BIM and SCADA integration: the Dynamic Digital Twin

Abstract

In recent years, a new design methodology is finding fertile ground in the building and plant engineering field: BIM (Building Information Modeling). BIM is an innovative modeling method that proposes a substantial change in the entire workflow of a project aimed at the digitization of information processes and supported by the transition from 2D to 3D design. The Digital Twin, final product of the entire design process, represents a valuable tool to support the management of the building but, at present, its potential is not fully exploited. Today, the market offers many solutions for building and facility management, but in none of them the information is well contextualized within the space. SCADA (Supervisory Control And Data Acquisition) systems, in fact, applied to the building and plant field, do not offer a representation of the building that has a decisive impact on the final user experience. The objective of this discussion is, therefore, to propose an innovative system that exploits the unexpressed potential of BIM and extends the usefulness of the project beyond the construction of the building. The ability of BIM to produce a Digital Twin suggests the possibility of integrating this model within the SCADA system. The data, acquired and processed, are, in fact, linked to the “digital twin” that from static and parametric becomes dynamic and informative. The result is what can be defined as “Dynamic Digital Twin”.