Keywords: Conventional tunneling, Drill and blast, BIM, IFC, Construction phase, Digitalization
Astract: Building Information Modeling (BIM) has become the key technology for the digital transformation of the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) sector. The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), as an open and vendor-neutral data model, play an essential role in this transformation. Despite all the recent advances of BIM, tunneling needs to catch up with other AEC sectors adopting digital technologies. Currently, IFC is mainly used to capture information directly connected to the structural elements of the final tunnel but rarely as a means to document the tunnel excavation and support. This article proposes an IFC-driven process for the execution phase of conventional tunneling projects by extending the usage of IFC to information about the process, labor, equipment, and employed material. The proposed process is evaluated by a case study demonstrating how to represent data from a conventional tunneling project by IFC. The results show that IFC provides the necessary concepts to express the data of the execution phase of conventional tunneling projects. Implementing an IFC-driven process in this phase significantly contributes to the digital transformation of tunneling projects.

Keywords: BIM, Construction phase, Digitalization, Equipment, IFC, Labor, Material, Process, Tunneling
Astract: The documentation process of conventional tunneling projects is time-consuming and costly. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has enabled substantial productivity gains in the Architecture, Engineering, & Construction (AEC) sector. However, BIM has only been marginally adopted in the execution phase of conventional tunneling projects. For this purpose, we propose a BIM model that facilitates fully digital and automated data exchange between project stakeholders. We use the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) as a basis and identify concepts potentially useful to represent data from the execution phase of construction projects. We demonstrate how IFC concepts are utilized to represent a shift report of a conventional tunneling project. Thereby, we deliver a reference model as an implementation guide for software developers in this domain. This may serve as a blueprint for handling construction management data in a machine-readable format, laying the foundations for Big Open BIM in the execution phase of construction projects.

Keywords: startup, spin-off, disruptive innovation, Austrian Tech-Ecosystem

Keywords: Digital transformation, Documentation, Production, Tunneling, Software, Time measurement, Recording
Astract: The digitalization of Architecture, Engineering, & Construction (AEC), specifically the tunneling sector, often lags behind other sectors. Today's invoicing process of tunneling projects frequently involves many manual and paper-based tasks, which are error-prone and time-consuming. Accordingly, replacing this with a fully digital process, from the tunnel face to the project owner, bears high economic potential. This article proposes an integrated digital documentation system for tunnel construction management and invoicing. A month-long case study with data from a real-life construction site is conducted to test the system's suitability. The managed data are exported to commonly used enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems for invoicing and compared to actual invoicing data. The case study has shown that the proposed approach is practical and helped streamline and improve the construction documentation processes in conventional tunnel construction. The proposed solution represents an incremental contribution to the digital transformation of the AEC sector.

Keywords: tunneling, data capture, invoicing, digitalization, documentation