In today’s global construction industry, the drive for faster, more efficient delivery of infrastructure or building projects has never been more challenging. Efforts to improve efficiency are difficult in a market that is often defined by low margins, aggressive procurement, skills shortages, uncertain work pipelines and complex supply chains.
In a global economy of rapidly evolving markets and technologies, rules and frameworks are often needed to help organisations adapt and innovate successfully. Standards can help establish those rules and frameworks, and BIM standardisation is an example of this.
Digitising the process of the design, build and operation of built assets wasn’t a new concept, but the financial, technical and behavioural implications were difficult to overcome. However, in the last decade significant advancements in technology have brought the concept much closer to reality. In 2011, the UK Government Construction Strategy announced that Building Information Modelling (BIM) would be a requirement for all centrally procured government projects from 2016. This wasn’t a legal requirement, but a condition of contract to work with the largest client in the market. The focus on BIM was further refined in the Construction 2025 Strategy, setting out a requirement for BIM Level 2 (as defined by the BIM Maturity Model) on government projects, irrespective of project size.
BSI started developing BIM standards in 2007, working with industry bodies, researchers, UK Government and business organisations to develop the overarching principles, rules and guidance necessary to implement BIM. In 2016, BSI (in partnership with government) developed a website providing the standards, tools and guidance necessary for implementing BIM Level 2. All are available to download at www.BIM-Level2.org
The BSI BIM standards have helped remove much of the risk and uncertainty associated with sharing information in a virtual construction environment. The security, interoperability and shared language established by the standards have helped to create market conditions that have attracted investment and driven innovation.
BSI started developing BIM standards in 2007, working with industry bodies, researchers, UK Government and business organisations to develop the overarching principles, rules and guidance necessary to implement BIM. In 2016, BSI (in partnership with government) developed a website providing the standards, tools and guidance necessary for implementing BIM Level 2. All are available to download at www.BIM-Level2.org
The BSI BIM standards have helped remove much of the risk and uncertainty associated with sharing information in a virtual construction environment. The security, interoperability and shared language established by the standards have helped to create market conditions that have attracted investment and driven innovation.
The BSI BIM standards have helped remove much of the risk and uncertainty associated with sharing information in a virtual construction environment.
Internationalising UK standards
As the UK National Standards Body, BSI manages over 1,200 committees, comprising over 11,000 committee members. With the help of these committees, BSI is responsible for maintaining over 39,000 standards, most of them originating from Europe (CEN/CENELEC) and internationally (ISO/IEC), and covering most UK industry sectors. BSI can and has used this breadth of sector coverage and global reach through ISO and CEN to take UK best practice globally, thereby positioning the UK industry as thought leaders. Again, BIM is an example of this.
BSI, in collaboration with global partners in international technical committee ISO/TC 59/SC13, put forward PAS 1192-2 to be used as the basis for two international BIM standards:
- ISO 19650-1 Organisation of information about construction works - Information management using building information modelling - Part 1: Concepts and principles.
- ISO 19650-2 Organisation of information about construction works - Information management using building information modelling - Part 2: Delivery phase of assets.
Public consultation on these projects closed on 16 April, and they are expected to be published in early 2018.
In Europe, BSI is working with partners in CEN/TC 442 to adopt ISO standards as European (EN) standards, and where appropriate develop regional European standards that complement the ISO work programme. Further information about ongoing standards development projects can be found on BSI’s standard development portal.
The future of BIM standardisation
The implementation of BIM Level 2 in the UK is far from complete, and to help embed BIM Level 2 best practice there are currently four UK BIM standards projects underway:
- Two projects aligning existing standards (PAS 1192-2 and PAS 1192-3);
- Two new standards (PAS 1192-6 and PAS 1192-7).
The projects aligning PAS 1192-2
and PAS 1192-3 are intended to be
small in scope, focusing on aspects
such as terminology, and are
expected to be published in the
summer of 2017.
The new standard project for PAS
1192-6 ‘Specification for collaborative
sharing and use of structured hazard
and risk information for Health and
Safety’ has just completed public
consultation and is expected to be
published in Summer 2017, and will
be available on www.BIM-level2.org
The other new standard project PAS
1192-7 ‘Specification for defining and
sharing structured digital construction
product information’ will be based on
the Product Data Definition document
currently available at www.BIM-level2.org (under Guidance).
PAS 1192-7 is intended to be a technical specification providing a consistent methodology for the definition, creation, management and sharing of product information through the life cycle of an asset, based on the purpose of that information, and who the information is to be used by.
Looking towards BIM Level 3, the vision described in Digital Built Britain is a completely integrated approach to the management of asset- and project-related data, where information will be seamlessly available to those who need it in a format that allows different stakeholders to reuse it for different purposes. BIM Level 3 will start to make links with other digital innovations and concepts such as building management systems, smart cities and the Internet of Things (IoT); see references.
BSI will continue to work with government and industry to coordinate the development of appropriate standards, in the first instance linking together our existing standards work programmes on smart cities and IoT.
