The value of BIM to those in the built environment is growing at pace: supporting greater collaboration and providing a single source of coordination for all of those working to solve complex engineering problems in order to deliver efficiency and high-quality work
In support of the 2025 UK government targets to drastically reduce project delivery times, imported materials, project costs and greenhouse gas emissions by 50%, all public procured buildings must embrace BIM level 2 to improve project efficiency and value.
However, with a multiplicity of standards and protocols to adopt, it has long been thought that BIM is too costly to implement on smaller contracts. If your driving force is creating efficiency, why create extra regulatory hoops through which to jump?
However, Gregory Allouis, strategic solutions director, SPIE UK, believes that BIM should not be discounted out of hand on account of the contract size, “When it comes to considering whether a project would benefit from BIM, allowing size to be the only factor belies the true value that BIM technology can add.”
Allouis continues, “We all understand that BIM delivers when it comes to collaborating across services, ensuring that works take place in the most efficient sequence and allowing those on site to gain a better understanding of how their individual tasks contribute to the finished product.
“However, BIM can also deliver exceptional value when it comes to sites that are of a sensitive nature or currently in use. Here, the use of BIM technology can be crucial in maintaining the continued use of the facility at the greatest possible capacity and with the utmost safety whilst engineering work is ongoing.
“For example, SPIE was recently asked to replace systems critical to the running of the School of Life Sciences at the University of Dundee, where it was very important that downtime was kept to a minimum.”
Allouis added: “With the plant that needed replacing within a rooftop plant room of a seven-story building, the works presented a significant engineering and logistical challenge. Through the use of 5D BIM practices, the team was able to plan each phase of the works from start to finish, demonstrating to the client how downtime would be kept to a minimum.
“Not only that, the 5D design approach allowed the works to be priced at a level of accuracy and speed that would not have been possible with 3D designs, due to the lack of insight into how the works would progress and the temporary infrastructure that was needed.
“Works such as these at the University of Dundee demonstrate why it is so important that the engineering profession takes full advantage of all that BIM offers. It also shows how, through the use of BIM, engineering companies can be more competitive in the market place, proving that BIM is as much a business tool as it is a design function.”
Twitter: @SPIEUK
LinkedIn: Spie UK
