Executive summary
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium offers vocational and high school education for both youth and adults totaling over 20.000 people in twelve municipalities. Jyväskylä Educational Consortium invests over 17m€ annually to build and renew their educational facilities.
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium is a pioneer when it comes to Building Information Modeling; it has been using BIM for its projects since 2007. However, the 3D model alone is not sufficient to solve the dilemma of project information sharing. In order to implement high-quality project management, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium decided to start using Modelspace. By using Modelspace, the quality and usability of building information models and project documentation has improved. The project plans and documents are easy to find and the information is accessible when needed.
Along with project management, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium will also keep control of construction costs by using an investment module developed jointly by Gravicon and Scudo Solutions. The module will be used to manage annual repair proposals, and their cost tracking and reporting.
Gravicon works as Jyväskylä Educational Consortium’s partner as they’re developing their new process. Modelspace is more than a software solution – through their cooperation, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium has been able to influence the development of the software and ensure that the solution meets their needs.
Client
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium offers vocational and high school education for both young people and adults. Their educational buildings are the single most valuable assets the consortium owns, and during the last 15 years, they have heavily invested in construction and maintenance of their real estate have been heavily invested in. The Jyväskylä Educational Consortium Property Corporation produces facility services and develops efficient processes for property management, which guide all operations. The facilities that are built are designed to be flexibly convertible and they are equipped with the latest educational technology.
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium
12 owner municipalities: Hankasalmi, Joutsa, Jyväskylä, Jämsä, Keuruu, Kuhmoinen, Laukaa, Luhanka, Muurame, Petäjävesi, Toivakka, Uurainen
Number of staff on 31.12.2015: 1,172 people, >20,000 Students
Size of facilities 147,000 m2 of room area, rental space about 12,000 m2 of room area, Technical present value €182 million
Construction investments 2015 €16 million, 2016 €18.5 million, 2017 budgeted €15,1 million
Challenge
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium is responsible for the management of a diverse portfolio of educational environments and facilities. During the construction or basic renovations of the facilities, a lot of documents and plans are being produced, whose information needs to be accessible by numerous project stakeholders. Real estate management, construction management, property maintenance and cleaning all need information that’s easily understandable, accurate and current. The same property is perceived differently through the eyes of different professionals.
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium is a pioneer in the utilization of BIM in their own construction projects. In addition to visualization, the building information model is used for information management and sharing. Cooperation and open sharing of information between the various parties is emphasized in Jyväskylä Educational Consortium’s projects. The 3D-model has served as a visual view into the data. However, the 3D-model alone will not solve all of the challenges of information dissemination in construction projects, such as sharing, finding and keeping data up to date.
Construction and basic renovations also have a need to monitor and guide the construction from the financial point of view. Regulatory reporting and project monitoring require skills, and when traditionally implemented, plenty of time.
Solution
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium started developing BIM as part of new effective practices in 2007. Jyväskylä Educational Consortium sees BIM as central data storage for all the data related to facilities, projects and maintenance. The information is shared widely among those who need it, which helps to create an open culture where the project challenges are solved together with Jyväskylä Educational Consortium staff and those working on the projects.
Modelspace brings efficiency to BIM and projects through improved knowledge management. This involves managing information, analysis, and usage in decision-making. Modelspace allows for clear task information to be added to models, so that both planning and construction can achieve the required level of quality. The modeling requirements can be controlled for both content and schedule.
By using Modelspace, the entire project’s documents and plans can be compiled in one place.
Data management and sharing is improved through Modelspace cloud service. Along with Jyväskylä Educational Consortium’s own staff, the projects have included external consultants with access to the project data through the cloud service. Some of the information is easily viewable through the 3D-model, whereas some is best viewed in a spreadsheet or text format. It’s important to be able to access up-to-date information when it’s needed. Different parties have different needs and abilities for using the data – Modelspace offers the right tools for different roles.
Having an uniform approach to all construction allows better and easier control. It is important to have a tool that support the workflow regardless of the project size and complexity. The projects are controlled through documentation of tasks in Modelspace. The tasks are allocated to the appropriate project’s stages so that the progress is easier to follow.
Modelspace is a modern cloud service that has ready-made interfaces compatible with many other software solutions. For its construction management, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium uses a project bank where information can be exported from Modelspace. The approach where planners and builders’ representatives use Modelspace and contractors use the project bank has become a standard mode of practice. Data is shared and all documents and plans are easy to find, thanks to automatic file transfer.
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium is also involved in enhancing project cost control and investment management. Different investment needs can be presented using the same methods and same baseline information. This enables making efficient decisions on the different options. The cost control measures put in place ensure that overruns do not occur during the project. Efficient reporting saves considerable time when producing both regulatory and snapshot reports.
The project phase is short compared to buildings operative use. Updated information about the facility can be appended during operations by utilizing Modelspace. The tasks that need to be completed during warranty can be monitored and their completion ensured. This information is valuable when, for example, planning renovations, or when there is a wish to change the facilities.
“By doing the same things we have always done we’ll get the results we’ve always gotten. The Owner needs to have courage to make demands! We can reach success through experimentation.
- Riikka Kaarnamo, Jyväskylä
Continuation
Jyväskylä Educational Consortium continuously develops the use of BIM. The models are fairly good already, but linking the information they contain to property data and maintenance logs improves operations. Along with project management and investments, Jyväskylä Educational Consortium could in the future use the more precise facility information in other projects. Facility-specific requirements can guide planning, modeling and also construction. Precise facility data can open new opportunities in the future, with which Jyväskylä Educational Consortium can improve its operational efficiency. Jyväskylä Educational Consortium and Gravicon have together been developing Modelspace through actual use. The partnership has been fruitful and productive for both parties. Gravicon has been able to deliver the Jyväskylä Educational Consortium much more than a software solution
Gravicon
Gravicon is one of Finland’s leading specialists on BIM management. Digitalization has and will continue to change the construction industry. We are the experts on knowledge management in construction and believe that knowledge management of construction projects is “management of the project through better and more accurate data.”
Gravicon works as a BIM expert in Finland’s most notable projects. Our consulting services cover the planning of BIM processes and comprehensive training on the topic. Modelspace is a software solution developed by Gravicon for the management of their construction projects and to support their project clients during and well beyond the construction project completion.
