The Lloyd’s Register RouteBIM Level 2 Business System Certification

www.lr.org

The UK Government requires the constructionsector to prequalify for participation in

public sector construction programmes by being‘BIM Ready’, by 2016.

But what is ‘BIM Ready’? Perhaps an appropriatedefinition would be the ability of a tier 1contractor to demonstrate that he, together withhis supply chain, is capable of managing aneffective BIM to BUILD to FM process that meetsthe needs of the client and is compliant withcurrent standards.

Assurance in this context to both UK Governmentand to the private sector as to BIM readiness ismost readily provided through validation by aThird Party.

Lloyd’s Register is one such Third Partyorganisation offering BIM Level 2 BusinessSystem Certification across a range of scopes ofBIM involvement to support supply chain accessto BIM projects as well as validating Tier 1project providers as meeting the requirements ofBIM Level 2.

Lloyd’s Register (LR) is a global brand, andcertification by LR provides for greaterinternational recognition than may be the casewith other BIM certification providers.

Whilst LR is UKAS accredited for a range ofcertification systems, no such UKAS accreditationcurrently exists for BIM certification. However, asis our standard policy, when such an accreditationprocess is available from UKAS we will aim to bean early adopter.

In the development of the BIM Level 2 BusinessSystems evaluation process, we have drawn uponthe processes which have proved most effectivein the schemes which have been long establishedin sectors such as Utilities, Asset Management aswell as the construction sector.

PAS 1192 compliance has also been supplementedby best business practice processes establishedas a benchmark in these other sectors, to providefor a more rounded and comprehensive BIMCertification process, particularly relevant for thesupply chain scopes of certification.

The LR BIM Level 2 Certification Scheme wasdeveloped with the intent to achieve a balancebetween rigour of assessment and pragmatism.To that end, under the scheme, we do not requireany documentation from the applicant BIMProvider in advance of the initial stage on siteassessment as we have found such a process toounnecessarily time consuming for both partiesinvolved in the process.

BIM Level 2 Business System Certification

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The initial stage of the assessment is the gapanalysis. During this phase, we have found one-to-one interviews with key staff who haveresponsibilities across the full spectrum of therequired BIM scope of certification to be the mostefficient and effective means of understandingthe BIM processes currently adopted by the BIMprovider under assessment.

The benefit of this approach is that it providesthe freedom for the auditee to explain their BIM management systems without concerningthemselves with how this meets the requirementsof PAS 1192, associated documents and schemerequirements.

This approach is based upon the view that it ismore important that the auditee uses the timeavailable to explain how they do their job withinthe existing BIM management system thanconcerning themselves how it currently complieswith the LR BIM Scheme, which is the responsibilityof the assessors.

The objective of the Gap Analysis, which normallylasts one or a maximum of two days, is to identifyany major gaps against the standard and schemeprinciples and report any identified weaknesses.The report initially takes the form of verbalfeedback and whilst the ensuing discussion may beinitiated around the issues requiring improvement,the key focus will be on how the organisation canexplore options to make the changes which willtake them further along the road to an effectiveBIM level 2 compliant system.

The Gap Analysis feedback is followed up by adetailed report of the findings and the agreedmeasures to address the identified gaps.

When the BIM Provider under assessment issatisfied that he has closed the identified gaps inhis BIM management system, the next stage isthe certification assessment.

The certification assessment will initially focus onthe output of the gap analysis and the associated

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closure of such gaps but will additionally seekevidence that the BIM management system fullyconforms to scheme requirements. To gain fullcertification this verification process must beundertaken against a live BIM project, otherwiseonly partial certification can be achieved.

An important area to be examined at this stage isthe relationship of the BIM Provider and his supplychain. This is to ensure the cultural shift fromstandard contractual adversarial relationship toone of collaboration has been achieved.

Provided that upon the conclusion of thecertification assessment no major deficienciesare outstanding and that an action plan has beenestablished to address any outstanding minordeficiencies, BIM Level 2 certification for thedefined scope can be awarded. The certification is

for a three-year term, during which a surveillanceprogramme will be undertaken.

The surveillance programme serves to not onlyverify maintenance of the standards of BIMmanagement system against which the certificationwas awarded, but also to verify managementcommitment to continuous improvement on theroute to the achievement of BIM best practice.

