How Digital Project Delivery Increases Operational Efficiency

MICHELE POSITANO: Hello. Welcome our presentation, How Digital Project Delivery Enables to Increase Operational Efficiency. I am pleased to attend this event and to have possibility to share our work. I will introduce Houyeme and myself, but beginning, I want to say thanks to my team for the quality of the work provided and for their patience.

About Houyeme-- she is a BIM manager at Vinci with three years of experience in the BIM field, and she had the opportunity to work on diverse projects ranging from transportation infrastructure like the Line 15 Grands Paris and also to iconic building like museum and the hotels. She hold a master's degree in management from National School of Bridges with ParisTech. She believes on pushing the boundaries of innovation in the construction field.

About me-- I am a BIM manager to build and currently I am on one of the big projects of infrastructure in the world. Have gained experience from different types of projects like Paris Metro line, Maldives airport, Bangkok airport, Tramway Liege, Entisar Tower in Dubai, Foundation Cartier, Montpellier Hospital. These allow me the possibility to have a global vision from all points of view. Let Houyeme introduce us to the presentation of project.

HOUYEME AHMADY: So good afternoon, everyone. I'm Houyeme Ahmady. I'm a BIM manager within Vinci Construction. I'm so pleased to attend Autodesk University. In this presentation, we will show you [INAUDIBLE] this huge project details. Firstly I will explain the project context. What you can see on the screen is a picture taken from the site. It's the external platform located in Somerton Airport, and you can see the concrete plants and the famous French Alps mountain.

Michele will speak about the challenges that we faced or that we estimate and adopted solutions. We will go through the benefit obtained to measure the return on our investment, and we will finish with testimonials from the worksite. So let's start with the project contexts.

This is the TELT project. That stands for [FRENCH] Lyon-Turin rail link of 270 kilometers long. More precisely, we are currently working on the cross-border section between Saint-Jean-de-Maurienne in France and Suse in Italy. It will be a big tube tunnel for each one of 57.5 kilometer long for a total distance of 115 kilometer, to which 29 kilometer of bypasses need to be added. A bypass is the link between the odd and even tube.

In addition to this, there are 18.3 kilometer of access adits. An access adit is a tunnel that enables to pass from 920 meter NGF where is located the external platform to 420 meter NGF on the tunnel side.

So the project is a part of a global one that is the Trans-European Transport Network-- RTE-T. It's a program to develop transport infrastructure in Europe Union. It aims to develop exchanges in particular to increase the share of the most environmentally friendly modes of transport. We are located in the corridor number three in the Mediterranean that goes from Spain to Hungary passing by France and Italy.

So this part of the project is composed of 12 construction sites. The joint venture, Vinci and Webuild is constructing sites 6 and 7. It's civil engineering works as explained before. We are going to carry out 45 kilometer of galleries with three TBM. The TBM is tunnel boring machines, and they're aligning 11,717 rings. To facilitate the supply, we are going to construct a prefabrication plant for segments. 21 kilometer in conventional method with explosive and shovel. To excavate the excavated material we are going to use 55 kilometer of conveyor belts.

So the stakeholders are the following. The client is called TELT. It's an entity that has been created for this project, a collaboration between France and Italy. In France and Italy, it's similar. We have an entity that we called MOE that corresponds to the designer doing the design intent-- the schematic design. During construction, this entity take different roles as they check the [INAUDIBLE] being produced by designers during construction.

Here the MOE is organized as a joint venture for four companies which are the following-- Setec, Systra, Italferr, Pini. And the joint [INAUDIBLE] constructing the project is made up of the largest French company and the largest one from Italy, Vinci and Webuild. So will let Michele present to us the challenges on this project.

MICHELE POSITANO: Thank you, Houyeme. The challenge that we have identified that belongs two categories. The first one is the human. Starting with the schedule, it's always a challenge where we find tight cadence and the coactivity up to eight excavation fronts. As it is a big project, hence all quantities are huge. The coordination between all stakeholders and underground and external works, and lack of BIM maturity. Infrastructure project need to improve competencies and methodology as well in combination to build the project.

