Development of Bim (Building Information Modeling) Concept Applied to Projects of Substations Integrated With the Geographic Intelligence System (GIS)

Abstract

In the context of the Brazilian electrical sector, there are no references regarding the application of BIM (Building Information Modeling) and GIS (Geographic Information System) in construction and maintenance of Electric Power Substations projects. Thus, this work proposes the integration of these technologies, since preview experiences in other engineering fields have shown promising advances that could be useful for the management and maintenance of the electrical power market. By associating these technologies, an accurate mapping of the information related to the assets, arrangements, cabling, bus, electrical components, etc, is obtained. Moreover, for this integration works, it is required to design a three-dimensional geometric database of the electric power substation active com-ponents. Inserting one of the database models into a particular point of the project shall bring constructive, operational, and maintenance information. Thus, by combining BIM and GIS in the modeled families, it is possible to obtain more consistent information during the construction phase. This will provide advantages in decision making, providing resources within the corporate communication, and a better understanding of the environment related to an electrical energy substation. Additionally, the location conditions and the surroundings of the substation would be more precise and pertinent, since the components of the substation will become Geo-referenced. The association between these two platforms allows a more intuitive overview of the project, making them adherent to the planning, design, construction, operation, preventive, and corrective maintenance. So, when applying these tools together the company will obtain results almost immediately since all managing features will be accessed through only one integrated information database. This proposal presents the first results of the integration of BIM and GIS, in the context of a Brazilian electric company - Furnas S/A. Results of the implementation of the solution in the context of Substations of the Company are discussed and show the availability of reducing construction costs, alteration planning, logistics, on-demand of the necessary maintenance, prevention of possible accidents, and possibility of updating information in real-time.