The UK BIM Alliance’s yearly State of the Nation survey aims to measure the understanding and adoption of information management using BIM across the UK’s built environment
In its 2020 Annual Report, the UK BIM Alliance identified its “grand challenges” for 2021 as being around the industry’s awareness and people’s understanding of information management using BIM.
“We will continue to promote and support the industry’s adoption of the UK BIM Framework and work with the community programmes to encourage industry to move away from BIM Level 2,” the report said.
“We want to shift the perception that BIM is all about 3D geometry and promote BIM for information.”
Understanding information management for BIM
At the end of January, the alliance announced the launch of its annual State of the Nation survey in order to measure the understanding and adoption of information management for BIM across the UK built environment.
The aim is to draw a reliable indication of the progression to a “business-as-usual” state for project delivery and asset management using the standards, tools and guidance provided by the UK BIM Framework.
Launched in October 2019, the UK BIM Framework was developed jointly by the UK BIM Alliance, the British Standards Institution and the Centre for Digital Built Britain.
Its aim is to ensure the smooth transition from BIM Level 2 to the integration of the BS EN ISO 19650 series of international standards for the management of information, which replace the UK PAS 1192 standards.
The definition of BIM, according to ISO 19650-1, means the use of a shared digital representation of a built asset to facilitate design, construction and operation processes to form a reliable basis for decisions
According to the framework, the successful adoption of the processes in BIM according to the ISO 19650 series would:
- Provide clear definitions for the information needed by the project client or asset owners, and for the standards, methods, processes, deadlines and protocols that will govern its production and review.
- Ensure the quality and quantity of information produced is just sufficient to satisfy the defined information needs without compromising health and safety or security and avoiding wasted effort by the supply chain.
- Provide efficient and effective transfer of information between those involved in each part of the lifecycle, particularly within projects and between project delivery and asset operation.
The ultimate result would be efficiencies gained through the reduction of waste and rework in the design, construction, operation and maintenance activities, as well as the reduction of risk.
The survey
Organisations of all sizes are being invited to take part in the survey, from mirco (zero to nine employees) up to large businesses with 250-plus employees.
Key questions include if an organisation is aware of and implementing BIM; the perceived main benefits of implementing BIM; the main barriers to its implementation and whether BIM will become “business-as-usual” in both individual organisations and across the built environment.
The survey also asks if BIM will be fundamental in building the foundations for digital twins.
Pam Bhandal, UK BIM Alliance engagement co-lead, said: “Whether you have experience of BIM or not, we want to hear from everyone involved in the UK built environment. The survey itself is short and should take no longer than three to five minutes to complete.”
Andy Boutle, UK BIM Alliance engagement co-lead, added: “A high number of responses would be good but we also want to ensure we cover the breadth of disciplines across the industry – this is where our affiliate members come in. They have go involved in promoting the survey to their membership, sith some affiliates including a specific tailored question.”
UK BIM Alliance
Twitter: @UKBIMAlliance
LinkedIn: UKbimalliance
