SUEZ Consulting – Catenda Hub for the extension of the Trois Rivières wastewater treatment plant in Clermont Ferrand

In September 2021, the consulting and engineering firm SUEZ Consulting was awarded a Silver BIM award at the BIM d’Or ceremony for the renovation project of the Trois Rivières wastewater treatment plant in Clermont-Ferrand (63) (France) (event organized by “Le Moniteur and Cahiers techniques du bâtiment”). This is a look back at a project where Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync), a BIM collaboration platform was deployed. 

The project

The Trois Rivières wastewater treatment plant treats wastewater and “combined wastewater/rainwater sewage”, in order to discharge into the Artière River a water quality that complies with European standards” (Source: Clermont Auvergne).

SUEZ Consulting, in charge of the project management, is one of the major BIM players (Building Information Modeling) in this project, along with five design offices (MIB 3D, ITC, Segmentis, Architecte and CHM) and three construction companies (SUEZ, NGE and SCATE).

A rehabilitation project with high stakes :

1. Increasing the water treatment capacity (wastewater and stormwater) by developing the plant’s equipment; 2 million m3 of wastewater will no longer be discharged into the natural environment (Source: SUEZ Consulting);
2. Improving the quality of water returned to natural areas; objective of 50% reduction in pollution discharges into the natural environment (Source: SUEZ Consulting);
3. Enhance the value of sludge treatment by producing biogas; 14GWh of biogas produced per year, the equivalent of 1,400 heated homes (Source: SUEZ Consulting).

The use of BIM for a hydraulic infrastructure makes the renovation project unique. “The use of BIM from the beginning of the project brings a great benefit. There was a real synergy around BIM with our client, Clermont Auvergne Métropole,” explains Guillaume Desmedt, Director of the BIM division at SUEZ Consulting. “I think that is what made this project a success.”

The overall cost of the project is €55 million and was financed by multiple players: Clermont Auvergne Métropole, Loire Bretagne Water Agency, ADEME and the Auvergne Rhône Alpes Region.

The use of Catenda Hub for the project

“The adoption of Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) was supported by SUEZ Consulting” explains Guillaume Desmedt. “This open Common Data Environment allows us to benefit from a global vision on all the actors. It is the central tool for decision making. We use Catenda Hub to upload our models and collaborate in an open BIM environment (using Industry Foundation Classes IFC and BIM Collaboration Format BCF)” Guillaume continues.

Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) is the database for the project management, the design offices and the construction companies. So all the stakeholders upload their models on this cloud platform, which allows everyone to be able to visualize them and also to use the main features of annotations, reviews and comments. “Not all project stakeholders have the same knowledge regarding modeling software for example. Thanks to Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync), all the actors can be involved since they only need to connect to the web platform.” Guillaume explains.

“The different parties design their models and then convert them into IFCs so they can collaborate together,” explains Guillaume. All the reviews, carried out via the BCF, are integrated into Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) to, among other things, check the models and analyze the operating and maintenance points of the building and systems. “As a concrete example, thanks to Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) a maintainer will be able to detect, directly from his workstation, a subject where  they could not have had access. From this point of view, they will be able to address a recovery of the malfunction directly at the source and not once on the site.” Guillaume continues.

“Collaboration between project stakeholders is ensured thanks to the use of Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync)” explains Guillaume. Indeed, this open Common Data Environment (CDE) allows project members to view models, organize, comment and annotate documents and prioritize tasks through statuses. “The most used features are document management, annotations and the BCF server. The latter allows us to get a history of comments which is very useful.”

Using Catenda Hub (previously Bimsync) for the project has many advantages. 26 critical issues were able to be resolved using the BIM collaboration platform. Moreover, the platform also allowed a reduction in  the number of face-to-face meetings, and the client being better integrated in the process. This also results in a reduction of transportation costs (i.e., Paris-Clermont round trips). “Catenda Hub allowed us to reduce the number of meetings around the ergonomics of the building but also to save time because the critical points can be taken up more quickly. We come back to the example I mentioned with the maintainer.” explains Guillaume.

BIM d’Or

SUEZ Consulting participated for the first time in the BIM d’Or Contest in the category “Project over 30,000 m2 in renovation”. This participation is part of the implementation of their BIM approach in 2021, that goes with the creation of a BIM unit, led by the major projects department.

“SUEZ Consulting presented this project at the BIM d’Or to meet our objective of deploying Building Information Modeling (BIM) for hydraulic infrastructures. As the firm is an expert in this field, it allows us to be recognized as such,” explains Guillaume Desmedt.

“The success of the integration of the BIM approach in this project is essentially based on the relationship with the client,” adds Julien Bachelet, Communication Manager at SUEZ Consulting.

SUEZ Consulting was awarded a Silver BIM in its category “Project over 30,000 m2 in renovation”. In January 2022, SUEZ Consulting will present a BIM project covering the entire drinking water cycle through to wastewater treatment at the Infra BIM Open.