How BAM Deutschland AG Experienced 30% Time Savings with Data Standardisation

BAM Deutschland AG (BAM) – one of the ten operating companies of BAM – is responsible for designing, building, and managing high quality and demanding construction projects in the DACH region. While BAM has been using BIM during the design stage for years, they wanted to undergo a digitisation in the field to achieve certainty in cost, quality, and schedule through greater collaboration around project data. By adopting BIM 360 within Autodesk Construction Cloud™, BAM improved traditional techniques for gathering, analysing, and reporting site data, experiencing 30% time savings per week.

Digitising Operations to Achieve Standardised Data

BAM’s site management lagged due to conventional, paper-based inspection and documentation. Key decision-makers found themselves waiting around or digging through files to get more information. Worst of all, it was difficult to tell which information was up-to-date and accurate.

The team had already taken the first step in its digitisation by setting standards and implementing best practices and procedures to maximise efficiency and quality onsite. They now needed to connect the office to the construction site, integrating highly fractured and siloed operations to create better collaboration for trade coordination and quality assurance in a common data environment.

In evaluating technology, the team identified the need for an end-to-end business solution that is scalable and integrates with other systems to comply with project standards as mandated by the German government at the closeout of each project. With teams in the UK and Ireland already using BIM 360, the deployment was a no-brainer.

How to Drive Cloud-based Quality Management Adoption

In close collaboration with the project team, the digital construction department set up the project, determined the required capabilities, and aligned the processes based on the requests from the site team, the content of the quality management system, and experiences from the BAM operating companies in the UK and Ireland.

With the construction project management structure in place, the team turned to their partnership with Autodesk and Autodesk Global Consulting team to create customised training to rollout BIM 360 and onboard the team.

“The training was a crucial factor to success. We created a one-day internal training program with documentation that visually explained how to use the tool and standardised quality management process.”

–Naveed Zargar, BIM Manager

Standardised Data Leads to Increased Efficiencies Onsite

By digitising its project management workflows and construction process with BIM 360, the team drove greater collaboration and transparency between project stakeholders, reducing the risk of working off an outdated model. With data centralised on one platform, the team eliminated redundancies and streamlined workflows to increase productivity.

Now, site teams can attach photos with locations from the field to snags, checklists, or site diaries and email directly to the assignee/subcontractor, enhancing collaboration. This feature provides greater visibility than traditional paper-based techniques and provides time savings of about 30% per week.

BAM’s new way of working has become an integral part of its digital construction success. The increase in time savings is a paradigm shift from focusing on repetitive administrative tasks to quality. Since 2019, BIM 360 has become a standardised tool for digital collaboration and site mobility tasks across all projects. Every new project replicates its master project template in BIM 360 to ensure success.

“BIM 360 is a differentiator and has become an integral part of our digital construction success. It [BIM 360] puts us four to five years ahead of the competition. With the right attitude and the right partner, there’s no limit to what we can accomplish.”