Failure to demonstrate such ongoing commitmentmay result in accreditation suspension orwithdrawal – a measure of the effectiveness ofthe scheme.

The LR BIM Level 2 Business Systems CertificationScheme is underpinned by the core principlesthat span all the Lloyd’s Register CertificationSchemes:

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n Seeking evidence of conformity, rather thanlooking for compliance, providing better valueadd to the BIM Provider and its representativesunder assessment, whilst additionally providingassurance that system weaknesses will be found;

n Socratic questioning provoking discussion anddebate and assisting clients to identify the bestpractice that may be applicable to theircircumstances;

n Domain sector expertise where assessors areassigned based upon their knowledge andexperience in the domain which represents thecore business against which the client organisationis being assessed. Ensuring that the assessorsspeak the same language, are empathetic to theconcerns and issues of the client and have abroad awareness of the risks to which the sector

is exposed and we are therefore best placed todeliver added value to the assessment process.

BIM level 2 Business Systems Certificationprovided by Lloyd’s Register represents independentconfirmation of the achievement of conformity ofBIM Management Systems to recognised goodpractice leading to best practice through definedcontinuous improvement milestones set out overthe three year certification term. n

Terry Mundy Business Development ManagerTel: 07712 787 851Email: terry.mundy@lr.org

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BIM: the story so farAnthony Burd, Head of Market Development and Stephanie Kosandiak,Lead Programme Manager for Construction at BSI, outline the growingBIM landscape…

The architecture, engineering andconstruction (AEC) industry previouslyrelied on CAD and marked-up drawings to

build. With the need to improve efficiency andreduce costs across the process, BIM software hasfilled the gap and shown that it can do both. Thecreation of a virtual 3D map (embedded with allthe relevant data) of a building using digitaltechnology, means that an accurate model can beconstructed. This has major uses for everyoneinvolved from the planning, design, constructionand facility management aspects of the build,where all elements can be integrated and viewedby the architects, engineers and constructors.

Building in a simulated environment means thatunforeseen issues can be corrected before anyphysical work can begin. As traditional methodshave dominated the AEC industry for such a longtime, this shift in process requires a shift inperception and working too. This includes a movetowards a faster pace of working especially asBIM acts as a traceable database for the project.Therefore, all the associated costs of every designchange can be tracked in real time. Stakeholdersdo not need to wait as long as they once had to,to see the implemented changes and can see whatthe final project will look like with demos andwalkthroughs.

BIM is effectively changing the face of constructionand is recognized not just by industry but thegovernment as a key tool. As older methodseventually become obsolete, the AEC industry willhave to adapt. In anticipation of the importanceof BIM, BSI has developed a full BIM suite ofstandards to support the use of BIM.

The key BIM standards

BS 1192:2007 Collaborative production ofarchitectural, engineering and constructioninformation. Code of practice. The standardestablishes the methodology for managing theproduction, distribution and quality of constructioninformation, including that generated by CAD

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systems, using a disciplined process forcollaboration and a specified naming policy.

PAS 1192-2:2013 Specification for informationmanagement for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building informationmodelling. The requirements within PAS 1192-2build on the existing code of practice for thecollaborative production of architectural, engineeringand construction information, defined within BS1192:2007. It focuses specifically on projectdelivery, where the majority of graphical data,non-graphical data and documents, knowncollectively as the Project Information Model (PIM),are accumulated from design and constructionactivities.

PAS 1192-3 is the partner to PAS 1192-2,and focuses on the operational phase of assetsirrespective of whether these were commissionedthrough direct capital works, acquired throughtransfer of ownership or already existed in anasset portfolio. Like PAS 1192-2, PAS 1192-3applies to both building and infrastructure assets.

BS 1192-4:2014 Collaborative production of information Part 4: Fulfilling employers informationexchange requirements using COBie – Code ofpractice COBie (Construction Operations BuildingInformation Exchange), is required on all Governmentconstruction projects where information mustflow into portfolio, asset planning and facilitymaintenance tools. BS 1192-4 provides userswith recommendations on how to use COBie tostructure information required for the operationof an asset or facility during the constructionprocess, supporting the processes outlined in PAS 1192-2 and PAS 1192-3.

