A suite of new standards setting out the rules and contractual procedures for working with BIM will usher in integrated working across the industry and see the end to spurious claims due to poor documentation, experts said this week.
The new suite of documents launched at Ecobuild this week has been drawn up by the government’s BIM Task Group. BIM becomes mandatory across all government contracts from 2016 onwards in a bid to make 20% efficiency savings on projects. It is understood that new technical information officers have been embedded in every government department to get them BIM ready, and follow the example of the Ministry of Justice which is leading the way on BIM uptake for its projects.
The new suite of documents published by the CIC sets out how the integration will work from cradle to grave – including a new “Soft Landing’s” protocol to ensure buildings run better and more efficiently, and a new British Standard – PAS 1192-2 – to encourage best practice implementation of BIM.
Richard Saxon, BIM ambassador for growth and member of the BIM Task Group, said: “There’s a huge amount of digesting to do – and we are looking for feedback. Some of these documents are not perfect, but what these documents do is finally put all the tools on the table for a fully integrated way of working. It will see the vision set out over 20 years ago in the Latham and Egan reports finally come to fruition. And we could see the end of firms trying to make money off the back of spurious claims around flawed documentation – there simply won’t be any.”
Simon Rawlinson, chair of the legal, contracts and insurance working group of the BIM Task Group, said: “What these documents provide is a structured approach for clients to use BIM to help them come up with strategies that will help deliver business benefits.”
John Eynon FCIOB, director of Open Water Consulting, called the documentation “a landmark moment for the industry”.
Launching PAS 1192-2, Chloe Smith, Parliamentary Secretary, said: “We are committed to making government construction faster, cheaper and more innovative. The new BSI BIM standard for the use of digital technologies, a pioneering UK-led ICT solution, means that businesses at all levels in the construction supply chain working on a government project will need to collaborate and openly share plans, so helping to strip out waste.
“The UK is now regarded as a world-leader in our approach to the use of digital technologies in construction and the new BSI standard, recognised here and internationally, will help to give companies working in the UK a competitive edge in the global race.”
A further document, PAS 1192-3, is to be developed later in the year, and will offer guidance on the use and maintenance of the Asset Information Model (AIM) to support owners and operators of assets.
More information on the documentation can be found on the links below:
Government Soft Landings
www.bimtaskgroup.org/gsl/
Based on the BSRIA Soft Landings process, GSL encourages the engagement of the project end users right from the start of design for any built asset. This improves the built asset design, construction and operation process.
Digital Plan of Work
www.bimtaskgroup.org/digital-plans-of-work/
This provides a harmonised stage structure which will provide an overarching framework for all other plans of work produced by the institutes, such as the RIBA Plan of Work update due later this year.
COBie tools and testing
www.bimtaskgroup.org/cobie-tools-and-testing-overview/
Guidance on COBie UK 2012 has been available for sometime but in this update an example project is modelled at various stages with corresponding COBie outputs. In addition, COBie testing and extraction tools are examined.
CIC BIM Protocol
www.bimtaskgroup.org/bim-protocol/
The CIC BIM Protocol is a supplementary contract agreement for appointments by Construction Clients and Contractor Clients. It covers BIM model production and delivery requirements and also sets out information requirements. The protocol can be included in a contract or appointment by a simple amendment.
Employers Information Requirements
www.bimtaskgroup.org/bim-eirs/
The EIRs are included in tender and appointment documents, defining model requirements and outputs at each stage. The EIRs cover Technical, Management and Commercial aspects of the requirements and are detailed on the website.
Scope of Services for Information Management
www.bimtaskgroup.org/scope-of-services-for-information-management/
These documents detail the Information Management role that is fundamental to BIM delivery on a project, managing the Common Data Environment, project information and facilitating collaborative working, information exchange and project team management. The role does not involve design responsibility. However it could be carried out by a consultant with design responsibility, or the Main Contractor.
Pas1192/Part2
www.bimtaskgroup.org/pas11922-overview/
This new British standard is the key overarching document that builds upon BS 1192:2007, defining the BIM processes for the Common Data Environment on a project for delivery from the start at definition of need through to handover, and detailing required management processes in a multi-disciplinary.
Insurance Guidance Note
www.bimtaskgroup.org/professional-service-indemnity-insurance-guidance/
The CIC has carried out extensive consultation with the Professional Indemnity insurance market, and developed some simple guidance for all those involved in design in a BIM environment. Guidance documents are provided on the website.
