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Xchange{X} Event

Welcome to a new initiative from buildingSMART Australasia following the success of Xchange 2024. 

Xchange more with Xchange {X} - a series of small, local, technical events. 

Join us in Melbourne on 17th September at Arup Head Office to learn and Xchange about openBIM in Infrastructure...


Examples of openBIM in Infrastructure

Tuesday 17th September 2024

Arup Head office, Sky Park, 699 Collins St, Melbourne

5:00-7:30pm


The infrastructure industry is facing difficult challenges, from inefficiencies to cost overruns. At this local event, we’re bringing together key players — senior engineers, project managers, and industry leaders — to take a closer look at where we are today and what needs to change. Our focus will be on how innovation, new technology, and open BIM formats can streamline processes and enhance the quality of infrastructure projects.

This event is a chance to develop a shared understanding of the current state of affairs, build relationships, and set concrete goals for improving efficiency across the industry. By collaborating, we can identify practical solutions that make a difference in real-world projects.

If you're invested in the future of infrastructure and want to be part of the conversation, sign up today.


What you will hear:

  • buildingSMART: Jon Mirtschin & Scott Beazley (Geometry Gym)

  • Design: Arup - Oystein Ulvestad & John Legge Wilkinson

  • Construction: Laing O'Rourke - Chris Pynn

  • Supply Chain: Love Rebar -Micah Biggs

  • Client/Government: Paul Morgan - Victorian Health Building Authority

  • Client/Government: Mostafa ElAshmawy - VIDA, Northeast Link Central Package

  • Moderated Panel Q&A

  • Networking: Arup


* Event commences with registration at 5pm and ends with networking (beverages and canapes) until 7:30pm


Speakers

Scott Beazley

OpenBIM Consultant at Geometry Gym

Scott has over 35 years of experience practicing in Architecture and 28 years in CAD-BIM teaching at university and technical colleges. For the past 12 years he has worked as a digital technology manager for Mitchell Brandtman Quantity Surveyors helping with validation of models for quantification to derive costs. In the last 5 years, he has worked as an openBIM Consultant at Geometry Gym mainly on infrastructure projects.

Jon Mirtschin

Director at Geometry Gym, Director, buildingSMART Australasia

Jon brings technical and practical openBIMexperience to the buildingSMARTAustralasia Board, that helps facilitate a stronger awareness and successful adoption of openBIMfor clients and projects in Australia. In 2018 Jon supported the buildingSMARTAustralasia board with organisationand execution of the “openBIM: Getting It Right” technical workshops.

Jon has a proven track record in achieving practical outcomes using openBIMstandards and technologies. He has open sourced his C# IFC toolkit for reading and writing IFC files (view on GitHub) and taken a leading role on prototyping technologies such as ifcjsonand applying version control such as git to an ifcrepository. He is a member of the Building Smart International Model Support Group, providing sample files for the technical documentation and testing proposals for IFC improvements.

Oystein Ulvestad

Digital Delivery Lead, Arup

Oystein specializes in model-based engineering, drawing-free design and parametric design of bridges. In 2017, his team designed the world's first concrete bridge designed and built without blueprints. In 2022, his team finished the Randselvabridge, which currently holds the record as the longest bridge in the world designed and built without drawings, based exclusively on BIM models. The team won Trimble Global BIM awards for best BIM model in the world for the Randselvabridge BIM model

John Legge-Wilkinson

Senior Structural Technician, Arup

John has 40+ years experience in the delivery of major building and infrastructure projects including rail, road and pedestrian bridges, and railway stations. John has always been passionate about taking advantage of digital tools and technology to help deliver our projects and has been instrumental in driving transition and change throughout his career to the use and adoption of current and evolving digital workflows and processes.




Chris Pynn

Australia Hub Lead for Digital Innovation at Laing O'Rourke

Chris is currently the Digital Lead on the Eastern Freeway Burke to Tram Alliance project. Chris has been with Laing O'Rourke for five years after previously spending 27 years working for Arup across the UK, SE Asia and Australia. At his time in Arup, Chris help lead the adoption and implementation of 3D and BIM across the firm and specialises in large project digital strategies having worked on and led initiatives on project such as Marina Bay Sands, Singapore Sports Hub, Perth Stadium as well as a number of major rail infrastructure projects. Chris has a passion to always challenge himself and others to continually improve and push the application of technology with a clear focus on improving the quality and safety through engineering in construction.

Micah Biggs

Director at Love Reinforcing

Love Reinforcing is Australia’s largest engineering & technical solutions team dedicated to reinforcing. Though young, the company has already demonstrated its ability to engineer and coordinate groundbreaking integrated models for some of the country’s largest infrastructure projects.

Paul Morgan

Senior Technical Specialist, Digital Build & Data Asset Development and Infrastructure Advisory Services

Paul leads VHBA’s Digital Build & Data program, whose mission is to Deliver Victorian Health Infrastructure through Digital Build & Data: Empowering People, Streamlining Processes, and Leveraging Technology. His team is responsible for developing and managing the VHBA’s Digital Engineering and BIM strategy, in response to the Victorian Digital Asset Policy and the Department of Health’s asset information needs.