The second category of challenge identified is technical. There is the geological complexity. The area of work is one of the most complex in Europe. There are four coalfield, which means presence of toxic gas and uncertainty what we can found during excavation. This is why we need to do a lot of investigation.

A direct consequence from this geological complexity is that is a plan site. In other words, more we progress in work's activity, more adjustment is needed. For example, on the schedule or for lining thickness. Logistic is key for underground project. Traffic needs to be clear and well-organized. And of all this, it's in an environment with a constrained morphology, how you can see in the picture.

Let's go solution. Here is the list of solution that I'm going to explain in the next slides. The first solution that we talked about was to centralized data. As can you see on this slide, there is the classical organization used on most of construction sites till today where we find multiply stakeholders and various file formats, and all of this in a complex information system.

The main objective are to avoid direct exchange on the work in silos to stop sending files by mail or using USB keys, et cetera. It's time to say stop at expiration I send you. I share-- this is the sentence to use. As explained, I was looking for a solution to enable collaboration and coordination between all stakeholders, the famous CDE-- Common Data Environment.

This is how and why we have chosen Autodesk Construction Cloud platform-- because ACC answered all our requirements. For example, avoid loss of information, facilitate access to information, easy revision change, update information easier, improve information submission, organize information in a structured way, support for quality, and very important-- be transparent with the client.

So this slide is the synthesis of all our work-- the phases of design, approval, and the issues for construction, and the last as-built. In the end, the possibility to share easily data enable us to set up a quality plan that is still applicable during the as-built. Each one know who does what, where, how, and when with the quality assurance.

We have identified the eight main step. During the first one we have the deliverable production at the design stage. It is done in a collaborative way and the [INAUDIBLE] in the folder TEC. That folder correspond to work in progress. This folder is used by the CAD technician or BIM modeler and their technical lead.

During the second step, the deliverables owners share their files in the folder PTG. That correspond to share, so a first feedback from all discipline can be requested. This step is out of the process for review and internal approval. It enables us to save time and finalize the deliverables as much as possible before the start of the process. As the documents are almost finalized thanks to the feedback of all teams representative, we start the process of review and internal operation.

Step number three-- document control to check file naming convention, document number, description, and title. The BIM team to check CAD specification, digital content, technical content, and coordination-- the technical coordinator is verified, the technical content, interface between discipline and activity on site. It's obvious that all these checks are requested at the first step from the CAD technical, and each technical lead using a checklist-- same one being used by us after.

Step number four-- coordination meetings are set up where decisions are made in presence of each discipline lead. Step number five-- once the international approval has been obtained, it goes to the external checker. Step number six-- once internal checks and the external ones are achieved, we send documents within the official EDMS. The deliverable are sent back to ACC in the BPE folder which corresponds for the issues for the construction folder, and thus available for the developer team to be able to construct. Otherwise, it goes back to step number one. So I leave Houyeme to continue on the solution.

HOUYEME AHMADY: Thank you, Michele. So in order, after centralizing data and creating a process the objective is to ease the deliverable production, and they review through the creation of revisions. As mentioned before, there is no need to send the documents per email or USB, et cetera. It's easy to find documents as there is a unique platform used with a common structure. It's easy to create issues directly on ACC. No need to send screenshots per email or via Teams.

It's easy to track the issues using [INAUDIBLE] and see a progress made to resolve them using the issue tracker in ACC. It's also easy to compare two revisions of the same document and check if the comments I made in a previous revision has been taken into consideration or not.

So in this slide, I'm presenting an example of the complex coordination. We have in a very little and limited space and a huge number of elements and activity. It's the external platform of San Martin la Porte. So as we can see, there is the digital terrain model produced using Civil 3D. We have the entrance of the access added produced using Revit. We have the yard with Advance Steel, the gantry with Inventor, the storage area of the tunnel segments also with Inventor, the water treatment with the Plan3D, the concrete plant on Inventor.

