PCSG chairman and UK BIM Task Group Chairman Mark Bew explains at the Expert Forum 2016 how data drives a safe and secure future…
This month PCSG chairman and UK BIM Task Group Chairman Mark Bew underlined the value of embedding Building Information Modelling (BIM) and data security into the systems infrastructure delivery process to an international audience of security experts.
Speaking at the ‘Security, Safety & More – The Expert Forum 2016’ event hosted by German industrial giant Bosch in Munich, Bew set out how the UK Government was using data to drive change and competition towards a safe and secure market in the built environment.
Having led the UK Government’s BIM Level 2 programme, Bew explained the whole life cost and efficiency gains that had been witnessed across the infrastructure sector thanks to the public sector mandate to embrace BIM.
However, he also pointed out that by using the processes described—particularly the drafted PAS 1192-5 specification—infrastructure owners and operators now had a set of tools to more effectively set up and maintain appropriate management approaches to personal, asset and data security.
These processes and security advantages, he explained, would be extended and expanded as asset owners move towards BIM Level 3. This will see interconnected digital design of different elements in the built environment, and will extend common data management into the operational and functional delivery phases of the asset lifecycle – where the majority of cost is seen.
BIM Level 3 is now being rolled out in the UK as part of the Digital Built Britain initiative, which Bew now chairs. He explained it will support the delivery of smart cities, services and grids, as well as enable asset owners to track their real-time efficiency, while maximising utilisation, reducing costs and minimising energy use.
This increased use of and dependence on digital technologies will inevitably lead to an increase in asset and data vulnerability, which will require a greater security focus to manage the potential for data corruption, loss or interference.
The publication of PAS 1192/5 BIM processes, Bew explained, actively promotes a so-called “security-minded approach” to information management. It also aids asset owners and the supply chain to introduce appropriate and proportionate auditing procedures, reaping significant competitive advantages, whilst remaining safe.
For further information and advice about the impact that BIM and digital information management can have on asset and data security, contact adrian.burgess@pcsg.co.uk
Mark Bew
Chairman
UK BIM Task Group
