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Fiumicino Airport Terminal 3

  • Location
    Rome, Italy
  • Period
    September 2015 - October 2017
  • Client
    Cimolai
  • Architect
    SPEA Engineering
  • Status
    Completed

Overview

The General Contractor of the New Extension to Terminal 3 of Rome Fiumicino Airport appointed RIMOND to provide construction support with a specialized BIM Team. The team, which was based on-site, welcomed and evolved existing documentation, including previous models, into a new, highly detailed integrated BIM model.

The BIM model was set up to suit the specific requests coming from on-site activity, by building up a pre-construction model that embedded the essential bridges between as-built surveys, procurement updates, construction tracking and design updates to offer an integrated interface for the MEP works. Over time, the model evolved into the only source of certified shop floor drawings, serving as a pre-installation verification of design consistency through direct 3D control.

This allowed the General Contractor to track the interaction between civil and MEP works, perform updated code consistency, verify procurement data and get the necessary control on subcontractor activity, bill of quantities, reports and submissions. As a unique final source of pre-installation design, the model was then evolved into As-Built source for the entire set of drawings released to the client.

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Challenge

We had to face many challenges on the job, due to the fact that we entered mid-development a project that immediately revealed a high intrinsic complexity combined with an extremely tight schedule, with responsibilities spread among several existing and past actors, composite and sometimes overlapped documentation and models.

50.000 m3 of concrete, 25.000 tons of metal structures, 77,000 m2 of flooring, 50,000 m2 in ceilings and partition walls, 30,000 m2 of façade cladding, 36,000 m2 of roofing, hundreds of miles of electric cables, thousands of lighting fixtures, baggage sorting system and conveying with an average daily capacity of 30.000 pieces, and so on… it gives a good sense of the amount of information we had to manage. Everything had to be translated into BIM Models, thanks to the client’s foresight in seeking the best partner to take on such a job.

Solution

We were able to demonstrate our unique capability to combine and integrate problem-solving and management skills with the creation of complex BIM Models needed to manage design and construction processes on this project. We provided the client a dedicated team working in a “BIM Room,” which quickly became a clear reference for all parties involved, from designers to building site directors to subcontractors. This enabled much faster and more reliable decision-making, which was based on 3D verification of all issues.

Of course, things were not easy from the start. The human effort to develop trust and mutual support across the site teams, including a shared technical understanding and a real desire to listen and communicate, cannot be dissociated from the development of a well-defined and easy modeling and data management strategy. In this project, we applied to massive numbers its placing workflow: we wrote custom routines from input CAD drawings, to generate a lightweight wireframe model containing routing axes, position of fixtures and information that was then used as a unique source to quickly and accurately generate object-oriented BIM models, through recursive positioning.

The workflow also allowed to perform several model and drawing consistency checks (versions, duplicated objects, misalignments, wring categories, BoQ quantity verification and so on) according to sets of rules agreed with the GC technical coordination team. In fact, it introduced a custom version of a CDE (Common Data Environment) that ultimately evolved into a full internal RIMOND workflow solution.