Hugaas Engineering needed a tool that was part of their overall BIM strategy. Since one of their sister companies was working with the open BIM software DDS-CAD, Daugalis opted for the same. “The advantage that we have in DDS-CAD is the compatibility with the rest of our software packages that we use and the collaboration with our Norwegian counterparts. DDS-CAD allows our team of engineers to provide detailed information into the models that can then be used to communicate clearly back to the project managers or respectively clients how the final structure will behave. Our engineers find it the fastest interacting interface on the market compared to other products. When you are working on a project for eight to ten hours a day, you want some software that keeps up with you. And our engineers are working in a very rapid pace.”  According to Paul Daugalis, from the conceptual design to handing over the building they are now up to six months faster than their competition, which is using more of the manual methods. He also states that the BIM tool is not only saving time but also reducing errors drastically. This applies not only to the engineering part but to the construction part as well. “We know that after we performed the clash detection and after we got the full integration, the issued installation drawings are accurate. For example that they do not have piping go through steel structures,” Daugalis says.

This accuracy is particularly important as he considers the MEP side one of the most critical parts in their business and “the engine of the asset lifecycle”. Daugalis points out, “The equipment requires some sort of maintenance or consumes some sort of energy compared to the structural side, which just stands there and looks pretty. It is the one that helps us provide the best asset lifecycle value to our clients. Cost to build might be cheap, but cost to maintain might be high, if the parts fail after only 5 years of operation or consume a lot of electricity.”   

He believes this long term approach gave them the special edge compared to their fellow contestants of the Open BIM Award. Hugaas Engineering was the only organization that integrated the maintenance part as well. “We work with an internal team to move from the start of a project until the end of it and continue to support our clients over the next 10 to 30 years in which they own and operate the asset.” In his opinion BIM becomes more interesting after the models have been built. “What we will see in the future is that BIM will be used to operate and maintain the asset as well. The information that is collected in the BIM models is going to ensure that we provide our clients the best solution and value over time, with reliable equipment and well performing energy consumption. This is our vision, our goal!”