Digitalization of the AECO Sector – Accomplishments in BIM Application and Development in Serbia

Abstract

Focusing proposed paper on the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and recently included Operation (AECO) sector, we start from a statement that this sector is a step behind other manufacturing domains in overall application of digital technologies and artificial intelligence. With the main motivation to examine ways of bridging the digital gap, we consider adoption of Building Information Modelling (BIM) as one of reliable indications of the state of digitalization in the sector. After briefly introducing general features of BIM technology, this study focuses on the actual situation in Serbia, searching for examples of the most advanced applications and developments in practice. Methodologically the study is qualitative and the research is based on examination of cases, where the observed sample has been created from the application examples presented within the series of online sessions titled “BIM in Practice Serbia”, organized by the Group for BIM Technology of the Chamber of Commerce of Serbia. Consisting of twenty examples of various advanced applications of BIM in Serbian practice, this sample is formed “by difference”, looking for various cutting-edge applications. The selected examples of BIM application in Serbia are firstly structured by area of application (design, infrastructure, scan-to-BIM, investors’ adoptions, etc.), then analysed in detail. The results obtained indicate that within the Serbian market we could identify advanced BIM usages, and especially valuable development results, represented by the BEXEL Manager software, developed in Serbia and spread and localized worldwide. Based on the obtained results, we could predict the future of BIM application in Serbia, but also could highlight the contribution of Serbian development efforts to the global AECO sector.