BS 7000-4:2013 Design Management Systems:Guide to managing design in construction. This BISfunded revision has been radically updated totake into account the development of BIMwithin the construction industry. It replacesBS 7000-4:1996.

BS 8541 Series of Library Objects forarchitecture, engineering and construction –provides construction product manufacturersand suppliers with guidance on how to provideproduct information for inclusion in BuildingInformation Models. It comprises: BS 8541-1:2012 Identification and classification,BS 8451-3:2012 Shape and measurement, and BS 8541-4:2012 Attributes for specification andassessment.

Upcoming BIM standards

There are several standards that work in synergywith the BS 1192 suite of standards. The keyones expected in 2015 are: BS 8541-5 and BS 8541-6. As BIM Level 2 becomes more widelyadopted in the UK, BSI is adding two new BritishStandards to the BS 8541 Library Object series inearly 2015. They provide best practice recommend -ations on how to develop library objects forassemblies and product and facility declarations.

• BS 8541-5 Library objects for architecture,engineering and construction: Assemblies(on the sharing of sub-models representingcombinations of components and spacescovering naming, classification and nesting) and;

• BS 8541-6 Library Objects for architecture, engineering and construction: Product andfacility declarations – Code of practice (on the sharing of data expected from productdeclarations, labelling and environmental tables)will be published in February or March 2015.

Lead Technical author, Nick Nisbet, explains,“Repeatable rooms and prefabricated modules, onthe one hand, and the Construction ProductsRegulation and energy performance reporting onthe other, are issues of growing importance in theconstruction sector. These codes of practice buildon the earlier parts of the series to help theindustry achieve higher quality and accuracy whenexchanging product (and facility) information.”

BS 8536:2010 Facility Management briefing isbeing revised as Facility Management briefing fordesign and construction – Code of practice, to takeinto account current industry best practices inbriefing and the emergence of the soft landingsprocess and BIM. The revised standard will giverecommendations for design and construction toensure that design takes account of the expectedperformance of the asset/facility in use over itsplanned operational life.

BS 8536:2015 will introduce the integration ofthe principles of the soft landings process,combined with effective information managementand the requirements for post-occupancyevaluation (POE) to strengthen the link betweenasset/facility owners, operators, and their facilitymanagers and the design and construction teamto assure performance of the design and theoperational asset/facility in all aspects.

The standard cross-references informationrequirements associated with the mandateddocuments for BIM Level 2 PAS 1192-2, PAS1192-3 and BS 1192-4 and is expected topublish in July 2015.

BS 8536:2015 is intended for use by individualsand organizations preparing or contributing todesign, construction and operations, in both the public and private sectors, including owners refurbishing an existing asset/facility,organizations procuring a new asset/facility andthe designers, constructors, subcontractors,operators, operations teams, facility managersand other specialists engaged in such activities.

PAS 1192-5. The UK BIM Task Group’s “Security Working Group” announced late lastyear at “ICE BIM 2014: Business as Usual”Conference in London that “PAS 1192-5:Specification for security-minded buildinginformation management, digital builtenvironments and smart asset management”, is currently in development. 

The PAS will outline a risk assessment process todetermine the sensitivity of information alreadyheld, or which will be acquired during the course ofa project, and identify appropriate, proportionatesecurity requirements for BIM collaboration whichshould be applied during all phases of the lifecycleof an asset, i.e. concept, design, construction,operation and disposal. It will then address thesteps required to assist in creating and cultivatingan appropriate security mind-set, and the secureculture necessary to enable business to unlocknew and more efficient processes andcollaborative ways of working.

The intended audience for this PAS includesorganisations and individuals responsible for theprocurement, design, construction, delivery,operation and maintenance of buildings andinfrastructure assets. Although specificallytargeted at the use of Level 2 BIM, therequirements will provide a foundation to supportthe evolution of future digital built environmentsand will contribute to smart asset management.

The standard is expected to publish in quarter twoin 2015.

