In focus: PERI bundles BIM activities

Daniel Stadel, Head of the Digital Transformation Office of the PERI Group, explains the background resulting in this change: "Since 2011, PERI has been working intensively and systematically with Building Information Modeling (BIM). With the organizational change, we are taking account of the strategic importance BIM already has for the entire PERI Group and our customers today as well as in the upcoming years."

With the new organizational structure, the BIM Competence Center forms the most important nodal point in PERI's worldwide BIM network and will be working closely with the two regional BIM competence centers currently being ramped up in the USA and UK.

Internationally successful BIM projects

PERI has been one of the leading companies in the construction industry for many years regarding the integration of BIM and can already boast a number of international project references that have been successfully developed together with customers using BIM principles.

The most recent example is the Saldanha MOGS project, the largest project in the history of PERI South Africa, which is being completely realized using BIM methods. For this project, PERI has been supplying formwork and scaffolding materials for the construction of an oil storage facility consisting of twelve underground circular tanks with a capacity of 13 million barrels of crude oil. Each tank has the footprint of two football fields and is 17 m high.

Another current sales success linked to PERI's BIM expertise is the order for supplying promaintain GmbH & Co. KG with scaffolding materials as well as scaffolding engineering for the construction of a new BASF processing plant at the Ludwigshafen site in Germany. promaintain is an owner-managed international specialist which focuses on turnaround and project management for the process industry. The order in Ludwigshafen is one of the first industrial scaffolding projects worldwide where erection is carried out according to the BIM method. In addition to the 3D planning of the scaffolding system, the focus of this project is on topics such as planning coordination, automated collision checks, safety checklists and QR codes for object navigation. In addition, relevant data for the assembly of the scaffolding is made digitally available to the construction site using a tablet solution.

Clear digital agenda

Organizing all BIM activities under the umbrella of the Digital Transformation Office is a further consistent step in implementing the ambitious goals that PERI has set itself on the road to the future of digital construction.

BIM is thereby one of several thematic areas that PERI is investing a great deal of time and effort in: "Digitalization will fundamentally change our industries, opening up tremendous opportunities for all involved," according to Dr. Fabian Kracht, Managing Director responsible for Finance and Organization at the PERI Group, who is responsible for digitalization within the Group Management Board. "As a market and technology leader, we aim to play a significant role in the conception, development and, ultimately, the implementation of this industrial change with our know-how and expertise, and to create real digital added-value for our customers. For this we have set ourselves a clear digital agenda complete with defined core initiatives that we systematically tackle and implement.”

Versatile solutions - from useful tools to extensive software

The scope of digital applications already available ranges from product-related apps for simple calculations and formwork and scaffolding systems through to the online customer portal myPERI, which supports the entire execution time of a project in the form of a comprehensive information platform.

Moreover, various software solutions provided by the Weißenhorn-based company ensure that the complex tasks and processes involved in major projects are fully optimized. With PERIpath software, for example, a complete large-scale construction site can be displayed thus facilitating efficient management of scaffolding materials and personnel. Users know at all times whether material movements are taking place, where scaffolding is being erected or dismantled on the construction site, and how many people are working there. Benefits for customers include a detailed cost overview through reliable expense projection and comprehensive report functions. Last but not least, real-time information increases productivity levels on the jobsite.

About PERI

With a turnover of EUR 1,480 million in 2017, PERI is one of the world's largest manufacturers and suppliers of formwork and scaffolding systems. Central functions, development and production facilities are located in Weissenhorn near Ulm in Southern Germany since the founding of the company in 1969. Through its 8,700 employees, 70 subsidiaries and far more than 140 efficiently run storage sites, PERI serves its customers worldwide with innovative system equipment and a comprehensive range of services related to formwork and scaffolding technology. A powerful innovative strength, the high level of engineering service expertise and top quality materials ensure cost-effective, efficient and safe solutions for formwork and scaffolding projects around the globe.