In this week’s pod, we welcomed Mathilde Roubille to talk about Digital Engineering in Construction.
Mathilde is a consultant with a strong experience in embedding digital engineering (including BIM and Information Management) in large infrastructure projects. Coming from a structural engineering background, she leverages her technical experience on major projects (Riyadh Metro and Doha Metro in the Middle East) to enable a deep understanding of program and project delivery in complex environments.
She is enthusiastic about making better use of data and information available at program and project levels to deliver better outcomes to the client and enable reliable data-driven decision making.
Don’t get her started on BIM, Information Management or Digital Engineering otherwise she might never stop talking! The main topics we discussed on the podcast were as follows:

• There is no standard definition of digital engineering. Essentially it is trying to leverage information, data and technology to enable better decision making
• Digital engineers should ideally be linked to PMO or Project Controls in an organisation structure. This allows for better synergies
• There is not currently a degree / major in digital engineering
• It is important to understand the concepts of ISO19650 when implementing digital engineering
• There are close links with change management. This requires a focus on soft skills to help to enable transitions
• Digital engineering should be a team rather than an individual skillset
• Many projects are reluctant to implement digital engineering capability due to time constraints
• The main industry trends are around digital twin, smart cities and sustainability.
• In order to be successful, there needs to be a greater focus on benefit realization and sustainability – consider the whole project lifecycle
• There are professional qualifications for BIM which is helping to professionalise the industry
• Visualisation and interactivity of data and information are key to the future success of digital engineering on major projects
• Many surveying companies are reluctant to share information due to fear of losing commercial advantage. This has led to inefficiencies when re-surveys are required
• The best way to get into digital engineering is to focus on streamlining existing processes on projects

Here are links to a some of the topics we discussed:

• ISO19650 BIM – https://www.bsigroup.com/en-GB/iso-19650-BIM/
• BIM Community of Practice – https://bim.ie/about/our-board-members/
• B1M – https://www.theb1m.com/

Tune in next time when we’re joined by Tammy Watchorn to discuss ninja moves on projects. For more information, blogs or to support our charities visit www.projectchatterpodcast.comIf you’d like to sponsor the podcast get in touch via our website.You can also leave us a voice message via our anchor page and let us know if there’s something or someone specific that you would like on the podcast.

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