Digital transformation in infrastructures through BIM, GIS and digital twins
April 18, 2023
At OHLA we are committed to digitalization in order to improve our processes as we generate new high value-added services supported by our own technology. We show you how we apply it in our projects to improve the quality of life of millions of people.
IMPROVEMENT OF WORKSITE MANAGEMENT
At OHLA’s worksites, we apply digital technologies that allow us to be more efficient and move towards decarbonization, including tools for monitoring and managing construction resources (machinery, materials, labor), improving communications between the construction team or controlling the progress of the asset under construction, through tools such as laser scanners or drones.
One example is the integrated fuel management of machinery and fleet tool, recently awarded in the framework of our Technological Innovation Awards 2022. This is a self-developed methodology, implemented in Florida (USA) as the first location, which allows for comprehensive and efficient management of all aspects related to fuel management of machinery and fleet. It is worth highlighting the advantages demonstrated and the ability to export this solution, which combines proprietary processes and various digital technologies to surpass in functionality the available market solutions, which only partially cover some aspects of the process.
BIM
In the field of operational process improvement, the progress we have made in digitization is especially linked to the expansion of the use of BIM (Building Information Modeling) methodology.
We are pioneers in the use of BIM applied to the construction sector, applying this methodology in more than 70 building and civil works projects in the USA, Latin America and Europe.
In 2022 we received the BIM 2022 Excellence Award in Colombia for the use of BIM in the Transmilenio (Bus Rapid Transit) system adaptation project of the Troncal Avenida Ciudad de Cali Tramo 1, in Bogotá, a project that will benefit more than 100,000 people. Thanks to BIM, all documentary and drawing information was unified and centralized, which improved planning and execution results.
Other recent examples of BIM applications are the National Museum of Peru (MUNA), the Américo Vespucio Oriente (AVO) highway in Chile, and the Panama subway expansion project.
DIGITAL TWINS
En el proyecto Lund-Arlöv (Suecia), llevamos a cabo uno de los proyectos de digitalización en obra ferroviaria más avanzados de Europa.
OHLA ha sido considerada recientemente como un referente en el uso combinado de herramientas BIM y GIS por parte de los principales fabricantes de software en esos ámbitos, por su despliegue de gemelos digitales en el proyecto ferroviario Lund-Arlöv, en Suecia.
En concreto hemos trabajado para obtener una representación virtual del mundo real a partir de modelos BIM, imágenes de drones y sistemas de información geográficas (GIS), capaces de diagnosticar incidencias y hacer simulaciones en tiempo real. Este proyecto permitirá ampliar significativamente la capacidad de una de las rutas de ferrocarril más transitadas del país hasta los 650 trenes y 80.000 pasajeros diarios.
Los gemelos digitales se han utilizado para visualizar, analizar y controlar todo tipo de parámetros y procesos relevantes como movimiento de tierras, mejores rutas de acceso al frente de trabajo, gestión de accesos a la obra, ocupaciones temporales y gestión medioambiental, entre otros.
DRONES
We have been the first Spanish construction company legally authorized by the Spanish Aviation Safety Agency to perform scientific work and photogrammetry with unmanned aerial vehicles. We used drones for the first time in the La Aldea-El Risco project in Gran Canaria in 2009, becoming pioneers in their use applied to the field of surveying in civil works.
Currently, we use drones on a regular basis in our projects such as the intersection of I-55 and Weber Road in Romeoville, USA; the Malaga – Los Curos road infrastructure in Colombia; the improvement of the Riverine Defenses, which will benefit more than 360,000 citizens in Peru; the 251-bed Sullana Hospital, also in Peru; or the Malpartida road bypass in Cáceres, Spain.