What was BIM again? BIM is an acronym for Building Information Modeling – a highly collaborative process that allows multiple stakeholders to work together in designing, engineering, and constructing a building with only one 3D model. BIM connects people, technology, and processes to improve outcomes in buildings and construction, as all data is saved and shared with anyone involved in the project. The software gets automatically updated with each adjustment to the model. In this way, solutions can be sought from different viewpoints simultaneously within a project.
In our last blog about BIM, we gave an introduction to what Building Information Modeling (BIM) is and what it does. marXact recently joined the Dutch BIM register – a register that connects over 400 companies that use a Building Information Model – so that you can share your surveyed data with everyone involved in your project right away. As it has been a while since the last blog about BIM, it is time for more recent information about this model to keep you up-to-date. In this blog, we will discuss how BIM relates to digital surveying with the UNI-GR1.
BIM and UNI
What is the relationship between a Building Information Model and the UNI-GR1? The information collected by the UNI (measurement data in the form of coordinates) is used to provide objects in the BIM model with the correct centimeter-accurate coordinates. This way, you can properly place all objects from various sources within a company or project in your 3D drawing (the BIM). Subsequently, all stakeholders have access to this data.
When buying a UNI, you receive the UNI-GR1, UNI-RTK Premium correction data, UNI-Cloud & Support, together with a stick, and tablet with the mount, which are all needed to survey efficiently. The surveyed points, lines, buildings, or layers are automatically saved to the UNI-Cloud and are available on the API that all other stakeholders in this project have access to and make real-time changes. This comes in handy when surveying objects in the design phase because you can immediately see if the object fits on that spot. In doing so, (human) errors are detected sooner, which saves you time and money for continuously adjusting the design.
You could see the UNI as one smaller piece of your “BIM puzzle”. Just as designers, manufacturers, and suppliers all work towards one mutual goal – providing the end-user a product that fulfills their needs. The data that the UNI saves in the UNI-Cloud is only one small part of your Building Information Model as a whole.
What’s next?
So, does your company work with a UNI and/or BIM already? Do you notice any differences working with and without a BIM? Let us know in the comments, and make sure to read our next blog on BIM or read the article we have written with the Dutch BIM register.
