First consortium meeting of the research project BIMPUT
For the first consortium meeting of the research project BIMPUT, the consortium leaders, project partners and some associated partners met with “Projektträger Karlsruhe” (PTKA – Project Management Agency Karlsruhe) in a relaxed atmosphere on December the 6th after a little more than one year of project runtime. Appropriately for St. Nicholas, coffee and cake were served while Kevin Krings, as a research associate of the Chair of Cyber-Physical Systems (CPS) and the “Institut für Wirtschaftsinformatik” (IWI – Institute of Information Systems) at the University of Siegen, led through the meeting.
The first results of the project presented are very promising and show the great digital potential of the German craft sector, which has been untapped so far. The insights provided by the project partners showed, for example, that digital technologies and modern methods such as Building Information Modeling (BIM) are almost not being used at all. In addition, discussions with the craftspeople revealed that the term “BIM” is only very roughly known and that there is a strong desire to greatly simplify workflow and integrate digital tools. “This has once again confirmed our research project,” said Sven Hoffmann from the WiNeMe chair.
During the meeting, a small lively discussion arose around the challenges and potentials for BIMPUT. Several points were raised that still block BIMPUT according to the project participants. In addition, it was criticized that craftspeople currently think from construction site to construction site and do not plan strategically for the future, resulting in particular in the digitalization of the industry not being far advanced. As Kevin Krings laughingly summed up, “There is an incredible amount to do.”
In spite of all the small and large challenges, all project participants are very motivated to continue moving BIMPUT dedicatedly forward, so that the research project produces the missing digital tools and moves the skilled crafts closer to a digital future, piece by piece. Ms. Göttel, representing PTKA, noted that the results of BIMPUT could also facilitate the future work of Chambers of skilled crafts and the “Zentralverbands des Deutschen Handwerks” (German Confederation of Skilled Crafts).
The way forward for BIMPUT has already been mapped as well: Some prototypes developed by the consortium will soon be tested in a real-world trial, while further interviews and quantitative studies are planned and the tools will gradually be further developed as well as tested on construction sites. In addition, the results of BIMPUT will be presented in scientific publications. The project participants look forward to the further duration of BIMPUT in a positive and motivated manner and expect more helpful results.