Benefitting from BIM (London event)

Fiona Frost, Director of Communications & Events at the British Council for Offices and NextGen Coordinator writes...

On Friday 26 October over 80 delegates joined the NextGen Committee in London to discuss the benefits of Building Information Modelling (BIM). As technology advances in every aspect of life at a rate of knots, we wanted to find out if this tool can really “aid” the design team and consultants or if it is just a fancy piece of technology that will have 15 minutes of fame?

Our panel, chaired by Simon Rawlinson (EC Harris and chairman of the BCO Research Committee), consisted of experts from the modellers (Rob Charlton _space group), consultants (Mark Walker WSP) and clients (James Pellatt Great Portland Estates). They were set to explore:

• The impact that the adoption of BIM will have on the development and construction industry?
• How the office sector can reap the benefits?
• What the future will hold?

Rob Charlton, described by Simon Rawlinson as a chameleon (architect by trade, BIM technologist by profession), is chief executive of _space group. As an organization _space group have been advocates of BIM for over 10 years and have pioneered its use in the UK. In Rob's words the driver behind BIM is that "it's not about the technology, it's all about the output and the flow of data from day one until the end".

Marc Walker, UK BIM Development Manager at WSP, picked up on this thread using case studies of the Bulgari Hotel, London Bridge Place and London Bridge Station Redevelopment. These projects were able to demonstrate the benefits of BIM in a variety of areas from the early resolution of critical issues to running simulations and identifying inactive areas on site, thereby increasing efficiency.

Like Rob, Marc agreed that BIM is not just about the technology & software. WSP consider BIM to be a socio-technological system – a way of working that involves people, processes and tools. Marc emphasised that software can only go as far as highlighting the issues. It will always take knowledge and skills to come up with the right solution.

James Pellatt, Head of Projects at Great Portland Estates, continued to enforce the message that BIM doesn't magically work on its own, it needs creative input from everyone involved in the project. James called for the client to take the lead, after all if you are able to iron out problems at the start then there is great potential for less cost, less time, less risk and most of all less waste.

It does sound a bit like I’ve been employed by the Government (who are mandating BIM level 2 by 2016 for the public sector) to create a piece of BIM propaganda. I haven’t, I promise, but for an industry so keen to reduce waste, save time and money surely this is the way forward.

As Rob stated, it's not about the designers and engineers showing how clever they can be, and he doesn't blame people for thinking this way, in reality it's the move from BIM (Building Information Modelling) to BIM (Building Information Management) that will offer the real value.

Overall the key message throughout the morning was collaboration, collaboration and more collaboration! BIM is here to stay and when used correctly there are genuine benefits to be gained in all elements of design, build and occupation.

Still not convinced? Simon Rawlinson challenged our speakers to come up with an Elevator Pitch that could be used on the occasion “you bump into your CEO in the lift, & have 30 seconds to provide them with a business case for BIM”.

"It will save you time & money if all elements of the process work together." James Pellatt, GPE 

 "It's about pulling all the data together for the entire project rather than focussing on individual elements." Rob Charlton, _space group

"Simply say to your chief exec....If we don't buy into BIM then the client won't come to us. The industry is moving forward." Marc Walker, WSP

So what happens next? Will everyone jump on board and how will the industry engage with the end user?

Footnote (29/10/12):

The BCO is currently in the process of commissioning a new research project on BIM as James Wates’ Presidential Project. The report is due to set out the BCO’s view on this subject, provide guidance on best practice and identify the value of BIM to stakeholders across the membership. To keep up to date with news on this report, sign up to the BCO newsletter.

kindly supported by        

Benefitting from BIM?
Friday 26 October 2012 (08.30)
CBRE, Henrietta House, Henrietta Place
London W1

Interested in finding our more about BCO NextGen? Click here to visit www.bco.org.uk

60 seconds with...Nigel Clark, Technical Director at Hilson Moran and Chairman of the BCO London & South East Regional Judging Panel

Nigel has been involved in the design and construction of buildings for over 30 years. He has considerable experience in the energy performance of buildings, façade design solutions and the application of low and zero carbon and renewable technologies and regularly provides advice on all aspects of building design in the UK, Europe and the Middle East with an emphasis on tall buildings and environmentally progressive buildings.

He became Chairman for the London and South East BCO Judging panel in 2012 and following his first year as Chairman we spent 60 seconds finding out more about his experience as a judge and what drives him in his career:

How long have you been a member of the BCO and what do you see as a key benefit?

