The AEC Industry (Architectural Engineering and Construction), with its high demands for quality, safety, and efficiency, is a key economic sector in Austria. Despite its importance, the industry struggles with a low level of digitalization and efficiency throughout the entire lifecycle of buildings. Within the industry, construction projects are often considered as prototypes, which limits their reproducibility. Explicit engineering processes are standardized, but implicit processes still dominate. Efficient management is necessary to organize the numerous stakeholders, roles, and time dependencies involved.

With Building Information Modeling (BIM), construction projects are increasingly managed digitally according to defined standards (e.g. ISO 19650). Client requirements are developed and implemented in BIM projects. One challenge lies in capturing and specifying requirements for the entire lifecycle, involving many participants, while also considering historically grown structures. However, by ensuring the continuous and structured transfer of data from the delivery phase to the operational phase, costs can be reduced. Consequently, one of the goals in the BIM process is to use data and information in a continuous workflow and maintain a single source of truth.

Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) is a methodology within systems engineering where information is structured and generated from models rather than documents. This approach reduces complexity in both existing and new systems. With the integration of MBSE in the construction industry, standardized and proven methods are available to enable comprehensive system modeling. Relevant information is centralized around a single source of truth. The digital thread is established, enabling transparent and traceable decisions throughout the entire lifecycle of buildings. The critical requirements management is directly incorporated into the newly developed models. By increasing modeling capabilities and knowledge levels, downtimes during long-term usage phases are reduced. Efficiency gains throughout the entire management phase are in reach.

The presentation will first discuss the current situation, requirements, and challenges in the AEC industry. This includes the integration of the Building Information Modeling (BIM) method and data usage in the lifecycle of buildings. In the second part, the contribution will demonstrate how the integration of standardized approaches from Model-Based Systems Engineering (MBSE) and the BIM method can lead to significant added value in the AEC industry.