Digital planning on the rise

GEALAN's BIM data was named the nation's best solution in the construction industry at the end of 2021 for the second time in a row. How long has GEALAN been working on Building Information Modelling?   

Özkan Arslan: We have been working with BIM since 2017. The interest of planners and architects has increased noticeably, we can see that quite clearly. The repeated award is a confirmation of our work. After all, the jury knows all the solutions available on the market, including those of our competitors, of course. In this respect, it is good feedback if we have once again convinced the jurors.   

Nevertheless, the data should always be developed further?  

Özkan Arslan: Sure. There is always room for improvement. The requirements increase year after year. What does the market say? Where is the development going? We ask ourselves these questions regularly.  

How exactly does planning work?  

Özkan Arslan: Let's assume someone wants to plan a window: Under the menu item Windows, the planner software 2.0 shows all possible window shapes. Once the choice has been made, the planner has to add the necessary dimensions. Then follows the definition of the additional profiles. After completing the other planning sections, the programme creates the final configuration. This ensures that afterwards a fabricator or window builder can actually produce this window. During the planning phase, our software monitors in the background whether the parameters are within the permissible range.    

Your team is also concerned with facilitating uncomplicated cooperation.   

Özkan Arslan: "A big advantage of our planner software is that the project structure allows me to pass on the digital data to other people or companies involved. This eliminates cumbersome and error-prone interfaces within the planning process."  

How are GEALAN's digital planning tools received? Perhaps you can explain this using the excellent BIM data as an example.   

Özkan Arslan: We have now worked our way up to number 1 in downloads on bimobject, the world's largest BIM platform. After 2021, we already thought an increase was no longer possible. Now, in 2022, more than twice as many architects and planners are expected to download our BIM data there as last year. In addition, the number of architects and planners who use our BIM interfaces to Revit and ArchiCAD to plan windows and doors with GEALAN products is growing month by month.  

But BIM can do even more. Where do you want to go from here?  

Özkan Arslan: That's right. In the future, it will also be possible for the planner to see directly in real time what the price of the selected product is or how long the delivery time is. Of course, this presupposes that the corresponding data of the suppliers are stored. If this is the case, the planner will have a façade plan including prices within a short time. This is clearly the trend that architects and planners are setting in motion. We hear this again and again from users. This demand is driving the spread of BIM. We always understand BIM to mean 3D data in combination with alphanumeric data. This means that the planning automatically includes parts lists for the subsequent production of the building elements. This data is always part of the 3D model.