Two Nemetschek Group solutions (Allplan and Solibri) have been deployed by the Hamburg Port Authority (HPA) to create a digital twin of the Köhlbrand Bridge in Hamburg, Germany. The smartBRIDGE Hamburg project is said to enable more effective maintenance and operations of the bridge, and will make it possible for authorities to implement predictive maintenance instead of reactive maintenance.

Allplan and Solibri were used to create a detailed model of the bridge that enabled continuous real-time monitoring to identify repairs and minimise disruption to traffic, the HPA stated.

The project required a BIM Execution Plan and agreement between all parties on the element taxonomy and Level of Detail requirements, and multiple BIM applications were utilised to create a BIM model of the bridge from scratch.

The use of OPEN BIM, a core functionality of Allplan, made managing and exchanging data between different parties and applications possible and efficient says the Nemetschek Group.

Solibri added value to the project by ensuring that models complied with the requirements outlined in the BEP and other quality standards, giving the HPA the assurance the model was correct before being used as a digital twin.

The HPA said it also integrated IoT sensor data and traditionally collected bridge inspection and maintenance data with their bridge model. Over 500 IoT sensors were connected to a digital sensor in the bridge model, providing real-time monitoring and automatically issuing alerts if problems are detected. Both sets of data were made available to the asset management system of the bridge, enabling predictive maintenance to be better planned and executed.

The digital twin also enables various simulations to be undertaken, allowing the HPA to test different solutions and scenarios and assess the results prior to implementation.