Skanska on Interaxo BIM Data: “Went from an estimated 200 hours spent on data collection to 30”

Villa Brogården in Alingsås is a project by Skanska, carried out in close collaboration by several of their business units that came together to raise the bar for sustainability in Skanska’s construction projects. Joakim Larsson’s works as Digital Leader Design at Skanska – and his role is to boost and promote the digital development within the organisation. While coordinating designers and overseeing project delivery, he also provides any support that might be needed during the design phase.

Now, Joakim shares his ambitions for the Villa Brogården project, as well as for Skanska’s digital development – including their contributions to the development of Interaxo BIM Data (formerly known as Bimeye).

How Skanska utilised Interaxo BIM Data in the Villa Brogården project

With the help of Interaxo BIM Data, Skanska was able to enter metadata and thus create an IFC model that contains all the information that the operation and maintenance needs. Changes implemented during construction are introduced into the IFC model on an ongoing basis. By providing an exact and updated copy – a so-called ‘digital twin’ – the manager gets access to the right data at the same time as Skanska.

With the support of the software, Skanska has developed a solution that is simple, quality-assured and cost-effective. “When we came in contact with Tribia and Bimeye, we did not know who was the buyer of Villa Brogården. This meant that a management system was not chosen and thus our idea was to create a solution that would suit as many people as possible,” Joakim says.

“In most property systems, it is possible to enter IFC models or Excel files. Interaxo BIM Data can produce both of these formats, which is why we chose that system. First and foremost, we wanted a general solution, and that’s what we got.”
– Joakim Larsson, Digital Leader Design at Skanska

Skanska has an internal need for metadata on the models and also on what they deliver for data to the customer. “It’s not just the physical building that is Skanska’s product; it’s also the digital real estate solution, where Interaxo BIM Data comes in handy – where we can enter all project data from the design and production phases,” Joakim explains. The trend is that public customers require more metadata for their management system. In some cases, very many parameters are required.

“In such projects, Interaxo BIM Data is a good tool because the designers don’t end up with all the responsibility. The contractor can help create the data,” he continues. “A lot depends on the construction companies’ willingness to deliver a digital twin. Interaxo BIM Data is an added cost, but the increased product value is undeniable. We simply deliver a better product now – and ultimately provide our customers with greater value.”

Increased efficiency and lower costs

With the help of Interaxo BIM Data, Skanska swiftly collected all required information for the operations team. They had originally estimated that this process would take about 200 hours, including BIM training, data collection and manually entering all metadata. However, it turned out to go by so much faster. For future projects, Skanska now estimates that the same amount of work will take about 30 hours or so, due to the tool.

“This has proven to be a huge advantage for our purchasing department. Now, we can add and share model information exactly how we need to. We can divide objects across apartments, corridors, and so on – and synchronise the information with our finance software. That way, we quickly get to see the cost for each specific room without it requiring loads of work. It’s a big time saver,” Joakim excitedly shares..

The issue with Skanska’s previous models was that they rarely showed exactly what they wanted to see. With Interaxo BIM Data, Skanska can enter parameter and divide these in a way that automatically generates a 4D plan via their own software. The objects in the model are automatically linked to their schedule, and then a video is created to show how the building will be constructed. “The video is great for several reasons – especially visualising the construction phase. It’s also useful in technical matters that apply to subcontractors and clients, as well,” Joakim states.

“From now on, we’d like to standardise on Interaxo BIM Data as our preferred tool. The software system supports our development of complex construction projects, and we found it to be very flexible and easy to use. That is exactly what we were looking for.”
– Joakim Larsson, Digital Leader Design at Skanska