Sergio Munoz
Role: Secretary
Where do you live? Valencia, Spain
Work history:
How long have you been involved in openBIM and buildingSMART? Since 2006, when I was involved in the European Project called Stand-Inn which Kick-off was at same time as the congress eCPPM held in Valencia. By then, our chapter was formed by organizations from Spain and Portugal, and therefore was named as Iberian Chapter. A few years later, we decided to arrange a new way as Spanish Chapter.
What do you like the most about your work in your chapter? The most satisfying is to involve the members of the chapters in activities which have a positive impact on the transformation process of the AEC sector in Spain.
The greatest success achieved within your chapter? Probably to facilitate the National BIM Strategy Plan since 2015 under open standards. This fact meant that the industry was taken seriously the need for digitalization about process and data exchange.
The good relationship with the Government was shown during the buildingSMART Technical Summit held in Barcelona in 2017, in which the Spanish Minister of Infrastructure participated.
What does openBIM mean to you? Basically two important issues. Firstly, the way to establish the rules (for defining and exchanging information) by all the stakeholders. On the other hand, the way to facilitate the access to project and asset information, avoiding dependencies.
What is the biggest challenge the community is facing today? From my point of view, is needed to facilitate the use of standards, supporting clients and users to create and manage standardized information.
What challenges do you encounter in your country? There are still many processes based on paper. Digitalization of these processes is an important challenge. But moreover, we need to improve the communication between all the stakeholders regarding the information needed and provided for all of them, not only to improve the project, moreover to find the organization benefits. Each stakeholder has to see openBIM as an opportunity, not as a mandate.
What are the main opportunities for your market? In Spain openBIM is used mainly in the design phase, but however the main benefits can be in the construction and O&M phases, so, to exploit the information in those phases can bring great benefits (economic, environmental, etc.).
Digitalization is more and more present today; what do you do in your chapter to meet the challenges it poses: As is known, construction sector has a low level of digitalization, mainly in the construction phase. From our chapter we are showing, trough success cases, the importance about having information updated and standardized, supporting the automatization of several process.
What vision, as a chapter leader, would you give to the whole community? Cooperation. New challenges need new solutions, and those only can be achieved trough the cooperation from all the stakeholders. Those who have more experience, should share their knowledge to the community. And those who are giving first steps, should have open-mind and convince themselves that things can be done better otherwise.
What is your overall vision of the future? Information is the key to take good decisions, moreover, if that information is based on the whole lifecycle. To connect several sources of information (some of them on real time) and decision systems based on AI, will impact on better projects and assets.
Would you like to add something else? I just want to invite to everybody to join this community to face the big challenges now and in the future.
Website URL: www.buildingsmart.es
LinkedIn URL: https://www.linkedin.com/company/buildingsmart-spanish-chapter/
Twitter URL: https://twitter.com/buildingSMARTsp
Short resume (50 words)
Sergio Muñoz. Telecommunications Engineer.
His professional career is linked to R&D&I activities related to the Interoperability. Currently is CEO and co-founder in Laurentia Technologies, and partner and co-founder in bim+partners where offers BIM consultancy services.
He has been during 5 years the Chair of buildingSMART Spain since its foundation in 2012 working, being executive secretary currently.
Moreover is the president of the Spanish standardization committee about BIM, UNE-CT41-SC13.