Denmark’s largest public clients join forces on common digital standards for contruction and infrastructure
Together in the agreement is:
- Banedanmark
- Københavns Kommune
- Metroselskabet
- Sund & Bælt
- Vejdirektoratet
- DI Byggeri
- Foreningen af Rådgivende Ingeniører, FRI
- Molio – Byggeriets Videnscenter
When new roads and bridges are constructed, consultants and contractors today meet with widely different requirements for digital processes, data and deliveries, depending on the client behind the project. This is changing the country’s largest public infrastructure developers now. Together with the Association of Consulting Engineers (FRI), DI Byggeri and Molio, they have now entered into a new collaboration on developing and applying common digital rules in construction and infrastructure projects.
Common digital framework across billions of kroner
The collaboration will create a common framework for how construction and infrastructure projects are planned, executed and delivered – from early design to execution and operation. The joint solutions are based on Molio’s ICT tools, which already act as de facto standards in the construction industry for clear division of roles, responsibilities, deliveries and information exchange.
Efficiency on a large scale
The goal is for the industry to work to a much greater extent according to the same digital rules, regardless of the type of project and the client behind it. For the developers, this will mean better data quality and more efficient projects in planning, execution and subsequent operations.
“We are entering into this collaboration to ensure better data and information that we can use to create successful infrastructure projects that are both built and operated more efficiently and that last longer. As developers, we take a shared responsibility to strengthen future collaboration across the industry,” says Jens Holmboe, Road Director at the Danish Road Directorate.
For consultants and contractors, this will provide greater predictability and better opportunity to optimise their own systems and workflows. Because when the requirements for the digital rules are structured equally from project to project, the complexity is reduced and thus the risk of errors, misunderstandings and loss of knowledge and data is reduced. Especially in construction projects, which are often long-lasting and complex, the potential for streamlining is great, according to the Association of Consulting Engineers, FRI:
“As consultants working across many different types of projects, we cannot underestimate the importance of the new collaboration. When we jointly create clear expectations and frameworks, all project partners can deliver higher quality and fewer errors. We look forward to getting to grips with the work and converting it into concrete value in future construction and infrastructure projects,” says Henrik Garver, CEO. Director of the Association of Consulting Engineers, FRI
Common standards improve quality
One of the advantages of establishing common standards is that it becomes easier for contractors to bid on the tasks, as the requirements specifications regarding the task and the associated data become more transparent and manageable from the start. This will benefit the entire construction industry.
“With this collaboration, we as large public developers take joint responsibility. In the long term, the standardisation will ensure a more flexible and thus efficient tendering process as well as a reduction in complexity. At the same time, data will be comparable on our own projects and across the construction industry in general, which will ultimately improve the quality,” says Peter Jonasson, CEO of Banedanmark.
Sund & Bælt, Denmark’s largest developer of marine infrastructure, is ready to use the common guidelines in future projects.
“At Sund & Bælt, we already work closely with many players in our infrastructure projects, but so far we have lacked common guidelines. The new digital rules now give us a more uniform and efficient approach across the value chain. It is crucial that the data we produce is of high quality so that we can create the best possible framework for the operation and maintenance of our facilities,” says Martin Russo, Director of Facilities, EVP Construction, at Sund & Bælt.
Coherence between design, construction and operation
Metroselskabet expects not only increased efficiency, but also a better framework for promoting a more climate-friendly industry:
As a client, we want to take the lead when it comes to promoting a more efficient and climate-friendly construction industry. One of the solutions is to develop common standards that create clarity about the requirements and expectations we as a client have for the industry and future tenderers. With the common digital standards, suppliers know what to deliver at all stages – and this gives us a better opportunity to manage and create coherence between design, plant and operation. In addition, it creates the basis for working more systematically with other important topics such as climate and resource consumption on our large Metro projects,
Improvements should benefit the entire sector
A standard framework for digital collaboration must ensure that experience and data from one project are not lost when the next begins, but instead become a lasting asset for the entire sector.
“With planned investments in civil engineering and infrastructure projects worth billions of danish kroner, improvements in productivity, quality and knowledge sharing can be of great economic importance,” says Bjarke Fjeldsted, Head of Danish Infrastructure at DI Construction, who is pleased with the new collaboration.
Clear schedule and broad industry anchorage
The development and implementation of the common digital solutions takes place over a four-year period. The first deliveries must be used as early as 2026 and create value in ongoing projects. This is possible because the developers have already developed advanced digital tools, and because Molio has built a solid foundation of recognised ICT tools.
The collaboration is anchored in a steering committee at senior management level and is supported by a broadly composed group of experts and specialists.