A on 4 October "The Origins of the Species" almost struck a chord with me, but had one very duff note. It wanted us all to be more focused on doing our existing activities correctly before complicating life by adding BIM. Yes, it is important we get better at this stuff, but BIM is a way that can help us achieve this. Don't hold back but think carefully, simplify, clarify and focus on purpose and quality.
The letter below ended up published on 18 October as 'BIM is here if we want it" - not my title!
"Michael Redhead implores “the construction industry to improve working practices before adding to the complexity of the design process” by introducing BIM. BIM requires our industry to improve, standardise and simplify the way we share information throughout procurement, delivery and operation.
Technology and skills have made production of 2D drawings from a 3D model cost effective. Now these models exist, many ‘downstream’ activities in the supply chain, such as pricing and programming, can attach data to a project’s advantage. Legacy operational data is beginning to appear over the horizon of the possible.
We recently bid our first project where we received a BIM model as part of the tender package. This radically improved the way the design and construction teams worked together to bid the job. As models of the permanent works become the norm I am sure better, faster, cheaper temporary works will follow.
Better basic information will be a key output of BIM. Mr Redman can look forward to always knowing where ground level is as his borehole logs will be geospatially fixed within industry standard BIM workflows. The technology is already there for the log to ‘know’ where it is. Our industry just needs to organise itself."
