Introduction

Construction industry clients may be aware of the term Building Information Modelling (BIM) generally; however, they may be unaware of the quantified benefits realised and also of the new Information Management Mandate (IMM) published by the UK Government in the Transforming Infrastructure Performance: Roadmap to 2030. This has the power to further the proven benefits of BIM in regard to cost, time and life cycle efficiency savings by supporting an Information Management approach to projects. Construction clients will be well placed to take advantage of the opportunities of BIM with this as best practice. However, if this is not widely shared and understood there will be a missed opportunity to realise these benefits.

This set of articles will explore the UK Government Construction Strategy from 2011, the BIM Level 2 development into the international ISO 19650, and how Contracting Authorities (which include public sector clients such as Local Authorities) are now required to use the new UK BIM Framework for construction projects. The term Contracting Authorities will be defined, as they encompass public sector clients in a much wider context than the original BIM Level 2 mandate required, and how this relates to wider construction client sectors. The challenges of meeting these requirements will also be discussed and how existing public sector reluctance to adopt central government policy could result in the BIM initiatives not being as effective as desired, resulting in cost savings being missed. In contrast to this, the positive possibilities for clients adopting the new IMM and BIM Framework requirements will be shown here to benefit Public Sector clients and that adoption will lead to better built environment outcomes given the level of investment by these client bodies.

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UK Government Construction Policy over time

When the UK Government Construction Strategy (GCS) One Year One Report was published in 2012, this required the use of “fully collaborative 3D BIM on all centrally procured construction contracts by 2016” ⁱ. Note the wording of ‘centrally procured’ here – this did not apply to Local Authority bodies, just central government departments such as the Department for Education or Ministry of Justice. Local Authorities are ‘sub-central’ Contracting Authorities and were therefore exempt from this requirement.  

The GCS initiative was successful at driving forward the definition, adoption, and the understanding of BIM in the UK. The creation of specific standards to support the GCS requirements were developed as Publicly Available Specification (PAS) documents in the 1192 series which supported the foundations of the BIM Level 2 requirements. This endeavour has ensured that BIM has been widely communicated, but maybe with limited or inconsistent implementation across government and the wider construction industry.

The BIM Level 2 has been developed further with the creation of the international ISO 19650 documentation. This international standard is now firmly embedded into the UK BIM Frameworkⁱⁱ which focusses on the ISO standards for Information Management in the UK. It should be recognised that this initiative has been very successful in creating a positive Information Management environment, suite of documents, and a clear set of requirements where BIM can be adopted widely.

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Benefits of BIM

The UK Government has assessed the benefits of the BIM Level 2 programme to understand and demonstrate to organisations that have not adopted BIM that there are advantages for them. The quantifiable benefits of BIM that have been identified to includeⁱⁱⁱ;

“The greatest benefits are estimated to be realised in the Operations phase of the project - 73% of savings, followed by 21% realised in build & commission and handover phases and 6% in design phase.”^iv

Overall, the benefits identified can include time savings, materials savings, cost savings, Health and Safety improvements, risk reduction, improved asset utilisation, improved asset quality, and an improved reputation^v. Such a wide range of benefits should commend the use of BIM on all construction projects for all client types. The UK Government has recognised these benefits and has required the implemented of BIM into its future projects. They have recognised that their GCS initiative means that BIM is here to stay and will help support a better construction industry and has a multitude of benefits – not least the saving of money over the lifecycle of a project.

Footnotes:

ⁱ Government Construction Strategy - One Year On Report and Action Plan Update July 2012 https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/61151/GCS-One-Year-On-Report-and-Action-Plan-Update-FINAL_0.pdf (accessed 25.07.22), p. 16

ⁱⁱ https://www.ukbimframework.org/ (accessed 25.07.22)

ⁱⁱⁱ BIM Report on Evaluating Tools for Maturity and Benefits Measurement https://www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk/news/bim-report-evaluating-tools-maturity-and-benefits-measurement (accessed 25.07.22)

^iv Ibid., p.18

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