We have the touring and parking with Vehicle Tracking Mechanical Workshop. We have the crane with Inventor, the base camp with Revit, the noise barrier, the conveyors, the buried services with Revit. So as you see, we have multiple federated files format that need to be coordinated. The collaboration is highly needed, so each team and discipline can carry out it tasks.

So once design is well coordinated, what is essential is to communicate with the delivery team on site. This facilitate the access to the correct drawings and especially the latest versions. This became an information available to all thanks to [INAUDIBLE] on site or BIM to site. As shown on these pictures, it goes from the design office where information is created, the touch screen around when getting coffee on site-- what we call the totem. The totem is a big screen dedicated to sites where information is used. And also we use on site tablets and smartphones. This is a way to enforce the link between design and delivery team on site.

So another solution is the scan to BIM. It's to transfer the work done on site to BIM. The dynamic scan of the front is another important topic. It aims to-- the first thing pool the work between geologists and the topo. Also it aims to provide consistent results for the site supervision and the as-built. So it's with simple access tools from a recap point clouds, then the Revit models. This enable us to produce the as-built easily and in a progressive manner.

So I will let Michele present to us the next solutions.

MICHELE POSITANO: Thank you, Houyeme. So the project management for the BIM models become easier. The BIM team work in coordination with the planning team, the team doing a quantity take off and the cost estimate, team managing the project budget. With a tight schedule, it's important to confirm or modify it in an agile way. Moreover, it became possible to compare the progress made on site versus the planned activity.

Here is a use case with methods. You can see the technical gallery and the tunnel boring machine cover. This enables us to study the different solution in the type. As mentioned in the beginning of this presentation, the level of maturity is lagging behind the infrastructure sector. To remove this gap, it's important to upskill your team on software, but also on methodology.

There are two types of people that you need to train and support. Technical experts have a very high knowledge of tunnel discipline but they are not necessarily up to date with the new tools and new generation. The aim is to achieve this digital transition and create a generational bridge where experienced people can transmit their knowledge to the young one, and at the same time they are learning new technologies and methodologies. On the other hand, young engineers can benefit from this huge wealth of knowledge and putting in music with the new technology methodologies. It allow a uniform work.

Now I want to show you the benefits that we have identified-- the different benefits brought to us by implementing the solution described earlier by anticipating problems thanks to data centralization and the access provided to this data in real time to all stakeholders and [INAUDIBLE]. It is possible to avoid errors, avoid demolition that may be linked to a lack of understanding.

Decision support. Thanks to data centralization without multiplying platform, we can have also global vision. Communication-- it's a primary benefit. This allows us to exchange with local residents who have a clear vision of the impact of the project through the digital model. Management doesn't need to have the technical skills and software to visualize the progress made on site for project management and decision-making. Moreover, communication with the client and the design intent is improved as information is centralized and up to date.

Last item, the as-built. Thanks to all of that, we are able to deliver an as-built of high quality. Easy consultation is the essential basis for a digital twin that will facilitate maintenance. Houyeme, do you want to speak about the testimonials?

HOUYEME AHMADY: Yes. So I would like to remind the title of this presentation is How Digital Project Delivery Enables to Increase Operational Efficiency for Construction Companies. So I'm sharing with you the testimonials from colleagues working on sites, because in the end they are the barometer of all this work, organization, processes, and structures set up in ACC.

So the first testimonial is "easy to use." So he says, "for my team and I, Autodesk Construction Cloud enable us to find documents easily as they are all gathered in one platform." The second testimonial, the document sharing. "What is really good is that we no more need to issue documents as we only have to share them from Autodesk Construction Cloud."

And let's say the last testimonial today, the work efficiency. "It enables us to create revisions on a unique deliverable. That's to say create and visualize comments on a document without wondering if it's the last version or not." So these were the testimonials from our work site. And I will give the floor back to Michael for the conclusion.

MICHELE POSITANO: Thank you, Houyeme. I'd like to share with you this phrase. "There is perhaps nothing so crazy as believing that you are always right." I hope it's encourage you in your search for new horizon. Thank you for your attention. And now if you want, we are available for your question.