SBI's 2024 Highlights

An Interview with buildingSMART Denmark

Changing the game for a more efficient and sustainable construction industry.

On a rainy day, Ole Berard (ConTech Lab and buildingSMART Denmark) and Peter Bo Olsen (buildingSMART Denmark) met up with Calvin Kam (buildingSMART USA) to discuss the current state and the future of BIM and buildingSMART tools. Their talk about openBIM and digitization in the construction industry is captured in the an interview by Thomas Graabæk and Pawel Antoni Lange. Here are the takeaways:

• The ‘Yes’ people are drivers for development

• The ideal openBIM workflow is based on our previous experiences

• An information strategy is key to a successful openBIM workflow

• Integrated Project Delivery should be more … integrated into the workflows

• Leveraging the best of openBIM, AI, and VDC to accelerate climate change solutions and responses

2024 Highlights

National Institute of Building Sciences - Building Innovation Conference 2024
Our CEO, Calvin Kam and Senior Industry Advisor, Jim Bedrick delivered a session on leveraging openBIM for project management. Participants engaged in practical exercises aimed at reinforcing their understanding and proficiency in using these tools to execute project functions, including assisting owners in developing Organization Information Requirements (OIRs), establishing meaningful control and performance metrics, and crafting a comprehensive checklist for management of real-world BIM and openBIM projects.

Stanford CIFE Summer Program 2024
We attended the event this year, which covered four exciting topics critical to advancing the construction industry:

• AI and data-driven methods

• Innovation and sustainability

• Collaboration and virtual reality

• Construction robotics

IHEEP Conference 2024

Dr. Min Song teamed up with Calvin Kam (SBI), Ian Howell (buildingSMART International), Will Sharp (HDR) and Joe Brenner (Michael Baker International) to share IFC in action in the US and beyond with the openBIM Seeing is Believing program. Min demonstrated globally-proven applications of openBIM, walking the audience through the openBIM workflows.

Cambridge University - AI in Construction
Dr. Calvin Kam was invited to Cambridge University for a special edition of the DRF Lunchtime Clinic and great exchanges were had with Campbell Middleton and the many post-docs and research associates of Ioannis Brilakis over the topics of:

• Integrating AI, carbon data or Digital Twins into the innovation journey of our global infrastructure; 

• Measuring meaningful construction metrics for national or global benchmarking;

• Articulating the business values digatalized VDC and openBIM workflows for asset owners.

Discovery Trip to the Netherlands
Our discover trip to the Netherlands included a great interview (above), followed by a series of interactive workshops with Danish asset owners, who are committed in leveraging openBIM and AI to manage specific embodied and operational carbon targets, while articulating the values of construction innovation for design, construction and operating of built assets in Denmark!

buidingSMART USA Regional Events 2024
SBI is a proud supporter of buildingSMART USA, and have contributed to successful openBIM regional events over the year. This year, we helped organized 2 major hybrid events: an openBIM Workflows workshop in Denver, and a 2-day Transportation Summit in Chicago (Roads & Bridges Day and Rail Day).

buildingSMART International Asia Summit 2024
Similar to the US Chapter of buildingSMART, SBI is a proud supporter of the Hong Kong chapter, HKABAEMA. SBI teamed up with the chapter to host the inaugural buildingSMART International Asia Summit in Hong Kong. The 2-day event was jam packed with amazing and insightful presentation, master classes, catching up with our industry peers, and best of all, receiving the Grand Award with Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), HKSAR Government in the Technology Category for the Hong Kong openBIM/openGIS Awards 2024! 

Hong Kong openBIM/openGIS Awards 2024
Congrats to Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), HKSAR Government and the Project Team on the Grand Award in the Technology Solution Category! EMSD engaged SBI on this project to transform MEP project handover practices by embracing BCF, bSDD, IDS, IFC, and openBIM into BIM-Asset Management Life Cycle.

Reading how we aligned and elevated EMSD's existing and sophisticated workflows with buildingSMART International's bSDD and IDS, with a vision to test local use cases that all projects in Hong Kong can benefit from. 

UAE Dubai Municipality
During our trip to the Middle East, we visited our friends at the Dubai Municipality and learned about their BIM mandate for permit approval. Their online digital system, Dubai BIM Platform, was developed in-house based on openBIM standards, and includes an automated checker for compliance. BIM is required for:

• buildings exceeding 20 floors for architectural designs and 40 floors for structural designs

• buildings exceeding 20,000m2 for architectural designs and 30,000m2 for structural designs

• specialized buildings such as hospitals and universities

• government buildings (not including utility infra projects)

(Read more about our ESG and Construction Discovery Trip to the Middle East below.)

buildingSMART International Summit at Marrakesh, Morocco & the openBIM Awards 2024
SBI attended the bSI summit in Marrakesh, which concluded with the openBIM Awards ceremony. Congratulations to our client Electrical and Mechanical Services Department (EMSD), The Government of the Hong Kong SAR, on winning the Handover category for their project “Transforming MEP Project Handover Practices: Embracing BCF, bSDD, IDS, IFC, and openBIM into BIM Asset Management Life Cycle”. 

Autodesk Hong Kong BIM Awards 2024
We are honored to be presented with an award with our long time client and partner Sun Hung Kai Properties Limited for the Sai Sha project at this year's Autodesk Hong Kong BIM Awards. The project was the only award-winning project with a private developer. Look out for an article in which our team share insights on how digital construction technologies have benefited the project, inspiring others in the industry to embrace these innovative solutions. 

Journey to Net Zero 🍃

ESG and Construction Discovery Trip to the Middle East
SBI is pursuing exciting new possibilities in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, after a trip in which we met with representatives of many ministries passionate about optimizing their blue/green economy — emerging sectors focused on sustainable uses of ocean and costal resources.

APEC Perú 2024: The Third Senior Officials’ Meeting and Related Meetings (SOM3)
Our CEO Calvin Kam was invited by APEC - Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation to present and moderate panel discussions on topics of emerging technologies such as AI, blockchain, and cloud computing. He has 3 insightful questions for us:

• Can 21 APEC member economies leverage emerging tech to enhance international regulatory collaboration?

• What contributions can the construction industry make to report and manage Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions in APEC economies that represent 60% of global GDP?

• What are the promises, values, and KPI with AI and related emerging tech (e.g., artificial intelligence, blockchain, and cloud computing, etc.)?

What do you think? 

AIA International Conference 2024
We were thrilled to be a part of this year's AIA International Conference in Hong Kong, held at The Henderson designed by none other than Zaha Hadid Architects! This year's theme was "Architectural Intelligence", a nod to AI platforms like ChatGPT, but instead of obtaining an average answer from the unscreened internet, we are gathering answers from the collective intelligence of architects and designers worldwide! CEO, Calvin Kam, moderated a panel discussion with Christine Dorgan, PE, LEED AP, Caitlin Krasovic, AIA, NCARB, and Louise Pang of Walt Disney Imagineering on the topic of Innovation in Sustainable Design. It was an inspiring discussion of sustainability, AI, and the built environment.