The Boletín Oficial del Estado (BOE) publishes decrees by the Cortes Generales, Spain’s Parliament (comprising the Senate and the Congress of Deputies) as well as those orders enacted by the Spanish Autonomous Communities. This includes the official publishing of all Spanish judicial, royal and national governmental decrees, as well as any orders by the Council of Ministers. The General State Administration plans to strengthen the process of implementation and development of the BIM methodology in public procurement in the civil engineering and construction sector in Spain, incorporating BIM requirements in the tenders for civil engineering and public works contracts. Royal Decree 472/2019, published on the 2 August 2019, regulates the direct granting of subsidies to various professional associations and general councils of professional associations for training in the BIM methodology during the 2019 budget year.
Recently Spain has committed to carrying out information and training actions for the personnel in charge of implementing the Plan for the Incorporation of the BIM Methodology in public procurement in the General State Administration, as well as the promotion of the use of BIM in the professional and teaching field of construction. This is why it is necessary to promote the training of professionals in the sector in this collaborative methodology. In order for this training to be similar quantitatively and qualitatively for all professionals, it is considered necessary that it be developed by the respective Professional Associations and General Councils of Professional Associations as suitable bodies to guarantee its coordination and extension to the entire national territory, and to all professionals in the sector.
The BIM Execution Plan – BEP (Plan de Ejecución BIM – PEB) is a document that reflects the strategies, processes, resources, techniques, tools and systems needed to ensure compliance with the BIM requirements requested by the client for a specific project and a phase or specific phases of its lifecycle. That is why its compilation requires the participation of all the agents involved in the phase or phases in which said plan is going to be applied. In the field of public bidding, it is a contractual document if it is part of the offer technique approved by the Administration.
This guide provides recommendations to the agents who write Execution Plans, in order that they can meet the requirements demanded via specifications in relation to the content of the BIM Execution Plan (PEB) of a project.
To develop the scope of this guide, the following considerations have been taken into account:
- Good recommended practices.
- PEB templates already existing outside the national scope.
- Minimum contents suggested in the Bidding Guide.
- ISO 21500 Standard on Project Management – understanding the PEB as a Plan for addressing issues relating to model generation and model derivatives in the framework of a project.
Valencian Government Railways (Ferrocarrils de la Generalitat Valenciana – FGV) has published a BIM Manual, in which all the instructions and standards are collected to guide its technical staff and of collaborating companies, in the homogeneous and standardised application of this methodology.
The BIM manual is structured in two volumes, together with additional documentation and appendices. The first volume covers the methodological and strategic aspects that have been adopted to undertake an effective implementation. The second volume offers a precise guide to develop, at a practical level, all the methodology applied in the different contracts for the design, construction and maintenance of railway infrastructures.
Created from real experiences and projects, the manual will assist the public sector to create a rich and orderly source of reference around the promotion of the use of this methodology.
The BIM methodology is making its way to an increasing extent within the asset management market. There are experiences fundamentally focused on buildings and industrial installations. However, projects are also advancing in civil engineering, some involving ports, where project contracts have already been submitted with BIM requirements.
Puertos del Estado (State-owned Ports) have started a process that helps in the implementation of the BIM within port assets, with this BIM Guide (GUÍA BIM) being the first step.
This document is a reference for Port Authorities when launching their projects, executing their works and finally managing the assets that are generated. It aims to foster the development of the “intelligent port” concept in an environment in which the digitisation of processes advances inexorably.
Given the changing technological environment in which this initiative is developed, this BIM Guide must be understood as a living element, susceptible to future updates, contributions and improvements
Puertos del Estado will continue to play a coordinating and leadership role in this field, supporting the Port Authorities in their digitalisation journey and in the sphere of competence established by the current port legislation.
Technical standards are essential for the access of products and services in national and international contexts as they provide transparency. Standardisation activities focus on export, innovation, digitisation, training, corporate social responsibility, quality and regulatory compliance. The Spanish Association for Standardization (Asociación Española de Normalización, UNE) is the body for standardisation in Spain, designated by the Ministry of Industry, Commerce and Tourism before the European Commission.
The incorporation of digital models to the lifecycle of buildings and infrastructure improves their performance and reduces economic and environmental costs, facilitating the collaboration between the different actors in the value chain. To enable this approach, It is necessary to normalise the interaction between these actors, including the management of processes and exchange formats. Therefore, it is important that organisations interested in digitisation of the construction industry know how standardisation works and consider the possibility of participating in the process, to contribute knowledge and experience and to keep up to date with state of the art in BIM.
The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana, MITMA) has developed es.movilidad, the Safe, Sustainable and Connected Mobility Strategy 2030. This will guide MITMA’s actions in the field of mobility, infrastructure and transport in the next 10 years and was approved by the Council of Ministers on December 10, 2021. MITMA wants to respond to the challenges in mobility and transport posed by the 21st century. These challenges are marked by global changes, such as the need to decarbonise the economy and respond to climate change, the emergence – often disruptive – of new technologies and the increasing concentration of population in large cities. MITMA aims to prioritise investments that bring social benefits, such as, for example, the adequate maintenance and conservation of the built environment, daily mobility, digitalisation, intermodality and security.