With over nearly a decade of experience in BIM and Digital Engineering roles within architecture and construction, Paul is uniquely positioned to understand industry capabilities, client’s needs, and technological opportunities. His extensive hands-on experience in major infrastructure projects is reflected in the holistic approach to defining VHBA’s Digital Build & Data information requirements and technology stack to derive evidence-based decisions. Paul also chairs the Australasian Health Infrastructure Alliance (AHIA) BIM-Subgroup, leading efforts to improve digital maturity and consistency across Australian and New Zealand health jurisdictions

Mostafa ElAshmawy

Senior Digital Engineer, North East Link Program

Mostafa ElAshmawy is a Senior Digital Engineer at VIDA focusing on Northeast Link Central Package where he helps in managing the Digital Delivery of the project.

Mostafa is also a lecturer at Zigurat Global Institute of Technology and ambassador to nima. He has a deep academic knowledge of international standards, methods, and procedures related to information management.

With an excellent voluntary record leading and contributing to many regional and international initiatives related to the development of data management and digitisationof the AEC industry.

Speakers
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Agenda

5:00 pm - Registration, 5:15 - Welcome & Introduction

Arup & buildingSMART

Event welcome

buildingSMART Australasia and the new opportunities of infrastructure extensions within IFC 4.3

Scott Beazley & Jon Mirtschin

The role that buildingSMARTAustralasia plays in the local building and construction industry, and the new opportunities that the latest IFC 4.3 release enables for road, rail and utilities infrastructure projects. Examples from recent projects will be shown.

DESIGN: Delivering projects without drawings – openBIM is paving the way

Oystein Ulvestad & John Legge Wilkinson

For centuries, 2D drawings have been the cornerstone of engineer and architect communication. While reliable, they demand significant manual work and have limitations in the information they can carry. But are there any alternatives?

In some markets, infrastructure projects have over the past decade successfully been executed solely based on BIM models, eliminating the need for drawings. The transition has unlocked some important benefits:

•Automated Workflows: BIM models streamline repetitive tasks, freeing engineers to focus on creativity and problem-solving.

•Enhanced Quality: 3D models provide a more comprehensive view, leading to fewer errors and improved build quality.

•Reduced Costs: Studies show drawingless projects can achieve roughly 10% cost savings compared to traditional methods.

•OpenBIM: The use of IFC ensures seamless data exchange between different software platforms, enhancing collaboration and reducing the risk of information loss throughout the project lifecycle.

CONSTRUCTION: Driving Construction forwards with integration and openBIM

Chris Pynn

The Digital Strategy for the Eastern Freeway Burke to Tram Alliance project was set some two and half years back during the EOI. The vision was focused on driving digital enablement within construction by ensuring that the information created in design could be utilised for the purpose of digital survey and fabrication to drive efficiencies in delivery. Chris’s presentation will detail what was core to this strategy that has enabled the Alliance to deliver on its vision and keep true to its objectives up to the present day. Through a use of structured data and automated validation to drive a Model First approach EBTA is now able to realise the value of that thinking and implementation as the project moves into the construction phase.

SUPPLY CHAIN: Eliminating The Hidden Cost: Impact of an Integrated (BIM) Approach on the Rebar Supply Chain

Micah Biggs

Integration is crucial in the infrastructure industry for fostering aligned, sustainable and cost-effective project delivery.

Despite efforts to effect change, material overruns, delayed milestones, labor downtime and other factors continue to push rebar onto the critical path. However, by enhancing supply chain coordination and effectiveness, a collective approach including BIM can reverse this and reduce associated hidden costs.

Using the Melbourne Metro Tunnel project as an example, it will be demonstrated how an integrated approach across the rebar supply chain can eliminate both obvious and less visible costs, while achieving extraordinary results in design, modelling, and construction methods.


GOVERNMENT: Victorian Health Building Authority, Digital Build & Data Strategy

Paul Morgan

With an unprecedented pipeline of health infrastructure forecasted, the Victorian Health Building Authority’s (VHBA) Digital Engineering Framework sets out clear, defined information requirements across the project & asset lifecycle across it’s dynamic & diverse portfolio.

The 2024 rollout will initiate with the release of VHBA's Project Information Requirements (PIR), a cornerstone in the framework and embodies VHBA’s vision of end-to-end digitisation of infrastructure design & delivery. At the heart of this vision is a BIM-centric philosophy that enhances collaboration, ensures universal access to information, and standardised classifications. The PIR further outlines technology and systems requirements, establishes processes for digitised quality assurance and transfer of handover information. The objective is clear: to leverage trusted data that informs decision-making, driving exceptional health outcomes for every Victorian.

GOVERNMENT: Driving Interoperability in Infrastructure projects

Mostafa ElAshmawy

Embracing IFC format as a client. Driving Interoperability in Infrastructure projects

Moderated Panel Q&A

Arup & buildingSMART

Panel session - Q&A

Event Close & Networking to 7:30pm

Hosted by Arup

Time to Xchange thoughts and ideas ...

Agenda

Location

This event is hosted at Arup Head Office, Sky Park, 699 Collins Street, Melbourne

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