BIM as a recovery tool: from pilots to systemic changes

The Ministry for Development of Communities and Territories of Ukraine organized a round table “Introducing BIM as a tool of transparency, efficiency, reconstruction, and recovery,” dedicated to digital transformation of the construction industry.

The participants discussed legislative initiatives, hands-on experience of BIM application, and further steps to implements this technology in recovery processes.

BIM is no trend but a basis of reconstruction

Introducing BIM in Ukraine began back in 2020. Meanwhile, today this technology has acquired a new sense with am impact on the reconstruction as well as cooperation with international partners.

BIM is becoming a foundation for quality reconstruction and effective interaction with donors. But is also needs legislating BIM as a separate kind of design which will enable Ukrainian specialists to work under the European standards.

Special attention was given to draft law No. 6383 that is to set a regulatory basis for digital design and ensure compatibility with European practices. The speakers noted that digitalization of construction is one of the most effective anticorruption mechanisms. A representative of the U.K. embassy in Ukraine also put an emphasis on that, as the technology ensures transparency and accountability at all stages of project implementation. To foreign partners, it is a principal factor of trust when financing the recovery projects.

BIM in practice

During the technical panel, the participants presented practical cases of using BIM in infrastructure recovery. Notable, they spoke about applying 3D models where each element of the building has digital parameters which allows detecting the errors even before entering the site.

They also discussed setting up national libraries of facilities and a need to form technical standards.

Next stage – implementation

In her final address, Nataliia Kozlovska, Deputy Minister of Development of Communities and Territories, called on to get ready for practical implementation, “I want to urge everyone to consider this stage irrevocable.”

Implementation includes three major phases:

• forming the regulatory framework;
• developing technical standards;
• mass-scale training of the market actors.

Recovery context

BIM is not only a digital tool but a new model of managing the facility’s lifecycle from design to operation.

To the state, it means transparent use of funds including donor’s ones. To businesses – reducing the number of errors and opportunity to enter the EU markets. To communities – obtaining a “digital passport” of the building which makes its use easier for decades.

ICEG emphasizes that introducing BIM is directly linked to enhancing the project management quality, process standardization, and distinct allocation of roles in construction. These are the tools that ensure predictable outcomes and effective use of resources during reconstruction.