Page 24 - RC19 RealcommEDGE 2019 Fall Issue

Business Solutions

BIM VS. DIGITAL TWIN TECHNOLOGY

SANDY MANGAT
Director, Product Marketing
ThoughtWire

NAVIGATING THE TECHNOLOGY LANDSCAPE in most
industries can sometimes feel like a nightmarish game of
mad libs. The jargon can be unending and with the pace
of technological change accelerating every year, it’s no
wonder industries are slow to define and articulate best
practices. For commercial real estate, the last five years
have been transformative as organizations start to move
beyond mere efficiency of space and start to consider the
bigger picture. Integral to this shift has been the impor-
tance of data modeling within commercial real estate
organizations.

As previously discussed in a series of blogs (or download
the eBook for a comprehensive guide), Digital Twins are
1
quickly becoming the go-to for creating robust data mod-
els about all aspects of a building at various stages of its
life cycle. research days still holds true: the founding fathers of BIM
hypothesized that such a system would be important to
However, astute observers will notice some key similar- contractors of large projects for both a visual and quantita-
ities between what is now called a Digital Twin of a built tive model of the build. They also figured it would be useful
environment and BIM (Building Information Modeling) for materials ordering and scheduling.
software. Understandably, there has been confusion within
the industry about how to differentiate these two important The early hypothesis for BIM holds true. Even today,
technologies. The confusion in large part comes down to leading providers of BIM software appeal to AECs
the emphasis of BIM software on physical space repre- (architecture, engineers, contractors) by explaining the
sented digitally and Digital Twin’s early definition, a digital cost-saving benefits of having a central point of building
replica of the physical world. In this article, we’re going to reference in a 3D digital model. This model makes it eas-
break down the key differences between Twins and BIM. ier to collaborate and recalibrate design during in-flight
For example, does a Digital Twin have to include CAD? projects. Its benefits include lowering the risk of projects
through a reduction in errors, better timeline, and budget
Let’s start with BIM. Like Digital Twins, it’s been around management. It sounds quite comprehensive, similar to
since the 1970s. It began as many software projects do— the Digital Twin, yet they differ in a few key aspects.
through research! Early researchers like Chuck Eastman
began using the term “Building Description System” before 1) BIM is tuned for collaboration and visualization during
it became BIM. Also, like Digital Twins, it didn’t hit the design & construction, not operations & maintenance
mainstream for a few more decades when the likes of As mentioned above, the intent of BIM is not to create a
Autodesk, Bentley Systems, and others began popularizing living breathing model of an operational building but help
it in the early 2000s. The primary goal of BIM in its early architect and construct that building. The focus for BIM

1 info.thoughtwire.com/fp-opm-application-digital-twin-technology-ebook

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