Catenda Team Van der Gragt in Wormerveer has improved the design phase of projects using Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync). By simplifying the management and accessibility of all required information, the chance of errors is significantly reduced and the necessary checks can be performed more quickly. Planner and BIM coordinator Jasper Heijnen relates his practical experiences.
Need for an exchange platform
Van der Gragt is a medium-sized construction company that has been realizing projects for development companies, housing corporations, municipalities, and private clients for over 55 years. “We often build houses and apartment complexes in series, including currently in Watermuntstraat in Wormer and Broekerpoort on the edge of Velserbroek,” says Heijnen. “In order to better share the 3D models of a Building Information Model (BIM), specification and working drawings, and other project documents with all parties involved, we started looking for an easy-to-use exchange platform. That has now been the Open Common Data Environment (open CDE) Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) from Catenda and Brink for about five years.”.
BIM in the design phase
“Shortly after I came to work here, Van der Gragt started using a BIM to improve communication and information provision during the design phase,” continues Heijnen. “In addition to Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync), we use Autodesk Revit software and Solibri for this purpose. The biggest advantage that Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) has given us over the years is the significantly smaller chance of making mistakes. Simply because everyone has access to the same up-to-date source of truth at any time and in any location and can view each other’s, partial models. Furthermore, a 3D model is easier and more clearly understood by everyone than 2D drawings with sections, details, and dimensions.”.
Quick visual checks
“Of course, setting up and using a 3D BIM together in projects takes extra time, but that investment more than pays for itself by preventing costly errors and quick visual checks,” Heijnen explains. “For example, recesses are easy to measure in 2D drawings, but in a 3D model, you can immediately see whether they are in the right locations. We also use colors to make models more transparent. Another advantage of managing and sharing project information centrally via Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) is that the number of discussions is greatly reduced. This is because the architectural details and technical installations in houses and apartments become easier to understand for all construction partners and suppliers.”.
Issue Management
“If there are comments, questions, or points for improvement, you can easily create an issue in the BIM viewer and assign it to someone to answer, or resolve,” Heijnen says. “Issue management is an important functionality of Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) that supports digital collaboration, both in the office and on the construction site, as well as with third parties. In addition to the 3D models, it has recently become possible to do so on a 2D DWG and PDF. During the years that we have been working with Bimsync, the software has been considerably expanded with many useful functions. Looking to the future, we want to expand the use of Bimsync more to the implementation and to automatically extract quantities from the BIM for our project calculations.”.
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