in Sweden. Alexander likes to take vacations there, and is enthusiastic about this masterpiece of architecture.

Oresund Bridge in Sweden

He never ceases to be amazed by what can be designed and built. Structural analysis and design are visible and necessary everywhere. Urban water management structures also could not be created without the corresponding structural design components.