YIT to adopt building information models across the board – all housing projects in Finland and Russia are now BIM-based projects

Building Information Models (BIMs) boost construction in many ways.
For every apartment in Pasila’s Tripla there is a BIM that the owner can make use of when choosing materials or requesting modifications. 

At the beginning of the year, YIT’s residential construction in Finland changed in a way that is not necessarily visible to the public but which has a big impact on new projects. It was decided at YIT that in the future all new residential housing will be built as BIM projects.

In practice, before a residential building is physically completed, YIT will have created a near-perfect digital copy of the building, which will greatly facilitate the design, construction and maintenance of the building. This new way of working is a big step forward.

“We want to introduce BIMs throughout YIT. It is essential to spread this competence as evenly as possible across the entire organisation. Today, it is not enough that BIMs are used only by a few experts,” says Marko Oinas, Senior Vice President, Housing Business Development at YIT.

After the big change at the beginning of the year, BIMs have become a prominent part of construction sites alongside excavators, site huts and cranes.

“The BIM is brought to the construction site just like all the other equipment. On our construction sites, we have tried and tested rugged tablet computers that can run BIMs, as well as BIM kiosks where the models can be viewed on a computer. The site and also the subcontractors have benefited from the models,” Oinas says.

Added speed, efficiency and reliability

BIMs facilitate flow and utilisation of information at all stages of projects: at the beginning, when preparing schedules, calculating costs and amounts, and coordinating plans, as well as at a later stage, in sales and marketing and further development.

As information is processed, it gets more detailed; for example, you can get the amounts and locations of different elements and materials from a 3D model at a very precise level.

“BIMs help us improve the quality of information and convert geometric and visual design information into numerical form, making it much more widely available than before,” Oinas explains.

It is not just about transforming traditional design into 3D. Construction efficiency is boosted because BIM-based design can make better use of standard components and prefabricated products.

“In the construction industry, too many solutions are built that are non-standard from start to finish.”

The larger the project, the more essential it is to use BIMs

In addition to Finland, YIT has also developed and used BIMs in other markets, especially in Russia. According to YIT’s Development Director in Moscow Juha Rissanen, the utilisation of BIMs reached a totally new level four years ago.

“We introduced BIMs on our sites and distributed the necessary expertise throughout the company. Today, we have about 70 active users of BIMs and 200 people who utilise BIM-based information and modelling.”

The benefits of BIMs are even more pronounced in large-scale construction projects, which there are a lot of in Russia. While there are 40–60 apartments on average in one residential building in Finland, in Russia the figure is over 160, and buildings with 600 to 700 apartments are not uncommon.

As the scale gets bigger, the BIM grows in importance. This is true especially in case of errors.

“The total cost of an error found in every apartment of a building is very different depending on whether there are 50 apartments or 400 apartments,” Rissanen points out.

YIT uses BIMs in its infrastructure projects as well. According to BIM expert Jari Pelkonen, improved overall understanding of projects, few disruptions and timely measures bring significant savings.

“The return on investment for BIMs is very good when the information models are included in the early stages of design.”

Residents benefit from BIMs as well

According to Janne Salin, BIM expert at YIT, the urban centre project Tripla in Central Pasila has used BIMs all along. Moreover, in Tripla you can view the BIMs in new and creative ways.

The 3D models in Tripla are so advanced that you can move around inside the models and view the details a bit like in video games.

“At the Tripla site there is a virtual reality headset with which both the site workers and guests can take a look at the BIMs,” Salin explains.

For every apartment in Pasila’s Tripla there is a BIM that the owner can make use of when choosing materials or requesting modifications. Furniture can be added to the model so that the customer gets a better idea of the room size.

In Russia, too, the goal is to increase the use of BIMs in customer service. Rissanen says that soon there will be virtual reality goggles in all sales offices in Russia, enabling buyers to make a virtual tour in their future apartment.

“In an ever-tightening housing market, the BIM helps us stay in the race and succeed. The information models are useful in all stages of construction and they also help us meet customer expectations,” Salin says.

For further information, please contact:
Marko Oinas, Senior Vice President, Housing Business Development, YIT Finland Ltd, tel. +358 (0)40 506 7430, marko.oinas@yit.fi
Juha Rissanen, Senior Vice President, Business Development, Housing Moscow and Saint Petersburg, YIT Finland Ltd, tel. +358 (0)40 035 6639, juha.rissanen@yit.ru
Johanna Savolainen, Communications Manager, YIT Corporation, tel. +358 (0)44 305 4594, johanna.savolainen@yit.fi

YIT is the largest Finnish and significant North European construction company. We develop and build apartments and living services, business premises and entire areas. We are also specialised in complex infrastructure construction and paving. Together with our customers, our nearly 10,000 professionals are creating more functional, more attractive and more sustainable cities and environments. We work in 11 countries: Finland, Russia, Scandinavia, the Baltic Countries, the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland. The new YIT was born when the over-100-year-old YIT Corporation and Lemminkäinen Corporation merged on February 1, 2018. Our pro forma revenue for 2018 was approximately EUR 3.8 billion. YIT Corporation's share is listed on Nasdaq Helsinki Oy. www.yitgroup.com