DigiChecks kicked off: a European Project to develop a new Digital Framework to manage permits and compliance checks in the construction industry
The R+D+I European Project of DigiChecks, funded by the EU research & innovation framework programme, Horizon Europe, has just started involving 13 entities from 5 different European countries, leaded by FCC Construcción. During the next 3 years the project will be working in the development of a new Digital Framework to manage construction permits and compliance checks.
Last 13th and 14th of June, DigiChecks project kick-off meeting took place at the Realia Tower in Madrid, Spain. The first meeting brought together all consortium members, with the aim to know the contributions of each entity in the consortium and to establish the working basis for achieving the proposed objectives with excellence.
DigiChecks will create a Digital Framework that allows interoperability and communication between platforms of the construction industry, in order to facilitate the management of construction permits and compliance checks. The Project Will be based on new technologies (BIM, GIS, BlockChain…) among others, taking as reference other previous international initiatives.
The management of construction permits, and compliance checks is an issue that implicates a large number of actors in the construction value chain, from architects, engineers involved in the design idea, public authorities, construction companies, subcontractor companies, to the final owner of the infrastructure.
An added problem when discussing permits and automated controls is the inexistence of a common language that allows interoperability between different actors and authorities. In addition, these processes and checks vary from country to country, from region to region and even from municipality to municipality.
The digital platform will transform into a service offered through an Open API, that combines the three DigiChecks´ principals: the definition of a standardized permit ontology, the digitizing of the permit processes based on the user needs, and the implementation of permit rules to manage compliance checks based in Project Information Models (IFM).
The aim of the solution is to provide flexibility, usability, and efficiency in the process of the management construction permits and compliance checks.
The DigiChecks platform will be validated in three pilot scenarios of different size and complexity: United Kingdom, Spain, and Austria, where all stakeholders will validate their use in permits and compliance checks.
The 13 European entities that will be working together in DigiChecks are international firms in the construction field, research, standardisation, digitisation, and ancillary services. They are FCC Construcción, Realia Business, Fundación Tekniker, IDP Ingeniería, Medio ambiente y Arquitectura, Ibermática, Building Digital Twin Association, Neanex, Semmtech, Digital Construction, Bureau Veritas Group, CREE BUILDINGS, Universiteit Gent & innCome.
