Major renovation project commissioned by Vestia in the Afrikaander neighborhood of Rotterdam.

The situation

Vestia (now Hef Wonen) is starting a major renovation project in the Afrikaander neighborhood in Rotterdam. It involves a renovation of the residential block located on Pretorialaan, Paul Krugerstraat, Transvaalstraat and Putselaan (shaded green).

Then Vestia's Development Project Manager, Bas van Schelt, saw many opportunities to use a digital photorealistic 3D model of the entire complex for the call for tenders and was also curious about the added value of the execution work for the contractor of this renovation project. 

Customer issue

For Vestia, the traditional (manual) approach and execution of inspections, maintenance and renovation of their real estate portfolio (too) often resulted in subjective and inaccurate data that turned out not to be complete and accurate enough. This subsequently led more than once to unexpected costs and unverifiable additional work. Bas van Schelt wanted to get a better grip on this. The key questions that were presented to supRmen as a result were as follows:

What are the possibilities and costs for:

• Gathering extremely accurate images of the roofs and facades
• Creating a photorealistic 3D model for a complete overview
• The ability to determine dimensions of frames, doors and other building elements in the model ens chades and detect deviations

Our solution

Our solution consisted of two phases:

• Gathering data
• Visualizing data
  

Gathering data

We have started informing all residents and neighbors within a 50-meter radius of the building by means of a comprehensive letter. People and car license plates are automatically blurred by our algorithm, so there is no invasion of privacy. This can be compared to Google Streetview.

We then took hundreds of photographs of the complex and its (enclosed) courtyards. These photos were taken from the air by a drone as well as from street level with high resolution cameras. In this way, the undersides of e.g. roof overhangs and gutters were captured in razor-sharp detail from all angles. The places that could normally only be reached with scaffolding or a cherry picker were also recorded accurately. 

Gathering all the images with the drone and from street level took a day and a half. The images were taken with a detail level of up to 2 millimeters deviation, so the condition of the complex was clearly visible and measurements could be taken accurately.

Visualizing data

All photos taken by the drone and at the street level were stitched together into a complete online photorealistic 3D model in our cloud-based platform, in which all details were visible in 2D and 3D. 

We collected all appointments, execution activities, documents and other information in a central place in our customer portal. This made all information centrally visible in one place and everyone was always up-to-date on the progress of the project.

Result

Vestia used the 3D model as the basis for the call for tender and shared the model with the contractors invited to the tender. They then made their bids based on the 3D model without having been on site to do so. The result for Vestia was:  

• After two weeks, all contractors had completed their bids
• The contractors' proposals were more accurate and sharply priced. In fact, they were able to remove most of the assumptions for additional work from their proposal because almost everything was visible;    
  
• The 3D model served as a "talking plate" for future internal consultations and those with the contractor.

Dura Vermeer

The tender was won by Dura Vermeer and the 3D model was shared with all subcontractors. In every meeting the 3D model was shown on a large screen, so that all subcontractors, painters and others could see the exact execution location. 

"The 3D model we used daily and was our home page."

 - Emiel Graafland - Dura Vermeer project manager

In addition, the model and photos were continuously used as an archive and reference work, eliminating the need to take photos on site and avoiding discussions about additional work. The model, which recorded the objective condition of the complex before renovation, could be used 24/7 as a reference work.  

This also led to many time savings. Far fewer trips were made each day to "just measure something" or "just check something" and the number of home visits was drastically reduced as a result. All the necessary information was available in the 3D model. 

"The 3D model led every day for greater efficiency and convenience."

- Nick van der Linden - Work planner Dura Vermeer

The other results for Dura Vermeer were:

• Safer because working at height was less common 
• Access to accurate data; smallest details and precise conditions were visible 
• In the short term, large amount of photos of the roofs and facades to be used as archives and reference work
• High-quality images of the hard-to-reach areas
• Little or no inconvenience to residents
• Easy to share with customers, (sub)contractors and other stakeholders
• Anytime, anywhere access to property data, on any device
• Possibility of periodic recordings and trend monitoring, allowing insight into degradation
• Unambiguous and objective
• Integral solution; models are used for multiple purposes