CIOB Novus Group – a report from thinkBIM Ambassador Duncan Reed (Tekla)

As part of my role as a thinkBIM Ambassador I was asked to present to the CIOB Yorkshire (@CIOBYorkshire) Novus Group last week. Novus is a key part of the CIOB and uses construction professionals to enthuse young people to get into construction and then develop their careers in the industry. For more information on Novus see the video link here –

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kz1rKTQSF5M&feature=player_embedded

I was joined by my friend and colleague Wes Beaumont, BIM Manager at Kier Construction, BIM2050 group lead member and another all round BIM advocate. Our presentation – BIM for Beginners – was split into 6 sections

Rationale for Change

Government Requirement for BIM

PAS 1192-2:2013

Tools and Applications

Impact to Roles

Opportunities and Risks

Wes kicked things off with a great overview of why we need to change the way we work in the industry with some great slides over improving construction process and well as the need for using the technology better. But for me the highlight was his canter through PAS 1192-2:2013 delivering 33 slides in about 15 minutes. He successfully pulled off the feat but we’d had several discussions over getting the balance right with this document. Yes, it’s a key part of anyone’s BIM journey but quite how you make PAS 1192-2:2013 accessible for beginners?

The Government, as we all know, has mandated its use by 2016 on all centrally procured projects but that leaves a lot of other construction work still out there. Do they adopt all the requirements of the PAS, and therefore BS1192-2007 as well, or can projects do BIM ‘in the spirit’ of these documents? At the heart of the British Standards I see 3 keys points;

1. Agree what you are all going to do from the start – and so it’s probably a good idea to write that all that down.
2. If you are sharing any form of information – hard copy or digital –  know why you are sharing it.
3. But be prepared to share what you do, and why you do it, for the greater good of the project.

So strip away all the TLAs, BIM wedges, workflows, file formats and it’s just some people in this industry trying to work better to get better outcomes for everyone.

My advice – PAS1192 has its place but basically you just need to find ways to deliver better business outcomes. Technology may support this (and probably will) but working better, working collaboratively, is actually the best way to succeed. Don’t throw the 1192 suite of documents away but make them work for you, your business and your project.

Duncan & Wes’s presentation to Novus – November 2013