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BIM Toolkit

Editorial Type: Technology Focus     Date: 03-2015    Views: 4085      





The NBS BIM Toolkit public beta provides a free Digital Plan of Work for BIM users.

You can't say that BIM hasn't yet fully permeated the consciousness of the construction industry. The BIM Task Group, with the encouragement of the Government, has spread its message far and wide, and you would be hard pressed to find anyone who hasn't heard the message at least three times, been told to 'look into it' by the firm's principals, or is not actively engaged in implementing parts of it themselves.

With no more than a year left before companies running government contracts must include BIM Level 2 in their working processes, it’s time for them to stand on their own two feet, with the BIM Task Group bowing out gracefully and leaving the day-to-day running to others.

One of those 'others' is NBS, which has been awarded a Government contract from the BIM Task Group, in association with Innovate UK, to undertake the development of a Toolkit for BIM. Hence the April release of the new BIM Toolkit public beta, available online at the NBS website below. It offers users a Digital Plan of Work tool and new unified classification system, creating much-needed synergy in building projects.

Of course, with a project of this magnitude, it was important for NBS to assemble a high-performing team. Therefore, in addition to the company’s technological in-house expertise, it sought specialist assistance from several other BIM-focused organisations.

DIGITAL PLAN OF WORK
It might be 'hands off’ for companies now, but the BIM Toolkit will provide step-by-step support to define, manage and validate responsibility for information development and delivery at each stage of the asset lifecycle, in preparation for the government-mandated use of Level 2 BIM on all public sector projects by 2016.

The Digital Plan of Work is a free tool specifically designed to enable the project leader to clearly define the team, responsibilities and an information delivery plan for each stage of a project - who, what and when - in terms of documents, geometry and property-sets. For the first time, the Digital Plan of Work will unify data and product descriptions.

To start a project using the Digital Plan of Work, the user simply creates an account and logs in, together with his or her colleagues - the project can then be shared with each member of the project team. It's as simple as that!

A NEW CLASSIFICATION SYSTEM
The Digital Plan of Work will be intrinsically linked to a new pan-industry classification system, based on an extended version of Uniclass, building on the work that NBS has already carried out over recent years under commission from the Construction Information Committee (CPIC).

The industry will have a unified structure, providing mapping and guidance, so that objects can be configured at a project level to have the correct multiple classifications where required.

Some 5,000 templates will be developed, setting out guidance for Levels of Detail (LOD) and Levels of Information (LOI) for construction objects.

Initially, these will be spaces, systems and products for architecture, building services, structural engineering, landscape design and civil engineering. These will be freely available online, and will also be accessible in both IFC and Microsoft Excel format. They will form the 'construction language' that all project teams can use to define their information exchanges for a particular stage of a project.

The Digital Toolkit was a highlight of the NBS-curated BIM programme at this year's Ecobuild, where attendees were given an early opportunity to preview and comment on the development of the government-sponsored BIM Toolkit.

Daily BIM programmes featured live demonstrations, as well as seminars with David Philp, head of BIM Implementation at the Cabinet Office, and Stephen Hamil, head of BIM at NBS.

Commenting on the event, Stephen Hamil said: "This free resource will guide users through the construction process and, at Ecobuild, we had users getting a first look at the Toolkit, and got some feedback on how we can continue to develop and improve the software."

A BIM DAY OUT
A host of other BIM-related topics featured throughout Ecobuild's three days of workshops, case studies and talks, with representatives of NBS and RIBA Enterprises, industry experts and leading authors. Masterclasses, led by technical experts such as Dale Sinclair, director of technical practice at AECOM, also featured prominently in the programme, while Mark Bew, chairman of HM Government's BIM Task Group and Steve Lockley, professor of building modelling at Northumbria University, alongside Richard Waterhouse, CEO at NBS, spoke about BIM Beyond 2016, focusing on the next steps.

A range of current hot topics were covered - from the latest research on BIM, to the new pan-industry classification from NBS, to the next generation of BIM users. In addition to the programme of seminars, attendees had the chance to take part in 1-to-1 discussions with industry-leading experts, technologists and consultants at the BIM Genius Bar, where 'genii' covering all aspects of BIM answered questions throughout the duration.
www.thenbs.com

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