Welcome to our Planning and Building Control Today supplement focussing on BIM. BIM is surely the buzzword of the moment in the construction sector, partly due to the impending 2016 deadline the government has set for all centrally-funded public procurement projects to be delivered using Level 2 BIM as set out in the Government Construction Strategy.
Perhaps one of the biggest challenges is raising awareness of the benefits of BIM in addition to building capacity and capability within the supply chain. It requires a challenge to preconceived ideas and encourages techniques and incentives to standardise ways of working in which 3D geometry and data are stored throughout the lifecycle of buildings and infrastructure.
The BIM Task Group’s main priority is to raise awareness and they have made significant progress in this regard. The NBS annual BIM survey for April 2014 (which took place at the end of 2013) certainly suggested that uptake of the collaborative technology has risen sharply over the past year. The next step is surely one of wider adoption.
This special focus edition boasts important messages from David Philp, Head of the UK BIM Task Group highlighting the important role that SMEs play in the future of BIM and Peter Hansford, Government Chief Construction Adviser at the Department for Business Innovation and Skills discussing the government’s commitment.
We also examine legal considerations from Andrew Marsh, Partner at DAC Beachcroft LLP. I hope you find the articles here informative and interesting, and welcome your feedback.
