Building Information Modeling

Blockchain and BIM

Blockchain and BIM are two relatively new technologies that have received significant media coverage in recent years; their combination constitutes the opening of new application scenarios.

The joint adoption of the two technologies would allow the creation of a completely transparent process as well as monitoring the conduct and responsibility of each stakeholder.

In recent years, an increasingly large amount of information related to the life cycle of a work has been managed through BIM-oriented processes.

It is important to note how the management mode of information has significant legal implications, as the same information can be used in case of disputes and litigation.

However, thinking only in terms of BIM may not allow for the best use of all its potential.

For full legal effectiveness and effective contribution to facilitating greater circularity of the economy, it is necessary to think about the vertical integration of BIM with a Blockchain system, the only legally recognized digital guarantee regarding the identity of the parties involved, as well as the electronic time validation of the computer documents stored on this platform.

Technological Affinities

The Blockchain technology can be, in fact, will be, the new paradigm for information management.

There are two characteristics that are generally not available in traditional databases and that make the BC absolutely related to the BIM world:

The entirety of the data history with all its modifications, as well as metadata (timestamp, author information) are recorded and protected with one or more digital signatures without the possibility of tampering. Information management is decentralized and does not need a “third” authority to certify its consistency and validity. Both characteristics satisfy the collaborative nature of information exchange typical of a BIM-oriented process: information from planning to construction is synchronized with the Blockchain and on the workstations of project collaborators through smart contracts.

Technological Potential

The enormous impact that Blockchain will have on the management of the flow of data and assets in the productive sectors will be the central theme of technological evolution in the coming years.

It cannot be certain that the blockchain alone can solve trust problems, but the combined action of information created according to standards, validated according to current regulations such as digitally signed documents or kept in third-party registries (digital preservation) concatenated with events of the real life of the built environment (detected by IoT devices equipped with certificates, in direct dialogue with the blockchain), may make the concatenation of information contained in the registry more truthful and enforceable against third parties in case of litigation, thus remodeling trust on new digital consensus parameters with enormous benefits on disputes between parties, on the protection of intellectual property rights and on the immediate attribution of responsibilities, if necessary.

In the digitalization era, the construction process is gradually aligning with the needs of users who are increasingly masters of new technologies, recognizing and appreciating their benefits, such as the speed of exchange of design information, technical reports in digital format, digital invoices and payments to public administrations, moving further and further away from the classic paper world, something that until a few decades ago was unthinkable.

BIM is the perfect example: the project is centralized and each professional figure has their responsibilities, guaranteeing a high level of quality that then materializes with a construction of the work much easier than in the paper era; this is because many problems and interferences have already been analyzed, thus reducing construction costs.

Technological Collaboration: Affidaty S.p.a & Hydea S.p.A.

Affidaty S.p.A. and Hydea S.p.A. have worked together to analyze the construction process, identifying critical points where blockchain technology could intervene and solve problems, carrying out a pre-feasibility study that gave a first concrete indication of how the two companies could interact.

The work was carried out by Dr. Gregorio Di Martino, Dr. Niccolò Quattrini, Eng. Luca Vignali, and Eng. Fabrizio Costanzo from Affidaty S.p.A., and by Dr. Lorenzo Lapini Sacchetti, Eng. Pietro Bruscoli, and Eng. Vincenzo Donato from Hydea S.p.A.

The first results were already surprising: by creating the right connections and compatibility between the two systems, elements from BIM processes came to life and gained autonomy within smart contracts, becoming capable of performing calculations and agreeing on evolutionary scenarios.

By digitizing the figures involved in the construction process and their interactions based on the exchange of digital documents and information, it has been shown how the apparent chaos of the construction world can be linearized and inscribed within predefined contractual rules. Finally, by applying the conditions of smart contracts, it has been demonstrated that the entire system benefits from all the advantages of Blockchain, such as data immutability and immediate, traceable payments, as well as certified process automation.

BIM shows how the entire construction industry can be digitized, made effective, and improved. However, what would guarantee a return to trust in the construction world by the public, individual citizens, the Public Administration, construction companies, and the entire industry supply chain is a certainty of payment according to the work carried out, avoiding legal disputes, corruption, and ensuring immutable guarantees over time for the information exchanged – in short, Blockchain.