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The BIM Viewpoint

Editorial Type: Review     Date: 07-2014    Views: 9526   







4Projects by Viewpoint has been accumulating information about the current penetration of BIM within the AEC industry, and asks whether the UK is achieving its target to become world leaders in BIM

Right from the start the present Government has enthusiastically supported BIM, introducing targets for its adoption and a four-year strategy for BIM implementation that, according to Minister for the Cabinet Office Francis Maude, "Will change the dynamics and behaviours of the construction supply chain, unlocking new, more efficient ways of working."

Maude stated further that the whole sector adoption of BIM would put the UK in the vanguard of a new digital construction era and position the UK to become world leaders in BIM.

Now that we are halfway through 2014, and just a couple of years off the magic date when all this should be delivered, 4Projects asks whether we are still on track, and whether the reality has matched the rhetoric.

There is no question that the industry is now fully aware of BIM, with the latest NBS National BIM report finding that BIM awareness has risen from 58% in 2010 to 95% in 2013. This is unremarkable in itself, given the huge amount of emphasis placed on BIM throughout the media and at conferences. What is remarkable, however, is the rapid increase in take-up, with Competitive Advantage, a market research company that covers the industry, finding that whilst just 3.9% of UK construction projects in 2013 (value £3.8 billion) used BIM, that will rise to 50.8% of total work in 2016 (value £55.1 billion).

These are astonishing figures when you look at the results of a further AEC supply chain survey, undertaken by BIM software solutions 4Projects by Viewpoint in February, that found that whilst 75% of respondents believed the UK government was right to mandate L2, along with associated industry foundation classes (IFC) and construction operations building information exchange (COBie), only 2 per cent of that same AEC sample believe they are actually L2 compliant.

They further found that 65% of their respondents still only use email as their primary information sharing mechanism. Users might know where they are heading, but they haven't decided how and when they should be jumping on the BIM bandwagon.

There is some way to go, then, as Rebecca Hodgson-Jones, head of BIM at Sir Robert McAlpine and steering lead for the BIM 2050 Group, acknowledges: "The government task group have set solid foundations which will enable the industry to deliver improved outcomes, and although we still have a long way to go, with many challenges ahead, BIM is here to stay and momentum is rapidly building."

Developing her analysis further, she states that BIM has been providing the industry-wide framework that the construction industry has been seeking for some time. "BIM provides a golden opportunity to drive efficiencies and deliver safer, more sustainable solutions," she says. "Numerous industry leaders have commented on the need for the construction industry to become technology enabled, and we now have the perfect storm. Capability in the market is evolving and the gap between aspiration and capacity is closing." Collaboration is key, she concludes.

This sentiment is echoed by Chris Hallam, partner at law firm Pinsent Masons, who states that "Successfully implementing BIM requires co-operation from the complete team at the outset, and with construction rethinking how it does business, this technology-driven cultural shift must be directly manifest in appropriate contractual terms."

The existing legal landscape, however, is not an ideal place to start such a journey, as he explains further. "Collaboration is not a new concept for the industry. For over a generation, the government and industry stakeholders have striven to create a utopia of a more collaborative construction industry."

BIM: THE CLOCK IS TICKING
BIM adoption will bring UK construction into the 21st century, says 4Projects by Viewpoint's Alun Baker, managing director, EMEA, countering Chris Hallam's statement. "The problem is that the majority of construction contracts are not very collaborative. The relationship between parties often ends up being an adversarial one, with each party incentivised to look after its own interests, rather than the wider interests of a project."

"Things will need to change, however, and BIM has the potential to fulfil the transformative role, pushing and pulling construction across the innovation threshold," he continued. "The market is ready for new mindsets and legal models", taking on board the results of a recent survey undertaken by Pinsent Masons.



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