SPINALCOM

A Forge Systems Integrator Partner, SPINALCOM provides software platform, software development and consulting services to ISVs (independent software vendors) and enterprise organizations for any phase of an AEC (architecture, engineering, and construction) project. The firm used Forge to develop a BIM Level 3 Application Enablement Platform (Digital Twin AEP) for customers in the AEC and O&M (operations and management) fields. SPINALCOM's Forge-powered SpinalBIM Suite lets customers work with an accurate digital twin of a physical facility.

EDF Group is the world’s largest supplier of electricity and a global leader in low-carbon energy. The company has used SPINALCOM's 3D visualization solution to reduce its building management errors and delays.

Challenge

EDF Group was hampered by an extremely complex building management system (BMS) that had siloed systems for multiple processes, including machinery monitoring, security access, and HVAC (heating, venting, and air conditioning). This complexity was making the Facility Management (FM) team handle multiple, disparate alarms daily, resulting in repair delays that were costly and time consuming—and threatening the security of a company that deals in nuclear energy worldwide. EDF determined to resolve the problem by identifying and providing the highest quality of building management at its new 70,000 sq. m laboratory in Paris, France.

How SPINALCOM solved it with Forge

When tapped for the job by EDF, SPINALCOM turned to Forge technology to provide EDF’s FM team with a BMS Supervisor (control center) that contextualizes building data in a Building Information Modeling (BIM) model and intelligently filters alarms, regardless of the alarm’s point of origin—saving precious time. Doors to highly sensitive proprietary areas, for example, now send off a different alarm than do low-security entry and exit doors.

SPINALCOM uses the Forge Model Derivative API to upload Revit and IFC (Industry Foundation Class) models of the EDF building and create the BMS Supervisor database. The SPINALCOM-enabled Forge Viewer retrieves model data natively from the Model Derivative API, rendering a 3D model of the building. The SpinalBIM real time data management system connects and contextualizes BMS data with the 3D model and the Forge viewer. EDF’s security manager and FM team can then view the BIM model in 3D, and immediately locate the equipment attached to an alarm, skipping the cumbersome step of opening and hunting through technical documentation. This empowers the EDF team to understand the entire building’s behavior at a glance, saving time and expense—and increasing security.

Forge highlights include the following:

• The Data Management API lets SPINALCOM extract valuable metadata into various object hierarchies, and translate the BIM model into different formats.
• The Viewer communicates natively with the Model Derivative API, complying with its authorization and security requirements.
• The Forge platform substantially simplifies and speeds the integration and installation process.

APIs and Services

Model Derivative API

Viewer