CREA SOLUCIONES INTELIGENTES is born with a conviction that had become our motto: “There is another way to design,another way to build and another way to manage.”
it is important to remember the past and know where we come from…
In the last years of my architectural degree in ETSAM, this being more that twenty years ago, I started seeing clearly that technology was fundamental to the construction industry business.
I started out helping out some architects develop their projects in CAD, supervisor of the computer lab of the faculty, for my dissertation I presented renderings in 3DSTUDIO to express the idea of my proyect, I did all my plot sheets in CAD and printed on a thermal plotter. In those times a few of us dared to make the leap and use technology for finishing our degree.
While on scholarship In the computer wing, I contacted SOFT so that we could teach a 3D architectural software called ARRIS, and a collaboration agreement was signed between this company and ETSAM.
You can see information about that solution here: http://www.arcadecad.es/datos/pdfs/ARRIS_CAD_compatible_para_Arquitectos.pdf.
When I finished my degree I started working at SOFT, helping the Bank of Spain digitize its buildings in 3D using ARRIS and later on being part of the technical support team for the ARRIS software. At SOFT I learned from the people that, according to my own judgment, knew the most about technology applied to construction: D. Fernando Valderrama (PRESTO CEO) and D. Miguel Villamor (Director of SOFT´s technical department while I worked there, General Director of Nemetschek Spain for many years, and now General Director of AECon Soluciones).
While at SOFT, I started hearing the term, in English, “Facility Management”, so we can say that thanks to D. Fernando Valderrama and D. Miguel Villamor I´ve become dedicated to Facility Management. They taught me how important “information” is, and in order to coordinate that information we must rely on technology.
In the 22nd of October, 1998, sixteen people formed the Spanish Society of Facility Management, and during these last few days I have received a picture of that moment (thanks to D. Angel Tejedor for reminding me about this event and getting this picture to me) and I want to share it with the readers of this article.
Founding members of the Spanish Society of Facility Management (SEFM): D. José María Álvarez, D. Benito Cesteros, D. D. Germán Fernández, D. José María Diez Aguilera, D. José Antonio Durán, D. Eugenio García, D. Francisco García Ahumada, Dña. Angela Comeras, Dña. Carmen Ramos, D. Juan Velázquez Barroso, D. José Luis García Cuartero, D. Ignacio Casamada, D. Sebastián Roger, D. Juan Rodrigo Burriel. D. Manuel Gómez del Río and D. F. Javier García Montesinos.
Out theme, from the world of Facility Management always has been:”Facility Management starts with the design of the building”
According to the European norm UNE-EN 15221, the Facility Management is defined as the coordination of infrastructure, services support. In the International Association of Facility Management (IFMA), Facility Management, is defined as an interdisciplinary profession that integrates support areas to the level of people, buildings, processes and technology to guarantee safe and sustainable buildings.
BIM is defined by Building Smart´s Spanish Chapter (of which I also am a founding member), as a work methodology for collaborative work and the creation and coordination of construction projects. Also, the association states that the use of BIM does much more and is extender throughout the buildings life cycle, allowing for easier management and lowering maintenance costs.
Lifecycle vision = BIM+FM
Through all these years the has exited two worlds: that of design and construction and that of the management of buildings.
Thanks to the maturation of ideas that were coming from the world of Facility Management, thanks to those responsible of large scale projects in Spain that were very united to the world of Facility Management, and those who were convinced o the benefits of these concepts, we have been going forward with the idea of asset management is a “strategic value for companies”. Projects like the IBERDROLA headquarters (in which I participated as part of IBERINCO), TELEFÓNICA, BBVA, REPSOL, BANCO POPULAR, VODAFONE… are clear examples that these are the adequate ideas.
Our arguments were incontestable:
- Operating costs associated to the property are the second most expensive to businesses.
- 80% of the building´s costs are produced in the operating phase.
- Buildings consume 42% of all the electricity we produce.
But the truth is that the life cycle vision was not being adopted, especially in the housing, education, sanitary and public sectors.
From this crisis is born (or should we say “reborn”) a new movement that we now call: Building Information Modeling.
Finally everybody is talking about a building´s life cycle. From the world of design and construction we call it BIM, from the world of asset management we call it Facility Management.
From CREATE SMART SOLUTIONS we call it “OPPORTUNITY”, we call it “BIM+FM”. At long last will the market be receptive to our philosophy “There is another way to design, another way to build and another way to manage.” Our “way” is to think that the end result of our services should be “smart buildings”, designed, built and operated in an “intelligent” manner. Our mission is to think about the profitability of the owner, I the productivity of employees and the search for solutions that allow for the best management of our resources, thinking about future generations.
We finally have a complete solutions map, with services at each one of the phases of a building´s life cycle:
- Consulting on better processes of design, construction and asset opetation.
- Support construction industry stakeholders with the use of technology to search for better eficiency, profitability in its resources and optimizing costs.
- Promoting Building Information Modeling and Facility Management principles through our courses and/or participating in our country´s most prestigious learning programs.
Final Conclusion
BIM+FM is presented as a perfect binomial to change the way of designing, building, and operating buildings. It is the opportunity we have to add “VALUE” to our companies, our buildings, our cities, and our world.
