Catenda Hub plays a crucial role in helping the 22 building authorities in Bavaria quickly adapt to BIM (Building Information Modelling) and embracing the new processes. This applies to every stakeholder, not just those working with authoring software. “The Open Way,” the developer’s motto, is truly put into practice, paving the way for significantly improved communication within project teams.
ZBIM Promotes Building Information Modelling Throughout the State
The central office for Building Information Modelling (ZBIM) lays the groundwork for implementing BIM and provides assistance with BIM project execution within the Bavarian State Building Administration. The practical implementation of projects, in both civil and structural engineering, is carried out by the individual building authorities.
New Construction in Ebern: First BIM Project for the Schweinfurt State Building Authority
The new administrative building for the Bavarian State Building Directorate in Ebern, Lower Franconia, with construction set to begin in autumn 2025, wasn’t initially conceived as a BIM project. Consequently, the responsible Schweinfurt State Building Authority could only start from service phase 3. “It’s our very first BIM project,” reports Christoph Schmitt, BIM Manager and BIM Multiplier for the entire construction project, as well as administrator for Catenda’s new CDE platform. On this platform, project participants find all project-related documents and can also view models created by specialist planners in various authoring software systems in IFC format using a model viewer.
Meaningful Combination of All Tasks and Functionalities in One Software
For Christoph Schmitt and the entire project team at the building authority, it was clear that the object planner and overall coordinator, karlundp Gesellschaft für Architekten mbH, Munich, contributed valuable experience in model-based construction. The only new element for the general planner was the Catenda platform. “We were already familiar with collaborating in project teams using a Common Data Environment via open file formats,” emphasizes the architect. “But unlike programs from many other manufacturers we’ve used, Catenda Hub is the first CDE platform that meaningfully combines all the tasks and functionalities important in a BIM project: From task distribution to coordinating and synchronizing issues, and bidirectional information transfer from authoring software to Catenda and back – everything we need is there. And the best part: it’s incredibly user-friendly, so new colleagues are usually ready to go in about 10-30 minutes. For my team and me, Catenda Hub is currently the most pleasant and best CDE program on the market,” enthuses Gabor Pulai.
Excellent Overview for Project Managers
“Catenda Hub helps me immensely, especially in fulfilling my role as a BIM Multiplier and concretely bringing BIM to people,” Christoph Schmitt reveals. “Because in a public administration, not every employee typically has the opportunity to view, rotate, and inspect IFC models.” Very few of us work with authoring or model-checking software – which is daily business for karlundp. The BIM Manager and Administrator is convinced that his team colleagues only get a concrete idea of what’s actually happening at different positions in the project through the models themselves. What are the electrical planners doing? What do the ventilation ducts look like? “The team is always up to date, and we, as project managers, also benefit,” Christoph Schmitt is pleased to report. He and the entire project team can see daily on the Catenda platform how other project participants are proceeding and what specific issues they are dealing with in their daily work. This holds true even if they are not continuously CC’d in email correspondence. Catenda Hub’s Issue and Task Management and the integrated BCF server (BIM Collaboration Format) ensure this. At the same time, sources of error can be eliminated before they arise.
Always Up-to-Date with Information
Theresa Schefbeck, overall project manager and user of the Catenda platform, agrees. The challenges for the new building of the State Building Directorate, which will be constructed to passive house standards and is intended to receive silver certification according to the federal guideline for Sustainable Building, are immense anyway. And then BIM introduces completely new processes. That’s why the team absolutely needed a CDE platform with open exchange formats, according to the project manager. “Thanks to Catenda Hub, we always have the latest information. This is convenient because we don’t constantly have to archive files from various emails, and it also provides immense relief from work. The constant phone calls chasing project information are now a thing of the past,” she reports.
Gabor Pulai from karlundp adds that working with the CDE platform can even actively contribute to sustainable planning and construction: “With Catenda, we’re on average 60 minutes faster with uploads than with other programs. The system is intelligent, independently recognizes versions, and also avoids duplicates. For us, this just means a quick review and check of the uploaded plan files.”
The Software Developer Works Hand-in-Hand with the State Building Directorate
From the very beginning, the motivation at the Schweinfurt State Building Authority, as well as at the already BIM-experienced planner karlundp, was very high. This also underlines the quality and intuitive usability of the Catenda platform. Since BIM was a novelty for many employees, ZBIM, with BIM Manager Felix Fuchs and Robert Schmid, Head of Structural Engineering, offers comprehensive support for introducing the new working methodology. ZBIM, in turn, receives continuous assistance and customization from the software developer, ensuring that the processes align with their ideas and requirements.
BIM as an Opportunity for Smooth Construction Progress
Christoph Schmitt believes that starting in an earlier service phase could bring further advantages. “During the tender process, it was very helpful that we had cross-team access to the model and all project information. Therefore, I don’t rule out that, ideally, problems on the construction site and potentially even additional claims could be reduced with a consistent BIM process on the Catenda platform,” he adds.
Early Start for Improved Collaboration with Specialist Planners
From the perspective of ZBIM department head Robert Schmid, structured information management must begin in the so-called service phase 0 to fully exploit all the potential of Catenda Hub during planning and execution. “We want to provide the essential basic information for specialist planners in digital form right at the start of planning, thereby creating a comfortable environment for their planning tasks,” reveals Robert Schmid. “This gives us a solid framework for the entire planning team, which ideally can prevent us from incurring high additional costs during construction,” he adds.
Focusing on the Essentials – Dashboards for Building Administrations
In close collaboration with the manufacturer Catenda, special dashboards are currently being developed for employees of the building administrations. Their primary purpose is to provide visual support, enabling everyone in the project team to quickly and reliably find the information essential for their purposes. To ensure this works, ZBIM is working on corresponding structural guidelines. However, Robert Schmid also believes it would be conceivable to process the vast amount of information for users’ needs with the help of artificial intelligence, provided that humans remain an integral part of this process and control it.
And that’s not all: Catenda is currently supporting ZBIM with various enhancements and integrations. For example, ZBIM also wishes to integrate comprehensive field management for construction sites, including a construction diary, GIS adaptation, and the ability to incorporate sustainability information throughout the entire life cycle of their buildings. “The Open Way,” the software provider’s motto, is being lived out. “The collaboration is consistently great and really fun. What more could we ask for?” summarizes BIM Manager Felix Fuchs.
Picture credit: karlundp Gesellschaft für Architekten mbH, München