How I use Simplebim: Merko BIM Coordinator goes all in with Simplebim, saving time and money on construction projects

As one of the leading construction companies in the Baltics, Merko Ehitus has well over 30 years of experience constructing buildings, infrastructure and energy installations, working on large, complex and innovative projects as well as smaller construction works.

We spoke to Merko Ehitus’s BIM Coordinator, Martin Raudkivi. With a background in sub-contracting and civil engineering, he’s now using his skills to support project teams across the business, with the help of Simplebim, of course.

Simplebim: Tell us what challenges were you experiencing before you adopted Simplebim?

Martin Raudkivi: The main challenge was modifying IFC files. Because we couldn’t get the original Revit files or AutoCAD files from the designers, we had to change the IFC files, but the problem was, there weren’t any good programs that could do it.

We had to produce As-Built models, which meant having to add information, change some geometry and the locations of some elements. But if you don’t have the original files, then it’s very difficult to change things inside an IFC. Luckily, Simplebim makes this process easy.

SB: So, how did you discover Simplebim?

MR: My colleague and I Googled the best software for modifying IFC files. And then we found out that we were already using Simplebim inside our company. The cost estimators were using it, although their use case is different to ours.

We discussed it with our senior engineer, and he explained more about Simplebim’s capabilities and introduced us to Simplebim’s Estonian partner, Tarcon.

SB: When you began using Simplebim, did you phase it in gradually to get a feel for what it could do?

MR: No, we literally went all in. It was a school or hospital project. It was a steep learning curve at first, but a lot of the functionality is intuitive, and we had so much to do, we just got stuck in.

SB: Have you had any training since you started using Simplebim?

MR: After a few months of trialling Simplebim, we wanted to go a little bit deeper into using things like templates to automate processes, so we got in touch with Tarcon. We also found Simplebim’s YouTube channel and their tutorials really useful.

SB: What is your main use case for Simplebim?

MR: I mainly use it to modify information inside IFCs. For example, I have this architectural design IFC. It’s not very good for work because it has too many elements, chairs, tables and lamps etc. This is useful for the end user but it’s not useful for us.

So, we remove a lot of stuff, maybe add a bit.  We might want to change elements like door types and what kind of locking system it has. We change this information on a very large scale, for example, 40,000 elements at once.

It’s a lot but you can do it with Simplebim, because it is compatible with Excel, so you can change information rapidly.

SB: Which feature do you use the most?

MR: Table contents are useful. You can see elements with the information according to your table and how you build it. It can calculate geometry, for example, if I have a hole in the wall and I want to know how big the hole is, I can just ask Simplebim to calculate it.

SB: What are the main benefits of Simplebim?

MR: Time saving is the biggest benefit, not just in my role but I know it’s the case for the cost estimators too. For example, on-site engineers might ask how many square meters there are in a wall, floor or ceiling.

I can access this information in just minutes by filtering out the right data. For example, on a big project, you might have 1,000+ rooms. We might need to filter out how many light switches there are, what kind of lighting, what paint type. It’s a very efficient tool.

And, of course, time savings lead to cost savings.

I once created a room table for a hospital project. The whole hospital took me one week, whereas my colleague did the same thing manually and it took three weeks to do just one floor.

SB: Are there any other key benefits to using Simplebim?

MR: Another benefit is error detection. For example, a project manager might want to know how many of a certain type of windows there are. You can use Simplebim to give them an overview, but this isn’t just an Excel spreadsheet. This is interactive. So, you can just select the type of window and it will show you in 3D what it is and where it is. This helps us identify possible errors because the project manager knows, for example, in this part of the building, we don’t have that type of window there.

SB: How did you justify the cost of Simplebim internally?

MR: I didn’t have to justify it. My manager has the mindset that it’s good to try new things and he immediately saw the benefit of being able to access and manipulate information so quickly and easily.

SB: What can’t you do with other BIM software that you can do with Simplebim?

MR: I can’t manipulate IFC data. I can’t add information. I can’t change geometry. I can’t manage IFC files. But with Simplebim, I can do all those things. That’s what makes it invaluable. I could do my job without it, but it would take a lot more time.

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