The BIM process was mandated by the UK Government for all centrally procured building projects in the UK in April 2016. Encouragingly, since that time more and more clients are realising the benefits to be gained in terms of efficiency and savings by aligning the procurement / build process to the established UK and International standards.
Ainsley Gommon Architects started up-skilling for the use of BIM in 2013 and we are constantly reviewing our protocols to ensure we can support our clients and offer the best service from inception up to project handover. In December 2018 ISO 19650 parts 1 and 2 were released which replaced PAS 1192-2:2013 and we’ve updated our procedures to align to the new standards.
We’re excited to now be on site in Wales with our first true ‘Level 2’ BIM scheme in Bangor. Ysgol y Garnedd is a new £7.8m primary school for 420 pupils and forms parts of Gwynedd Council’s 21st Century Schools Programme.
Getting to this point has required ‘buy-in’ from the main contractor and other consultants in the design team. We have been reassured by the positive attitudes of the project team as we have combined efforts and skills to work towards the goal of delivering the building in both physical and digital form. The main contractor (Read Construction) recently became the first contractor in Wales to achieve ISO 19650 verification.
One of the project deliverables for the scheme in Bangor is COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange). COBie is used to capture and record the data associated with equipment & products in the building including locations and warranty details. This information is essential to support the Facilities Management team in their long-term role over the lifetime of the building. We have worked hard to come up with an efficient way of collecting and inputting the data into the model from various third parties to create a data-rich digital version of the building that will be of value in the future to the client.
We’ve also invested in clash detection software which, in addition to manual checking, provides a robust way for us to check how our building models compare with those of other consultants when interrogated. This process allows digital models to be examined in fine detail before anything is constructed on site. The benefits of this are obvious, not only in time on site but also in the ability to offer 3D views of complex junctions to be visualised and understood virtually.
The benefits of BIM are being realised all over the world and the UK is taking a lead role in this development to drive down costs and reduce waste as we look towards the future of the construction industry. We are thrilled to be at the forefront of this and are fully committed to supporting our clients in their roles as we seek to design the buildings of the future.
Procurement guidance and support
If you are in the role of procuring buildings and would like to ensure that your brief documents are compliant with the current standards you may like to refer to the following resources:
Going Digital – An overview guide of BIM for clients. Published in October 2018 (before the release of the ISO 19650 standards) the report is authored by Richard Saxon CBE and is written in an easy-to-understand manner.
BS EN ISO 19650-1: Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling — Information management using building information modelling: Concepts and principles
UK BIM Alliance guidance associated with BS EN ISO 19650-1: Concepts
BS EN ISO 19650-2: Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling — Information management using building information modelling: Delivery phase of the assets
Client or Advisor: List of Standards that will assist a Client or Advisor to work at BIM Level 2 throughout the project life-cycle
Richard Beatson, AG|A BIM Manager