The use of software to model and display infrastructure information provides powerful decision-making support for government departments, enabling all parties to plan the roll-out of interrelated infrastructure projects effectively, says civil engineering computer-aided design company Technocad director Peter Webb.

The use of infrastructure information modelling enables robust planning to reduce unintended and avoidable impacts on existing infrastructure, such as water, electricity, communication and sewerage systems, and can also drastically reduce the cost escalations of projects.

Further, using integrated models of various infrastructure projects also allows for more strategic and broader planning and decision support for interrelated projects, as well as for determining the impacts that will be made on and synergies that can be gained from existing infrastructure projects and developments, he says.

However, exploiting the potential of such infrastructure modelling tools relies on skilled people involved during the design stage of a project to include relevant information in the model, including issues faced at contractor level.

“Making changes and improvements during the design stage of a project is the best way to reduce cost overruns and unforeseen delays. Multidisciplinary teams are necessary in the design stage to ensure that all the elements of a project, from inception to completion, are considered and planned for,” says Webb.

Using a shareable, computer-aided design model provides all stakeholders and planners with information on a project, allowing them to draw conclusions from the shared model, he emphasises.

Meanwhile, such infrastructure information models can also be integrated and used for urban planning in a single geographic information system (GIS), says GIS company Esri South Africa solution architect Richard Kaufholz.

“A GIS enables the management of spatial and relevant nonspatial data within a model that can correlate information on existing infrastructure with the impact of new projects and initiatives. This will allow for detailed, broad-scope planning to be carried out on large infrastructure projects.”

Further, integrating proposed civil-project designs and digital models of existing infrastructure will enable urban planners to determine the effect of new buildings on existing infrastructure, sewerage systems and water infrastructure, besides others.

“We have Web-based virtual-city models, where planners can add new infrastructure and then use the model to determine the effect of such projects on, for example, traffic flows during the construction stage and traffic volumes after the project is complete. Users can ‘move the sun’ to determine how lighting and shade shift during the day and during different seasons, as well as their effects on other structures.”

Sharing project information is crucial, but rather than sharing the benefits that broader information sets would bring, companies often do not want to share GIS data to retain any advantage they gain from their own information.

Using a virtual urban and regional planning tool promotes the transfer of infrastructure management skills, which often ensures the sustainability of infrastructure.

Such an integrated virtual system also makes collaboration across various disciplines possible, with improved responses and improvements during the design stage reducing project costs and improving the impact of developments, adds Kaufholz.

The information collected when a virtual model is constructed using infrastructure project information can also be used as a planning tool for government and private stakeholders.