In the interview with Bettina Gehbauer-Schumacher, owner of the communications agency Smart Skript and expert in the construction industry

“Innovation is key” – that could be the motto of the construction industry. After all, it’s all about ideas that have taken shape. Only those who stay up to date can develop target-group-specific solutions. Today, we speak with Bettina Gehbauer-Schumacher, owner of the Griesheim communications agency Smart Skript and specializing in the high-impact presentation of architecture and energy trends, about why it’s particularly important to consider selected external and internal aspects when sustainably introducing operational innovations – especially when it comes to holistic approaches like digital work with Building Information Modeling (BIM).

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Ms. Gehbauer-Schumacher, for decision-makers or managing directors, the future viability of their own company hinges on whether they are open to progressive technological methods or willing to embrace new business ideas. How, for example, does BIM help improve workflows so that new buildings can be created more efficiently?

Bettina Gehbauer-Schumacher: Well, BIM initially requires a new culture of constructive collaboration: experts from a wide range of disciplines must bring their knowledge together earlier and on an equal footing. For the successful use of the method, it is therefore essential to closely interlink people, processes, and technology in practice. A central element for this is an object-oriented 3D model with embedded information that all project participants can access. It helps to map an integrated process chain with consistent data throughout the lifecycle, enabling transparent, structured, and sustainable work. This in turn facilitates decision-making during planning, can lead to optimized material usage during construction, and ensures targeted maintenance during operation.

Political initiatives and (inter)national standardization activities – such as ISO, CEN, DIN, and VDI – aim to make BIM the standard. Developments like these hold great potential to increase value creation, as the McKinsey Global Institute’s (MGI) 2017 study “Reinventing Construction: A Route To Higher Productivity” already revealed: While the German economy as a whole has seen annual productivity growth of 1.32 percent since 1995, the construction industry has recorded annual growth of just 0.26 percent. Procedures with more standardization, modularization, and prefabrication could yield positive effects five to ten times greater. This includes, for example, the use of BIM, which makes it possible to directly reuse the data stored in the central 3D model for the manufacturing and/or use of a building.

What ultimately matters is finding the best way to meet the specific requirements of each project. Accordingly, BIM – like digitalization as a whole – is not an end in itself. That’s why concrete questions about your own future viability are needed: What are the currently relevant aspects in the context of change processes? What type of leadership, organization, and business model offers the greatest opportunities to act successfully in this environment?

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: What measures or initiatives can HR managers or employees in leadership positions use to influence and promote team projects more successfully?

Bettina Gehbauer-Schumacher: Holistic leadership, acting in experimental mode, and continuous development are key here. This is where innovation management comes into play as the tool of the hour. It helps reduce the risk of failure for new initiatives. Its components include a concrete goal with a strategy, a systematic process, and an innovation-friendly corporate culture. The latter is characterized above all by an organization that gives employees room to maneuver, is open to ideas from within (discussion culture) and from outside (inspirations—regardless of origin), clearly and promptly defines responsibilities, and is ready for change, tasks, and learning.

It’s helpful to clarify what is meant by innovation in each case. After all, it can relate to products, processes, structures, social aspects, marketing, and the business model. In practice, the transitions are naturally fluid.

One thing to keep in mind is that society has shifted its values from technology to branding: As products and standards become more similar worldwide, the actual product and the associated manufacturing know-how have less influence on customer purchasing behavior. What becomes more important, however, is a strong brand position through intelligent segmentation and a tailored, differentiated offering. With BIM, both can still be achieved at the moment, as the method is only just beginning to establish itself.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: How should we envision a well-planned use of BIM?

Bettina Gehbauer-Schumacher: Before implementing BIM, it’s important to develop a strategy for your own company. The first step—just like in construction—is an inventory. In this case, it takes the form of a comparison of the company’s own strengths and weaknesses with external conditions. When you contrast this so-called SWOT analysis—an acronym for Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats—with the desired target state, you get the necessary pointers on what needs to be tackled specifically. This involves using targeted questions to thoroughly examine the individual business model.

The purpose of such considerations is to secure the future viability of your own company by adapting to customer needs. After all, customers will only place an order if they conclude: “The value proposition is important for fulfilling my own core tasks in the long term. It supports me essentially and helps me avoid burdens.” Ideally, this can later lead to a new order and even a recommendation to third parties.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: What needs to be considered when introducing and implementing such a (specialist) innovation in order to truly bring about a positive transformation within the company?

Bettina Gehbauer-Schumacher: For the success of the new digital method in construction projects, the first step is to win over the people for the integral approach. In addition, the technology must be designed to be expandable. When implementing BIM in your own office, it is advisable to build on existing structures. This way, not all innovations come at once, which usually generates a lot of resistance, but can be implemented gradually. Through cooperation between those who are immediately willing to change and the first visible progress, others should gradually be encouraged to participate. This leads to continuous expansion of specialist knowledge by developing skills and improving processes within the team. Ultimately, this creates new opportunities for design and faster communication when acting in the interests of the overall project.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: If we now move, figuratively speaking, from the individual building block to a stable house: What is your conclusion and outlook on business digitalisation in Germany? Are there fundamental strategic recommendations that you can provide to companies across industries or even sector-specific?

Bettina Gehbauer-Schumacher: Success factors for a company’s continued existence in the market include, among other things, proximity to events, responsiveness and flexibility, productivity, quality, cost optimisation and, above all, collective goals and strategies.

Digitalisation, order systems, process optimisation and changing customer demands (documentation, security) are global developments that the construction industry cannot avoid either. BIM can make a contribution here. Since the use of the method is foreseeable in the medium term and the path to it is still designable, this creates both opportunities and risk minimisation for all those involved. New business areas around BIM management, coordination and service can even lead to a unique selling point: a service or product that no one else offers yet.

On the way there, it is important to keep your eyes open and be observant. What really solves (customer) problems? There are funding programmes to kick-start digitalisation projects, so that companies do not have to bear the necessary investments alone: https://transformation-it.de/foerderprogramme-digitalisierungsprojekten-durch-die-bundeslaender

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: In conclusion, we can state that BIM holds a great deal of potential for the design industry. Which additional knowledge providers and background information do you particularly recommend for SMEs interested in exploring this tool in greater depth?

Bettina Gehbauer-Schumacher: The topic of "BIM" is also a key focus in further education. Smart Skript and the DIN Academy offer the seminar "BIM for SMEs – Successfully navigating digitalisation strategies and new business models" as well as the six-part webinar series "Inspiration for SMEs: Understanding and leveraging current BIM developments". The aim is to provide managers and professionals in the construction industry with knowledge and methods that they can apply directly in practice.

DIGITAL FUTUREmag: Thank you very much for this inspiring contribution.