Building Information Modelling (BIM) may no longer be the new kid on the block, but many local authorities are only just realising what impact it can have on construction. Here we ask what is the Government doing to drive forward the uptake of BIM, and what benefits it can bring to councils.

The Cabinet Office:

BIM is changing the way that the construction industry creates and cares for its assets, and this Government is leading the world on this agenda. Virtually constructing buildings and infrastructure allows industry to work out problems during the design stage, which is much more cost effective.

It also allows for a more collaborative approach where an asset is built twice: once on the computer, and then again flawlessly out on the construction site itself.

In May last year we published the UK Government Construction Strategy. It calls for a change in the relationship between public authorities and the construction industry to ensure that Government consistently gets a good deal, and the country gets the long-term social and economic infrastructure it needs.

BIM is a key enabler of this change and Government as a client can derive significant improvements in cost, value and carbon performance through the use of open sharable asset information. That’s why we have mandated the use of Level2, 3D Collaborative BIM on all central government construction projects by 2016.

We have adopted a strategy which is achievable in the short-term, to allow the client and the supply chain to become experienced in the use of BIM, while space to consider what is required to move to higher levels in the future.

This will firmly establish us as the world leader in a new digitally built era, offering new innovative ways of working, as well as massive growth potential both at home and abroad.

David Philp is head of BIM implementation at the Cabinet Office.

Construction Industry Council:

BIM is nothing new, but the Government’s enthusiasm for BIM as an essential tool within its own Construction Strategy is. It believes will greatly assist in integrating the construction process – and therefore the construction industry.

Government isn’t providing both policy and financial impetus to the BIM programme because it wants to invest in new technology. Government is doing this because it is persuaded that BIM has many indirect benefits to the nation.

Government believes, as we do, that the BIM process is a facilitating tool for integrating the industry and better enabling intelligent decisions about construction methodology; safe plans of work; greater energy efficiency leading to lower carbon emissions; and achieving a critical focus on soft landings and the whole life performance of facilities, amongst many other potential benefits.

But of much greater importance to Government - as the industry’s major client – are the benefits for the economy that will accrue from a better deal for the buildings and infrastructure it buys from the construction industry. Better quality and better value for money.

Graham Watts is chief executive of the Construction Industry Council.

Morgan Sindall Professional Services:

Data rich 3D modelling has been an important tool for engineers for a long time. Now - through a more collaborative approach - BIM is helping project teams and the supply chain to share information, making planning more effective and construction slicker. It’s important to remember that BIM is a way of working, and not a product.

To get the most out of it, local authorities should be looking for suppliers who understand this dynamic and fully adopt the engaged and collaborative approach it fosters. There are further potential benefits for local authorities in the management of their longer-term construction strategies, and it’s also important to look at the next steps for working with BIM.

By using the site data more effectively it can digitally demonstrate how a building interfaces with the environment, utilities and communities, making it valuable for planning more extensive works in the future. This is crucial at local government level.

As with any approach, there is also a danger that all of the information that is pooled in our 3D models is cast aside after construction. It should have a much longer lease of life.

Not only do facilities managers and occupiers stand to gain but, for regeneration or renovation projects, the data we include in our models could be invaluable for any future modifications to the building stock.

Jonathan Griffiths is head of architecture for Morgan Sindall Professional Services.

NPS Property Consultants

The proponents of BIM technologies would like us to believe the key to achieving the objectives set out in the Government’s Construction Strategy is with BIM technology. However, BIM has much less to do with the progress of technology as it has with a philosophy of the ways in which technologies outputs are organised and controlled by the management of information.

This is because Building Information Management is built upon BIM; an integrated work-flow built upon coordinated, authoritative information about a project from design, through construction and into operation.

Essential for its success is the understanding and embracing of the change in culture required to achieve the expected benefits: cooperation and collaboration alongside the adoption of new processes, strategies and policies.

However, there are additional challenges: a diversity of skill sets, difficulties using current technologies effectively, disparate quality assurance and the age old issue that construction is usually a confrontational activity. We then have to grapple with integrating our skills within this framework. Building Information Management is the answer to these issues as it offers a holistic approach.

Councils have the advantage in that their in-house consultancy and support services can build on their already close and collaborative partnerships in the design, construction and operation of projects. They are therefore free to concentrate on the key to achieving the required BIM maturity, the careful planning and dogged determination to implement a bespoke BIM transition plan.

Bryn Mainwaring is associate–architect at NPS Property Consultants.