AEC Game Changers Recap: Civil in the Cloud

For the most recent installment of the AEC Game Changers virtual event series, Kenneth Driscol, Senior Application Specialist at Applied Software, held a discussion about civil in the cloud.

“The idea of civil in the cloud is kind of a broad topic,” Kenneth began. “What we want to look at is BIM (building information modeling) and GIS (geographic information system) integration, because most individuals are working with them in some form of GIS and CAD. We’ve started looking at how we want to transform infrastructure planning, design, construction, and operation.”

Kenneth discussed the format and way in which information is being delivered during a project, pointing out that “context is king.” With different ways to share and access information, we “start to combine the power of location and location intelligence,” he said. “We are starting to get more of a holistic view of infrastructure as it emerges.”

Three pillars of this ideal have emerged, added Kenneth: BIM, GIS and the cloud. “First, GIS informs BIM, and BIM fuels GIS,” he said. “By providing a real-world context of assets from an existing environment, and you provide those assets for engineers or designers, that’s GIS informing them,” he said. “Then, the second pillar we need to get is a real-world understanding.”

The fusion of BIM and GIS provides the power to build a robust context model where “geographic information and infrastructure design data are brought together,” Kenneth said. “That helps engineers and designers to better understand how assets can interact within the context of a real place and geography.”

And the third pillar? That’s “more, better, with less,” Kenneth said. “We’re always faced with the process of getting more information. To beat today’s macroeconomic challenges and build more sustainable and resilient infrastructure, we need seamless sharing of data and BIM information between BIM design processes and GIS technologies.”

And again, “Context is king,” Kenneth reminds. “There are specific benefits that you get when you start this process of BIM and GIS. We start looking at how we can transform the project lifecycle. We take a look within this transformation so that, at the center, we look at a new approach: how we drive smarter decisions. We all want to look at reducing risks, minimizing data loss, and then leverage that across the entire project lifecycle. BIM and GIS integration allows us to do that. The ideal behind bringing it all together with the cloud would be BIM and GIS integration.”

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