AICE Consulting
Italy
The use of digital technologies plays a crucial role in the digital development of the public construction sector. In the last few years, public administrations have been promoting the diffusion of engineering services that use new technologies for the survey, inspections and design of the existing building stock, with a particular focus on the management and maintenance future needs.
About
AICE Consulting is a small business A/E design and engineering services firm located in Pisa and founded in 1990. We operate nationally and internationally in the following primary sectors: planning, design, project management, site management, job site direction, safety coordination during design and construction, fire prevention services, seismic analysis and structural studies, utilities verification and studies, energy efficiency certification, diagnostic surveys particularly related to civil buildings, historic monuments and infrastructures such as bridges, viaducts, tunnels, etc.
Company size: Small (<50)
Sector: Civil engineering
Technology: Building information modelling; 3D scanning
Digital initiative
AICE is currently involved in several projects that aim to apply and implement digital technologies (i.e. laser scanning, thermal analysis, BIM) for the structural inspection and the energy assessment of existing public facilities to be renovated. The A/E services, both during design and construction, include also work director, tester and design and construction safety coordinator. Our expertise enables us to carry out technical analyses to a high degree of accuracy, thus optimizing the project budget, the construction functionality including onsite construction management, as well as long-term project operation and maintenance costs. These services have been implemented in recent years thanks to the introduction of digital technologies for the survey and for the subsequent development of the project according to the BIM methodology.
Relevant construction projects
Building inspections, seismic vulnerability, energy diagnosis, geometric/architectural/technological surveys with BIM technology, and feasibility design for the public building stock and listed facilities in various Italian regions: Rome, Tuscany, Veneto, Calabria.
Experienced benefits of digitalisation
In our experience, digitalisation in the AEC sector has brought important benefits. However, this implementation in daily practice of a SME implies a real challenge, given the quantity and complexity of the tools and the best use of resources. In addition, we had to face with the creation of customized digital tools and internal protocols in order to increase the efficiency and quality of our projects. This has led to the development of new professional figures, novel best practices and a new approach to integral design, with the purpose to enhance time and cost savings.
Tips for effective implementation
Given the complexity of the digitalisation process in the AEC sector, we recognize the benefit of a possible implementation especially on medium-sized organizations, where multidisciplinary professionals are involved who can work on the same BIM model. Furthermore, there is still a problem of interoperability between software, which still reduces the flexibility and diffusion of the BIM methodology, this is important to be addressed. Finally, a future development perspective is linked to the integration of this approach with monitoring, sensors and augmented reality.