As a company, we have been members of the BCO since 2001, although my own individual membership dates from 2007. As a significant proportion of our work revolves around commercial offices, the BCO is a very relevant and influential organisation to us. It’s for that reason that I was happy to contribute to both the Guide to Specification and the Fit Out Guide, as I think they are important documents that set the standard for developers, designers and occupiers to compare themselves against.

You have been on the London and South East judging panel for two years and Chairman for one, what has been your favourite moment so far?

It’s really difficult to try and pick a favorite moment because I have genuinely enjoyed the whole experience so far. I think the number of people who have said they would like to put themselves forward as Judges next year must rate highly in my series of favourite moments as it means the importance of the Awards is increasing every year, if more and more people are willing to commit the time necessary to be a Judge.

What is the hardest part about being a BCO Judge?

I think short listing from the submissions is very difficult and it’s really important that as Judges we are as diligent as possible in arriving at the list of buildings which are to receive a visit.  All the entrants will have done a lot of work to submit their entry and not to be shortlisted will inevitably be disappointing to them.  The other aspect is trying to get around almost 40 buildings in five days, it’s a very intensive schedule which needs to be organised with almost military like precision. I will never forget the itinerary I saw in my first year of judging, in some cases we had five minutes to get from one building to the next, but we managed it in four!

What is the best part about being a BCO Judge?

I think it has to be the opportunity to see a wide range of buildings which I probably wouldn’t get to see in any other way. Being able to view what others are achieving is a great way of seeing how you are really doing compared to others. Also it’s good to have the opportunity to meet other colleagues and professionals that you haven’t had the chance to work with previously.

The Entry Guide asks entrants to describe how the office lifts spirits, is there a past awards entry that made a particularly positive impact on you? And if so, why was this?

The one entry that I will never forget is the Graeae Theatre Company, which is a disabled-led theatre company in Hackney.  It was only a small project, entered in the Projects up to 2000sqm category, but seeing what had been achieved on a tight budget and feeling the passion of the users and their excitement at having a new home was about as inspirational as it gets.  The fact it became the national winner as well as the regional winner must have meant others felt the same.  The attention to detail and the innovative ways that colour, light, touch and even smell had been used to give all the users, whatever their disability or impairment ways of moving around and using the building was just amazing.  I think all the judges felt the same as when we came out; we all looked at each other, not quite knowing how to put it into words.

What advice would you give someone planning to submit an entry for the 2013 Awards?

With the quality of the entries always being so high, it is really important that the written entries highlight the unique aspects of their project that set them apart from the competition. Because of the number of entries we get in the L&SE Region, we always have to shortlist on the basis of the submissions only, so it is really important for entrants to set out their unique points in a clear, concise and easy to read manner. The spread of questions will give everyone the opportunity to put forward whatever aspect of their project they feel goes beyond just good practice.

What one piece of advice would you give to someone starting out as a BCO Judge?

My advice would be to try and look behind the words or smart desktop publishing of a submission and look for something that is genuinely innovative or unusual and sets them apart from the competition. The Awards are meant to reward best practice and this can come in so many forms, it can take a bit of digging to find it sometimes.  I think that’s why it is so important to have a mix of skills on the judging panel, as everyone spots something different, so collectively, hopefully we don’t miss anything.

Who/what has most inspired you in the Commercial Property Sector? 

There have been a number of people who have inspired me over the years but I wouldn’t want to pick out individuals although they all had a few things in common. Firstly they all had a fantastic understanding of what was necessary to make a project special, way beyond their own individual background or training, and secondly they were incredibly passionate and enthusiastic about what they did and obviously enjoyed every second of it.  That type of passion brings out the best in everyone involved and being part of a team with that type of drive is a great feeling and inspires you to strive for even better things.

What is your guilty pleasure?  (Something you enjoy but feel a bit guilty for. Possibly an embarrassing taste, whether it be music, fashion, food etc)

I gave up long ago feeling guilty about doing anything I enjoy, others will have to take me as they find me, I guess it’s one of the advantages of getting older. My son plays inline roller hockey at a high level and having been a taxi driver most weekends whilst he was a teenager, I can’t really give it up, so now help out with managing one of the youth teams and often find myself being team Waterboy to the seniors. Despite all the wisecracks I get, I wouldn’t miss it for anything when you watch a group of youngsters really working hard for each other and enjoying success through sheer hard team work, it’s an important life lesson I hope they never forget.