Anthony BurdHead of Market Development

Stephanie KosandiakLead Programme Manager for Construction

BSITel: +44 (0)845 086 9001www.bsigroup.comwww.twitter.com/BSI_press

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The InformationManager and BIMSteve Faulkner, Associate Director responsible for BIM Management at thestructural engineering company Elliott Wood, and member of the BIM4SMECore Group, reviews the importance of the Information Manager…

The Government BIM Task Group is doing asterling job in producing the BIM Level 2Toolset. However, whilst the industry is

developing their knowledge and becoming moreenlightened in Building Information Modelling,what parts of the Toolset should be put intopractice now?

BS1192:2007 is a good document, however,not many organisations adopted all of itsrecommendations. Most of us simply extractedthe parts that added value; the drawingnumbering. The same approach could apply toPAS1192-2, another good document, onewhich becomes clearer as one gains a betterunderstanding of BIM.

We think it’s imperative that we all try to adhere tothe general principles laid out in PAS1192-2 buton the other hand, we do not believe that all of itsrecommendations are required on every project –in some cases it may actually cause unnecessaryconfusion.

“As an overview, the IM’s role should beto work with the Lead Designer tofacilitate and document the BIM processin order to make projects more efficientfrom concept though to facilitiesmanagement.”

So, who decides what should be included in theEmployers Information Requirements etc.? Well,The CIC BIM Protocol, widely accepted as theindustry standard states:

“The Protocol requires the Employer to appoint aparty to undertake the Information ManagementRole. This is expected to form part of a wider setof duties under an existing appointment and islikely to be performed either by the Design Leador the Project Lead, which could be a consultantor contractor at different stages of the project.In some circumstances the Employer may appoint astand-alone Information Manager. The InformationManager has no design related duties”.

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Considering this, the secret to successful BIMcould lie with the appointment of the InformationManager (IM). After all, in many instances it willbe the IM who will advise the Client and instigatethe route the BIM journey will take.

To capitalise on the current situation, we haveseen the emergence of the BIM Consultant.Whether the Information Management is performedby a member of the Design Team or an externalBIM Consultant is up for debate. There are prosand cons for both approaches; BIM Consultantsare typically more aware of government protocol,but Designers generally deliver what is requiredfor the project in hand.

Personally, we get frustrated having to trawlthrough overly complicated BIM documents tryingto find the important bits. BIM documentationneeds to be simple and concentrate on the keyfeatures. 10 pages of important information willlikely get read, 200 pages of waffle will not, andthe important bits will be lost in the process.

“To capitalise on the current situation, wehave seen the emergence of the BIMConsultant. Whether the InformationManagement is performed by a memberof the Design Team or an external BIMConsultant is up for debate. There arepros and cons for both approaches…”

Additionally, it’s important that roles andresponsibilities are agreed at the outset. We areworking on a project where our initial structuralRevit model was based on the Architect’s version.The Services Engineer had done the same. As ateam we had had planned to co-ordinate themodels in the forthcoming weeks (when themodels were more complete). In the meantimethe IM federated the Designer’s models, produceda list of every individual clash, and circulated areport indicating all of the clashes to the team foraction – a complete waste of time!

As an overview, the IM’s role should be to workwith the Lead Designer to facilitate and documentthe BIM process in order to make projects moreefficient from concept though to facilitiesmanagement. The BIM process can be as simpleor as complicated as we want it to be.

We prefer the simple approach, and using a traditionalprocurement route we have attempted to outlinethe key roles of the Information Manager below:

RIBA Work Stages 0, 1, 2 and 3

The pre-contract information management maybe managed by either one of the design team oran external BIM consultant.

• Stage 0 (Strategic Definition) – GovernmentSoft Landings (GSL) & Information Manager (IM)

The Client appoints the IM. The IM, Client, andideally the Design Lead should then review anylessons learned from previous projects (refer toGovernments Soft Landings) and sets out theBIM Strategy for the project.

• Stage 1 (Preparation and Brief) – Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR) & ModelProduction and Delivery Table (MPDT)

The IM produces the Employers InformationRequirements (EIR); detailing the specific BIMrequirements and inform the team what modelsare expected via a basic Model ProductionDelivery Table (MPDT).

• Stage 2 (Concept Design) – BIM ExecutionPlan (BEP)

The IM produces the Pre- Contract BIM ExecutionPlan (BEP) with the Design Team. The BEP showshow the requirements of the EIR will be delivered.A basic Common Data Environment (CDE) alsoneeds to be established.

