New guidance published to help specialists with BIM adoption

The new guidance, which has been endorsed by the Cabinet Office, was put together by the Specialist Engineering Contractors Group (SEC) together with the BIM Academy at the University of Northumbria. The National Specialist Contractors' Council (NSCC) also contributed. SEC represents a range of interests including those of plumbers, electricians and the heating industry.

In a briefing to the Government last year, SEC blamed rising software costs and poor practice further up the supply chain for the difficulties experienced by specialist contractors looking to implement BIM. A BIM system uses a computer generated model to collect and manage information about the design, construction and operation of a project centrally and automatically applies any changes to the design of a project made during its construction to the model.

The guidance, seen by Out-Law.com, is intended to help contractors become comfortable with using a 'Level 2' BIM system to develop and share project-related data. It sets out the business case for BIM, training needs and issues arising in connection with the software.

"Early supply chain involvement is an essential but, at present, such involvement is rare," the guidance said. "The construction supply chain will have to work much more collaboratively with design team members to ensure that BIM models have integrity and reliability from the outset."

"Current feedback from the specialist sector is highlighting some major concerns; for instance, the use of prequalification questions which require the use of a certain type of software and the problems of interoperability between the different software platforms. Again these are issues that we must confront if we are to achieve a critical mass of BIM use within the sector," it said.

The Government set out its commitment to BIM as part of its 2011 Construction Strategy (43-page / 496KB PDF), led by the Cabinet Office. The report announced the Government's intention to require collaborative 3D BIM on all its projects by 2016. This will include electronic access to all project and asset information, documentation and data.

The Ministry of Justice was the first Government department to adopt BIM as part of a phased roll-out, and has adopted the technology on four prison projects. According to an update on the Construction Strategy published in July, all seven major departments involved in the procurement of construction are expected to have "engaged" with the trials by the end of 2013.

Infrastructure law experts at Pinsent Masons, the law firm behind Out-Law.com, welcomed the guidance. They said that it showed it was "essential" for contractors throughout the supply chain to engage with the technology at an early stage if BIM was to be successful.

"The efforts of SEC and NSCC reflect the very real need for the industry to carry the whole construction supply chain with it to achieve the Government's target of having (at least) level 2 BIM on all public sector projects by 2016," said Chris Hallam of Pinsent Masons. "For the full potential of BIM to be tapped more key members of the supply chain, trade contractors and fabricators require early engagement."

Khalid Ramzan of Pinsent Masons, a founding member of the Construction Industry Council's 'BIM2050' group, agreed.

"Early engagement is essential because on BIM-enabled projects design effort is significantly front-loaded on the programme," he said. "This enables potentially more off-site manufacture for example, with all the efficiencies and de-risking that this can bring. To achieve these aims, particularly in the current economic climate, a 'down-stream' focus from clients and main contractors licensing software on favourable terms and establishing BIM training academies will pay dividends."