Toward a healthy living environment

Circularity and digitization are popular themes in construction, which have plenty of common ground. For example, the proper digital registration of materials is essential to achieve a circular construction economy. Moreover, both themes require innovative power, connection and knowledge sharing. Both construction company Heijmans and project agency Velox are eager and highly committed to this.

Heijmans is building a healthy living environment, cleverly combining activities in real estate, construction & engineering and infrastructure. "By continuously focusing on quality improvement, innovation and integrality, we realize added value for our clients," says Jørgen de Kock, Director of Projects at Heijmans for the utility business stream. This includes both the Heijmans Utility Projects and Heijmans Services business units. Heijmans Utility Projects focuses in particular on the realization of high-quality utility projects in the healthcare, government and semi-government, commercial property and high-tech clean industry market segments. "Unique to this is our integrated approach to construction and installation engineering. The business streams have various departments, such as Acquisition & Consultancy, Design & Engineering and Realization, which allow us to design, realize, maintain and finance projects from the Program of Requirements." For example, the New Amsterdam Court House (NACH) in Amsterdam is a striking example of this total service and a project for which Heijmans has satisfactorily used the knowledge and skills of three construction managers through Velox.

Benefits of BIM

During the engineering of this complex project, which took about two years to complete, BIM was highly utilized. And BIM is also playing an increasing role in other projects, notes BIM director/advisor Thomas Smits. "BIM is increasingly being requested from clients. BIM processes are also becoming more structured, as BIM requirements are becoming more standardized. For example, the BIM base ILS describes exactly what data must be delivered in what form. The national standard also ensures that every construction company in the Netherlands will use BIM in the same way. This provides major advantages in the design, construction and operation phases. For example, communication is clearer and more efficient, integral coordination takes place between construction partners, failure costs are reduced and large returns can be achieved in the management and maintenance phase. The information is also easier to interpret for clients."

VR and safety awareness

Heijmans' ambition is to implement BIM far and wide in the organization, Smits emphasizes. "Thanks to BIM, new possibilities arise. For example, as an information carrier, BIM is the basis for prefabrication, modular construction, verifications and progress monitoring, among other things. BIM is also the basis for various new working methods and training courses. Virtual Reality (VR) models can easily be created from BIM. This not only provides opportunities to view situations in virtual reality, but also to "learn by doing. For example, we use VR to increase employee safety awareness. A great example of this is our VR AWP training, where employees virtually walk around the construction site, drive the AWP and become even more aware of the practice and dangers they may face on a daily basis."

BIM also ensures that buildings are looked at differently, De Kock emphasizes. "It is the prelude to a living building, where performance is continuously monitored and tested against the building design. Moreover, BIM is the perfect source of information for urban mining."

Energy, material and space

By continuously improving, streamlining and increasing sustainability, Heijmans aims to be the creator of a healthy living environment. "In doing so, we actively focus on energy, materials and space," said senior consultant Circular Building Thijs Huijsmans. "The energy transition, in which we help owners, managers and users make their buildings energy neutral, is now well underway. Therefore it is now time for the next step: the material transition. Circular Building plays an essential role in this. For example, we are currently investigating how we can keep materials in the cycle indefinitely. But also how we and the chain suppliers can make materials ever healthier, with less harmful substances, so that our environment is protected and raw material reserves are no longer depleted."  

Mapping material flows

To make circular construction possible, every party in the chain must take responsibility, Huijsmans emphasizes. Heijmans too. "Our ambition is to build completely circularly from 2023. To make this possible, we map the material flows in our projects. In doing so, we not only have an eye for production, but also for (de)assembly and reuse." A great project example in this context is the realization of the railroad underpass on the Contactweg in Amsterdam, he says. "This project uses concrete consisting of 100% recycled gravel, 50% recycled sand and 15% recycled cement. The result is a secondary composition of 75%, making this project a first. It is unprecedented for recycled reinforced concrete to use such a high percentage of recycled cement!"

Different mindset

The challenge within circular construction is primarily to connect present, past and future. BIM is an excellent basis for this, Huijsmans said. "Both developments require a different mindset, openness and curiosity. This starts with knowledge sharing, in the broadest sense of the word." De Kock: "Among other things on our platforms, in training courses and in workshops, we take employees and relations along with us in the developments. The challenge here is to translate the complex subject matter into concrete examples and applications. This is an important task for Thomas and Thijs. We also get a lot of knowledge from outside. Here you have to think not only of consultancies and (technical) universities but also of temporary employees, who look at processes, procedures and methodologies in a different way." 

In its projects, Heijmans invariably works with a permanent as well as a flexible shell, which is filled in by various project agencies. "We are in regular contact with Velox consultant MBaga Zonneveld, for example, to take stock of which projects are in the pipeline and which engineers, planners and executives would fit in. Based on project and profile, Velox then selects the right forces, who bring in valuable knowledge and insights."

The Hive, Heijmans' knowledge and innovation center in Rosmalen, also plays a role in this. In this center, business developers, innovation and data specialists from across the organization work together to share knowledge, pitch ideas and accelerate innovations. A connection is also actively sought with other companies and schools, with the aim of learning from each other and working together to create a healthy living environment.