• Stage 3 (Developed Design) Model Productionand Delivery Table (MPDT) & BIM CompetencyAssessment (BCA)

Develop the Model Production Delivery Table(MPDT) to include; models required, when, bywhom and the Level of Development (LOD)expected. BIM Competency Assessment Forms are established to evaluate potentialContractors.

“Personally, we get frustrated having to trawl through overly complicated BIM documents trying to find theimportant bits. BIM documentationneeds to be simple and concentrate onthe key features.”

RIBA Work Stages 4, 5, 6 and 7

Post-contract, it is suggested that the leadcontractor should take responsibility for theinformation management. It may be prudent forthe pre contract IM to be retained Client side inan advisory/monitoring role.

• Stage 4 (Technical Design) – CDE, BIMExecution Plan (BEP), Master InformationDelivery Plan (MIDP)

The IM establishes the CDE for use by the entireProject Team. He then develops the Post ContractBEP to show how his Delivery Team will deliverthe requirements of the EIR and include theMaster Information Delivery Plan (MIDP)

• Stage 5 (Construction) Project InformationModel (PIM)

The IM federates the Project Information Model(PIM) by merging all of the models as required bythe MPDT. Where models have been developedby a specialist (e.g. steelwork fabrication) theseneed to replace the Designer’s elements.

• Stage 6 (Handover & Close out) – Asset Information Model (AIM)

The IM then creates the Asset InformationModel (AIM) ready for handover to FM. The AIMshould be a true graphical representation of thatconstructed. Add metadata for maintenancepurposes as required by the MPDT.

• Stage 7 (In Use) Facilities Management (FM)

PAS1192-3: 2014 Information Management in theOperational Phase introduced The ‘OrganisationInformation Requirements’ (OIR) and The ‘AssetInformation Requirements’ (AIR). However theseare for another article on another day.

Whoever performs the role of the IM, the importantissue is they look at what the requirements arefor the project in hand, and learn from previousmistakes. The IM should adhere to the principlesof the government’s BIM Toolset, using the partsthat add value, but most importantly, they needto keep things simple.

Steve FaulknerAssociate Director at Elliott Wood andmember of the BIM4SME Core GroupBIM4SMEinfo@bim4sme.orgwww.bim4sme.orgwww.twitter.com/BIM4SME

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The BIM menu of informationSteve Thompson, Chair of BIM4M2 and Market Manager for Constructionand Infrastructure at Tata Steel discusses the game-changing potential inefficiency improvements that BIM offers, but says it will only be deliverableconsistently with clear definitions of what information is required and amenu of information for a project team to select from…

The recent BIM4M2 survey of manufacturershighlighted a number of things, one ofwhich was that manufacturers are often

asked for BIM objects or ‘all of your BIM’, withoutit being clear what information is really beingasked for. To use the well-known quote fromTheodore Levitt, “People don’t want to buy aquarter-inch drill. They want a quarter-inch hole!”When someone asks for a BIM object or ‘all ofyour BIM’, what they really need is information in adigital, exchangeable format that supports theirproject activities. There are significant efficienciesthat can be gained within the supply chain if we allwork together to ask and answer the right questions.

“It’s important that we don’t overloadmodels with unnecessary information andconstraints, but that instead we makeinformation available for project teams touse where appropriate.”

Beyond the commonly accepted informationrequirements to enable exchange such as IFC andCOBie, the information necessary to meet theserequirements can vary significantly, and can have ahuge impact on the results. If too much informationis included for the sake of covering the bases, thiscan provide unnecessary constraints on the supply

chain, but also miss the opportunity to get themost suitable products and solutions into theproject efficiently.

Looking at the first sketch to illustrate the point,a manufacturer may have a range of availableproducts to suit a generic application. Thespecifiers may look at the range of products andidentify those that are suitable for the project theyare working on, and specify a range to work from.The contractor may then look at what he candeliver at an acceptable cost and timescale thatfalls within the range identified by the specifiers.The asset owner and FM organisation are likely tohave a set of criteria for ongoing maintenance andrenewing of the products, but that view may onlyinclude a small range of products already selected.In other words, the proportion of products withina range that meet all those requirements is unlikelyto be a large proportion of the full product rangeas a result of over-constraint. This can be thestory if information is thrown over the wallbetween players, or BIM objects passed betweenstakeholders without a clear definition of whatinformation is required.

