BIM: The Countdown To January 2016 And Beyond

This article looks at the key measures that have been introduced by the government in the run-up to BIM Level 2 since we last looked at BIM in the 23rd issue of Insight,1 and the government's strategy for BIM Level 3.

The use of BIM by the construction industry appears to be on a steady upward trend,2 but the "BIM readiness" survey report3 which has just been published by the Electrical Contractors' Association suggests that only 16% of firms in the building service sector are fully ready to use BIM, which makes for startling reading in the lead-up to BIM Level 2 becoming mandatory for all government procured projects from January 2016.

Whilst the industry seems to be lagging behind, the government is already thinking well past BIM Level 2 and has released its Digital Built Britain Strategic Plan ("Digital Built Britain"), which puts the building blocks in place for BIM in the future by prescribing tools and standards that it hopes will encourage consistent BIM adoption and direct those in the industry towards BIM Level 3.4

The seven ingredients of Level 2 BIM

During the course of the past 19 months, the government's BIM Task Group has laid out seven vital ingredients of Level 2 BIM which will be mandatory for all government procured projects from January 2016 and with which the industry in general should be familiar:

(i) CIC BIM Protocol ("the CIC Protocol")5

The CIC Protocol (which was published by the Construction Industry Council in March 2013 specifically for the use of Level 2 BIM) is a contract addendum which establishes the contractual and legal framework for the use of BIM, and clarifies the obligations of team members. The CIC Protocol is intended to take precedence over other contract documents in relation to BIM issues, and envisages the appointment of a BIM Information Manager whose role is to (i) manage the processes and procedures for information exchange on projects, and (ii) implement the Project Information Plan which dictates who does what and when as regards BIM.

If (as is hoped) the CIC Protocol is embraced by the industry, it should set the standard for BIM best practice for the future.

The publicly available standards ("PAS")6

The PAS prescribe how information should be shared on BIM projects and their use is encouraged by the CIC Protocol as examples of best practice which aim to eliminate problems that may be caused by the use of different (and sometimes contradictory) BIM practices, standards and software.

(ii) PAS 1192-2: 2013

PAS 1192-2: 2013 was introduced on 28 February 2012 and defines the information management requirements that are associated with the capital and delivery phase of assets. Its use enables employers to define their lifetime asset information and operational informational requirements, allowing BIM to be planned with the final outcome of the building firmly in mind.

(iii) Government Soft Landings Policy ("GSL")

GSL (which the government announced in September 2012 would apply to all government projects from 2016) is the government's management approach to the specification and measurement of building performance and is based on the government's philosophy that the ongoing maintenance and operational cost of a building during its life cycle far outweighs the original capital construction cost: if this can be recognised during the design process, there will be greater...