All articles published in the November 2013 issue
Publish Date – 31 October 2013
In this overview, Martin Simpson from Arup/University of Salford provides some background to the BIM story so far; explaining the concepts inherent in BIM and how the UK Government is driving the BIM agenda.
The Cookham Wood project was the first of four Ministry of Justice (MoJ) projects in its Level 2 Building Information Modelling (BIM) ‘Early Adopter Programme’ - part of MoJ’s strategy for meeting the Government’s plan to roll out BIM Level 2 across all public sector projects by 2016. This article describes URS’ experience, from high-level thinking about BIM on this pilot scheme, to the realities of delivering full BIM models in a tight (6 week) programme.
In late 2011, although in the depths of recession and competing against some suicidal fee bids, we looked strategically at BIM. The implementation and use of BIM has been a significant financial and technical challenge and the three projects in this paper follow our timeline, experience, pitfalls and lessons learnt, and set out where the benefits lie for an SME.
The desire of the Stavros Niarchos Foundation was to create a new educational and cultural destination for the city of Athens. From the beginning, the design team shared their desire to make these buildings something special. However, it was clear that to deliver a project of this quality, a truly collaborative approach was required, and with the geographical separation of the team, this process would need to be managed in a way that would not just compensate for the separation, but would go beyond the current industry standard.
To date, the focus of BIM imlementation has largely been on new build projects. This has been primarily due to the difficulties of accurately capturing and processing digital information on existing assets. Hence, one of the main challenges for the use of digital surveys in construction, is how to economically add good quaility information.
This paper discusses the use of BIM on the £145M re-modelling and refurbishment of Manchester Central Library and Town Hall Extension. We believe this is the first time BIM has been implemented on such a large project of this type and demonstrates Manchester City Council’s clear commitment to deliver all projects in this way, in line with UK Government policy.
The Northern Hub is a £530M programme of improvements to the rail network across the North of England that aims to deliver faster, more frequent, and more reliable services among the region’s key towns and cities. The application of BIM techniques to an infrastructure project in the rail sector presents some similarities and some challenges compared with the building sector. Immediate benefits of adopting BIM have included: the production of efficient, coordinated designs; clear presentation of complex interfaces to a variety of stakeholders and reduced trackside safety risks during the development period.
The Parkside Building provides a state-of the-art home for the Birmingham Institute of Art and Design (BIAD), incorporating a media centre with TV, radio and photographic studios and marks the first step in creating a multi-million pound centre of excellence. The building was designed and constructed using BIM technologies, which have not only improved the quality and speed of construction, but have also provided Birmingham City University with cutting-edge facilities management and maintenance capabilities; providing enhanced opportunities for the future management of the new City Centre Campus.
This paper presents the Leadenhall Building in London, as a case study demonstrating the value of collaborative working around a shared digital model. The engineer’s digital model for the steelwork was fabricator led, ensuring that buildability considerations were fully integrated into the design. This design information was transferred seamlessly through the supply chain, creating efficiencies from tender stage onwards.
This case study documents Buro Happold’s experience with the Louvre Abu Dhabi project over the last six years, and focuses on the 3D modelling and BIM aspects that have been an integral part of the project.
Lower fees and greater competition are forcing the industry to look at better ways of working. BIM provides the most significant opportunity to transform the design and construction industry. The Singapore Sports Hub complex is currently being constructed on a 35ha area of land located on the original site of the National Stadium in Kallang, Singapore. This paper analyses the current issues surrounding BIM, using the Singapore Sports Hub project as a case study, comparing it with current trends from industry and the literature.
Although the nuclear industry is necessarily and understandably cautious in adopting new technology, there was a push to adopt BIM, driven by both individual experiences within the team and an appreciation of the advances being made outside of the nuclear sector. Sellafield Maintenance Facility is a new mechanical handling plant that will provide operational support during waste retrieval campaigns.
Recently established engineering consultancy, Engenuiti, offers some advice for those starting out on their BIM journey.
Having purchased 3D modelling software in 2005 as a sole practitioner, Sean Daly looks back at how his investment helped to grow his business.
Mark Doyle draws on a wide range of recent publications in an assessment of the impact and benefits of BIM to structural engineers.
Graduate member Roberto Marin shares his experiences of BIM, working in a Spanish consultant engineering firm.
Bentley’s Neville Glanville suggests that the key to realising the BIM vision is by ensuring that engineers have access to the in-depth information required to drive effective cooperation and collaboration at every stage.
Opus’ Sulo Shanmuganathan describes her organisation’s international BIM journey, from the UK to New Zealand.
Autodesk’s Erin Rae Hoffer cites the latest National BIM Survey and the UK Government’s Construction Strategy, in illustrating the drive towards BIM.
Kevin Lea provides a personal view on what BIM really means to SMEs and explores why ‘Internal BIM’ is the best place to start for SMEs contemplating a BIM strategy.
David Pope of Carba Consulting suggests that the time is now for manufacturers to start creating their own digitised product information for a BIM environment.
Matthew Wash looks at how structural engineers (and the wider construction industry) can utilise BIM to minimise waste and maximise value.
Will Arnold explains how Arup are harnessing the power of BIM during construction, and considers how this information might be shared with clients in the future.