It’s important to understand the impact of exchangeof information on the supply of construction

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products, not just on their specification andinstallation. How does a product get from itsspecification and production through to itsintegration within a built asset? What complicatesthe issue further is that the distributor of theproducts may look at that original range ofproducts and decide that he can only deliver aproportion of those products to a project basedon his view of timescales, costs, etc.

So how do we increase the likelihood of deliveringthe right products and information to suiteveryone’s needs? We need to increase the depthof field (distance between the nearest andfarthest objects in a scene that appears clear) andfield of view (the extent of the observable worldseen from a given viewpoint). We need to defineinformation requirements based on purpose, notjust by product type and generic application, andensure these requirements are clearly sharedthrough two-way communication between playersif we are to benefit from some of the availableefficiencies in the supply chain. These includereducing delivery times by providing informationon clear decisions that impact on the supply ofproducts, followed by early supplier awareness ofproduct decisions. If people want a quarter-inchhole, let’s understand that’s what they want and

make sure that’s what we help deliver; not justfocus on delivering a drill without understandingwhich drill bit we need for the job in hand.

“If too much information is included forthe sake of covering the bases, this canprovide unnecessary constraints on thesupply chain, but also miss the opportunityto get the most suitable products andsolutions into the project efficiently.”

I’m hopeful that the BIM Toolkit will help us achievethis, supported by the further development andapplication of PDTs (Product Data Templates),enabling each of the players within an asset’sand product’s lifecycle to increase the depth offield and define information requirements. It’simportant that we don’t overload models withunnecessary information and constraints, but thatinstead we make information available for projectteams to use where appropriate. For this we canlearn from the concept of Product LifecycleManagement (PLM) used in the manufacturingand other sectors, and looking forward to Level 3and Digital Built Britain, real-time analytics willmake the potential opportunities for improvedefficiencies much more transparent. For example,supply chain partners may be assessed based on

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their performance, measured throughout a numberof projects instead of data being exchanged andvalidated only at key project stages.

So to summarise, BIM is a process which offersgame-changing potential in efficiency improvements,but these will only be deliverable consistently withclear definitions of what information is required ata project and discipline level (including productsupply), and by enabling project teams to selectrelevant information to answer those requirements,nothing more and nothing less; that is the conceptbehind PDTs, a menu of information for a projectteam to select from.

Steve Thompson RIBAChairBIM4M2 – BIM4 Manufacturers andManufacturinginfo@bim4m2.co.ukwww.bim4m2.co.ukwww.twitter.com/SGThompsonBIMwww.twitter.com/bim4m2www.linkedin.com/company/bim4m2

Open standards for open BIMDr Anne Kemp, Chair, BIM4IUK and Vice Chair of BuildingSMART reflects onrecent discussions surrounding BIM in terms of the route to a Digital BuiltBritain and open standards…

I’ve recently become Vice Chair of BuildingSMARTUK and Ireland, and have been getting familiarwith the organisation, both at the UK Chapter

level and at the International level – since thelast week of March was set aside for theBuildingSMART International Summit which washosted at Watford followed by BIM Prospects,the BuildingSMART’s first outward facing conference,in London.

I became very aware during this time of thevocabulary that the “BIM” community adopts,and how there is then a further vocabulary withinBuildingSMART across the internationalorganisation, but also within each Chapter. Whyelse would we still be having a debate aboutwhether BIM is “just a technology”?!

I also became aware that we were exploring twoparallel journeys, which were interdependent andconverging.

The first was that of BuildingSMART itself – whereit has come from, its heritage, the cornerstones ofits success, and how it is evolving to adapt to thedisruptive changes across the industry whichserves the built environment.

Secondly, and particularly because the conferencewas hosted in the UK, we were overtly exploringthe BIM journey here and how that appears tothe rest of the world – its relevance, its currentstatus and intentions, and the prospects for itscontributions globally to deal with the disruptivechanges we all face. We determined that we arewell on the road now to providing the buildingblocks required to deliver projects in Level 2,and that these were important to implementbefore venturing to Level 3.

