“BIMcollab’s simple, clear operation is a major strength”

“Any project is always about communication,” says Daniel Simons, Project Leader at nesseler bau. As BIM advocate, Simons leads development projects about the ever-deeper integration of BIM-based working methods in the company. Recently, nesseler bau started working with BIMcollab Nexus and BIMcollab Zoom. Let’s have a look what it brings.

Nesseler bau is a medium-sized construction company. Its business areas cover the entire value chain in construction (development, planning, construction, operation, modernization). Nesseler has its own workforce and teams up with external planners, structural engineers and co-entrepreneurs. The company stands for top performance and is only satisfied when their clients are. To achieve this, nesseler bau is constantly evolving.

Quality checking

Simons: “We have been developing our own software for systematic quality control of our construction work for years, which is regularly used on site. With the introduction of BIM, there was also the requirement to subject the 3D models to a quality check. We took our first steps with BIMcollab in a small, clear project. In this way we learned a lot about the creation of traceable issues and the range of functions of BIMcollab. With each subsequent project, the scope of use increased. Currently, we are using BIMcollab Nexus in the sixth project.”

Easy transition

“The implementation and administration of BIMcollab is very easy from our point of view. There weren’t any major challenges for us here. However, it is very important that all those involved in the project work consistently with the platform. This is a big change for many participants at the beginning – away from phone and e-mail – and towards issues. Any project is always all about communication. This must remain traceable and transparent.

Moreover, we think the generation and handling of issues must be as simple as possible and a data connection to the 3D model must always be guaranteed. With the sophisticated user interface and the support of the open data standard BCF, BIMcollab was quickly shortlisted for us.”

With the sophisticated user interface, BIMcollab was quickly shortlisted for us.

Direct

Now, BIMcollab is the central tool for nesseler to keep track of all open points in model editing. Simons: “This is particularly important when working with external planners. I compile the agenda for BIM meetings by marking individual issues. Meeting results are recorded directly in a comment in the issue. At the end of a meeting, the meeting notes are already completed and available via the report function.

We use the BCF Manager in our Revit installations and in DDS-CAD. In many cases, however, our planners also use BIMcollab Zoom, as there is access to all models and issues can be linked directly to the correct components.”

Results

BIMcollab helps nesseler to map communication in a structured and transparent manner. Simons: “From my point of view, the simple, clear operation is a major strength of BIMcollab and BIMcollab Zoom. This makes it easy to implement the tools in new projects. In BIMcollab for instance, I always use the options for filtering and sorting. These functions are quite well developed and are extremely important, especially with large issue volumes. And in Zoom, creating a cutting box around a marked component with “Ctrl + B” is a very simple and yet extremely important function. I have often wondered why this function is always associated with a lot more operating steps in competitor products!?

My overall conclusion is: In the area of issue management and BCF, BIMcollab offers a very good platform that any company active in BIM should shortlist. The strengths: easy handling, good performance and a good connection with other tools via BCF manager and API.”
 

Summary

Company	nesseler bau
Branch	Construction
HQ	Aachen and Frankfurt am Main
Software	BIMcollab Nexus and BIMcollab Zoom
Challenge	Effective and traceable communication among a number of (internal and external) project participants on BIM models’ quality and issues.
Solution	BIMcollab Nexus for issue logging, communication and actions. BIMcollab Zoom for visual checking of models.