Understanding mobility as a right, an element of social cohesion and an opportunity for economic growth, the Strategy aims to provide solutions to the real problems of citizens, as well as to guarantee an efficient, sustainable and resilient transport and logistics system, whose importance has been underlined during the COVID-19 pandemic.
The Ministry of Transport, Mobility and Urban Agenda (Ministerio de Transportes, Movilidad y Agenda Urbana, MITMA) holds the Presidency and Secretariat of the Interministerial Commission for the incorporation of the BIM Methodology in the public tender, (Comisión Interministerial para la incorporación de la Metodología BIM, CBIM). It contemplates the sustainable management of resources and the circular economy, as well as digital innovation in its Urban Agenda. The Ministry has included the use of the BIM methodology in the discussion document of the Safe Mobility Strategy, Sustainable and Connected 2030 (Estrategia de Movilidad segura, sostenible y conectada 2030), which is being developed.
MITMA aligns Spain’s transport and infrastructure policy with the 2030 Agenda of the United Nations and with the recent Communications of the European Commission related to the digitalisation of construction in the European Union.
The BIM Commission is an Interministerial Commission, a collegiate body of a temporary nature whose purpose is to promote and guarantee the coordination of the General State Administration, and its public bodies and entities of public law in the implementation of the BIM methodology in public procurement. It was created by Royal Decree 1515/2018 and constituted in April 2019. The Commission has 5 key functions:
- Develop a plan for the incorporation of a BIM methodology.
- Follow the measure contained in the plan.
- Carry out informative actions and staff training.
- Represent Spain in international forums.
- Receive and exchange information between the different ministries.
Every year, Spain sends a National Reform and a National Stability programme to the Council of Ministers of the European Union and the European Commission. This submission is made in compliance with European Union obligations, which request all Member States to submit their National Reform and Stability Programmes to the European Commission. The aim is to coordinate national economic policies and achieve the objectives set for the European Union as a whole.
The National Reform Programme (Programa Nacional De Reformas, PNR) 2019 explains the current and future state of the Spanish economy. It considers elements such as GDP and employment as well as more specific topics around Infrastructure development, in particular sustainability and digital transformation.
Over the last two decades, the Spanish government has been adopting programmes for digital progress, aligned with the European digital agendas, which have served as a framework to promote a process of infrastructure deployment and development. The aim is to develop a business and technological ecosystem in a key area for economic productivity, territorial structure and social progress. Thus, the Info XXI Plan, the España.es Program, the Avanza Plan and, lastly, the Digital Agenda for Spain of February 2013 have enabled a strategic approach that has guided a major public and private investment effort in this field. Most of these digital strategies and agendas have been articulated around four lines of action: (1) the deployment of networks and services for digital connectivity; (2) the digitisation of the economy; (3) the improvement of electronic administration, and (4) training in digital skills. Although progress has been significant in all areas, the public and private investment emphasis has been clearly focused on the extension of physical telecommunications networks.
Digital Spain 2025 (España Digital 2025) includes a set of measures, reforms and investments, articulated in 10 strategic axes, aligned with the digital policies set by the European Commission. The actions of the Agenda are aimed at promoting more sustainable and inclusive growth, driven by the synergies of the digital and ecological transitions, which reach society as a whole and reconcile the new opportunities offered by the digital world with respect for constitutional values and the protection of individual and collective rights:
- Guarantee adequate digital connectivity for 100% of the population, promoting the disappearance of the digital divide between rural and urban areas.
- Continue to lead the deployment of 5G technology in Europe, encouraging its contribution to increased economic productivity, social progress and territorial structure.
- Strengthen the digital skills of workers and citizens as a whole.
- Reinforce Spain’s capacity in cybersecurity, consolidating its position as one of the European poles of business capacity.
- Promote the digitisation of Public Administrations.
- Accelerate the digitisation of companies, with special attention to SMEs and start-ups.
- Accelerate the digitisation of the production model through sectoral transformation tractor projects that generate structural effects.
- Improve the attractiveness of Spain as a European platform for business, work and investment in the audio-visual field.
- Promote the transition to a data economy, guaranteeing security and privacy and taking advantage of the opportunities offered by Artificial Intelligence.
- Guarantee the rights of citizens in the new digital environment.
The Regional Government of Extremadura (Junta de Extremadura) has a road network of 3,738 kilometres in length, of which 153 correspond to dual carriageway roads. This network, supported by national or local networks, allows mobility and accessibility in the Extremaduran territory. This is necessary for the economic and social development of this autonomous community. It this therefore a priority to consolidate and maintain this regional network in the best possible way to ensure safety and comfort. BIM methodology has enormous potential to achieve this important goal.
This guide (Guía BIM de la dirección general de movilidad e infraestructuras viarias) was created to introduce and establish BIM procedures in the regional projects. It is a primary document that serves as a reference to implement BIM requirements in all its phases – the first guide developed for a road network. This document will be useful both for the personnel of the General Directorate of Mobility and Road Infrastructure (Dirección General de Movilidad e Infraestructuras Viarias) and for professionals involved in planning, design, construction maintenance and operation of road networks.