But we also determined that the vision of whatLevel 2 then provides for us – the route toprogression to a Digital Built Britain – has to beunderpinned by the development and maintenance

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of international open standards. This is whyBuildingSMART International is cited as one of thefour organisations partnering to facilitate DigitalBuilt Britain.

Looking back into February, I took part in aninternational thought leadership forum, followedby keynote speeches on Geo-BIM at theGeospatial World Forums in India and the MiddleEast. This provides a clue to another paralleljourney which I also believe is converging withBIM in a way in which I have been hoping for sometime. And that is the continued strengthening ofthe Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) indeveloping open geospatial standards to serveoverall management of information. Neither is itany accident that OGC has realised the strength incollaborating with other open standards bodies,such as the Worldwide Web Consortium (W3C).

BuildingSMART and OGC are working on a numberof initiatives to develop greater collaborationbetween the organisations. It’s useful to observethat IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is toBuildingSMART what GML (Geographic Mark-upLanguage) is to OGC. And there needs to be acompromise, to achieve the kind of integrationacross differing platforms, spatial scales, and lifestages that I believe the infrastructure industryneeds to deliver on the promise of what BIM canachieve.

All these organisations have an over-arching,common problem statement which the industry asa whole needs them to address – that of how tostop data becoming part of the problem, whetherit’s open and structured data, or whether it’sunstructured and generated by numerous devices,including ourselves.

I’m writing this on a return journey from a GreenBIMevent, where I gave a talk on collaborative working– and how BIM can help to realise this. What wasreally insightful for me, was that this led on totwo roundtable discussions around what is reallyrequired to realise BIM for Infrastructure – andthe role of open standards.

The feedback was very clear. People don’t reallywant to know what is happening under the bonnetand what format the data may or may not be in.They simply want to know that the data is open,and it is shareable – if that is appropriate, which itmay not be to the wrong people if it is the detaileddesign of a prison. They also want to know thatthe services that the data supports serves theirpurpose – from the grassroots, of how a buildingcan serve the needs of the individuals andorganisations using the facility, or to a responsiveBIM4Potholes where the individual can feel thatthere will actually be a follow-up to their report.That link of data to purpose also needs to go upto the strategic level, where organisations canprioritise investment projects to ensure that theirbusiness delivers the right outcomes to thecustomers they serve – whether that is a fast andefficient journey from Edinburgh to Birmingham,or supply of quality school places, to the demandsof a changing demographic profile across thecountry.

What is clear is that the open standardsorganisations need the right people to comeforward to help. For a start, there is a challengearound succession planning – we need youngerpeople coming in with a passion to get stuck in.And we also need relevant Use Cases – examplesof various problems and challenges which need tobe solved and which can test current and evolvingthinking. I am really heartened to see some of ourmajor clients coming forward to collaborate –and the BIM4Infrastructure group can certainlyhelp others who are interested to get a clearer

picture of what is happening. Do please let meknow if you want to be involved.

But my final point – what could be the unintendedconsequences of this immersion in digital data,within a virtual as against real world? And how canwe design the way we deliver the data to avoid orwork with these unintended consequences? Howdo we ensure that we not only enable intelligentcomputers and intelligent infrastructure – butthat we also enable intelligent human beings whoaren’t merely consuming data – but are also ableto engage, reflect and make humane, sociallyresponsible decisions?

Dr Anne KempDirector (BIM Strategy and Development)at Atkins, Chair for BIM4Infrastructure UKand ICE BIM Action Group and Vice Chair forBuildingSMART UKbim4iuk@gmail.com

www.bimtaskgroup.org/bim-4-infrastructure-uk/www.buildingsmart.org.uk

www.twitter.com/ICE_engineerswww.twitter.com/BIM4IUK

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For information on the Lloyd’s Register BIM Level 2 Accreditation Scheme pleasevisit the BIM scheme guidance document on our website which may be accessed

by clicking on the publication above, or by the following link:

http://www2.lrqa.com/l/12702/2015-04-17/yqfrk/12702/123816/BIM_Guidance_document_March2015_v3.pdf

Or contact:

Terry Mundy Business Development Manager

Tel: 07712 787 851Email: terry.mundy@lr.org

Click to view pdf guide

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