Driving Quality and Improving Communication; Vrolijk Prepares for New Regulations in the Netherlands

Facilitating Compliance Through Improved Communication

Vrolijk’s growing presence in the construction of distribution centres, in addition to its expansion into the housing market, means the company must adhere to rigorous procedures whilst maintaining high levels of quality and safety. Efficient collaboration and communication, both across the supply chain as well as with clients, partners and suppliers, was identified as a key opportunity for improvement. BIM Manager, Rob van de Berg, explains: “We needed to establish one single source of truth for all projects so that communication flowed better between our team members. We decided to move to a cloud environment with the goal of saving time and minimising risk on our projects.” With the rapid expansion came a corresponding need to improve information flow on projects. Vrolijk worked with NTI CAD & Company, an Autodesk Construction Cloud partner, to identify the best solution.

“We began using BIM 360 to make all available project information accessible anytime, anywhere.”

-Rob van de Berg, BIM Manager

Previously, the team struggled to identify a centralised repository to store shared project data, instead relying on email and phone communications to share out project updates. A company-wide shift towards cloud-based environments, however, incentivised the construction teams to explore additional functionalities available. “We began using the issues functionality to assign and track issues during the build process,” says Rob. And when the Netherlands announced new government legislation that would inevitably affect building quality practices, Vrolijk adopted a proactive approach.

“We know the important role that technology will play in enabling us to comply to the highest building quality laws. Increasing our digital workflows in the design and build process are integral to this.”

-Rob van de Berg, BIM Manager

Technological Investments Evolve Workflows

Vrolijk has begun migrating projects onto Autodesk Build, a solution that combines the best of BIM 360 with functionality enhancements to deliver a more comprehensive field and project management solution. For Rob, using a singular platform for end-to-end construction management across projects—from planning and design all the way through to operations—equips Vrolijk with smarter data management capabilities than previously available. For Vrolijk, taking a step-by-step approach to technological rollouts makes for a more seamless transition and enhances confidence whilst adapting to the workflows. NTI CAD & Company offers face-to-face training workshops as well as change management support to further facilitate the onboarding process. And, Vrolijk is consistently embracing the adoption of new technologies. One team projected that applying a technological solution to model coordination would yield significant time savings and reduce the number of mistakes made on site during the pre-construction phase of projects. Working with NTI CAD & Company, that same team began trialling BIM Collaborate Pro, as part of their account-based subscription to Autodesk Docs, to test the theory.

“We use this solution to complete clash detections as we move from the design to build phase of our projects. Already, we’re able to detect clashes quicker with our subcontractors during BIM and engineering meetings.”

-Rob van de Berg, BIM Manager

Futureproofing the Business

Autodesk’s Construction Cloud empowers Vrolijk to shift focus towards activities that drive value add and away from time spent on onerous manual tasks.

“Our data as well as our 3D models are now time and date stamped. Our drawings and documents are correctly formatted and compliant with the ISO 19650 naming conventions required of us. For us, these things radically reduce the chance of errors on our projects. The value is immense.”

-Rob van de Berg, BIM Manager

Looking to the future, Vrolijk plans to implement more and more digital workflows into its construction projects. Automating folder structures and ensuring every single project complies with ISO 19650 – an international standard for BIM management through the whole life cycle of a built asset–is a key priority for Rob. Using document approval workflows with subcontractors will also prepare for the extended team for building quality laws and help standardise document management conventions on all projects.

“There is so much functionality in Autodesk’s Construction Cloud so, embedding its use with subcontractors and clients is the logical next step for us on our technology adoption journey.”

-Rob van de Berg, BIM Manager

And, as the company grows, Vrolijk will more readily optimise processes that guarantee smooth collaboration between an increasing number of stakeholders.