A report shows that the use of building information modelling can markedly increase productivity at low cost.
A Built Environment Industry Innovation Council (BEIIC) study shows that the use of BIM by those involved with the design, construction and operation of buildings (buildings network) has the ability to reduce time, cost, material consumption and carbon emissions while also still improving quality.
According to the federal government’s BEIIC-commissioned report ‘Productivity in the buildings network: assessing the impacts of building information models’ produced by Allen Consulting Group, BIM is a highly effective way of capturing and sharing accurate, digital, three dimensional information regarding the design, construction and operation of a building
”In our experience, there are very few options available for enhancing productivity that can be achieved on such favourable terms and without difficulty to achieve structural reform,” the report found.
A recent survey has also found that using BIM is estimated to improve the productivity of the buildings network by a very significant six to nine per cent.
An accelerated rate of BIM adoption would produce an economic benefit equivalent to AU$5 billion added to Australia’s GDP, the report found.
Widespread use of BIM will also increase the performance of new and renovated buildings with improvements in material consumption, energy efficiency, carbon emissions and the productivity of the occupants. These gains have not been fully quantified by the BEIIC study and are in addition to the GDP increase noted above.
Context
The BEIIC believe the uptake of the National Broadband Network will have a profound effect on the way the built environment is planned, designed, procured, constructed and operated.
Plans and designs can be conceived, tested and optimised in a virtual world before committing to construction. Such plans and design will benefit from access to data about usage, consumption and performance of the existing built environment.
Construction will tend towards a manufacturing process using ‘just in time’ procurement allied to mass customisation and on-site assembly with all information flowing directly from digital databases and/or information-rich models.
Assets can be managed and efficiently operated directly from the built environment models, reducing energy consumption and optimising operating costs.
Some systems (transport, electricity grids, water supply for example) can be optimised in real time using sensors, networks and computers.
People will improve their usage of systems if provided with real time, pertinent information via communications networks (urban informatics, smart meters).
All usage, consumption and performance of systems and assets, including relevant human behaviour, can be recorded; used for physical optimisation and reconfiguration; and fed back into the planning and design of the future built environment.
While BIM is expected to deliver many benefits and the costs are not materially higher than traditional or alternative management approaches, the government has identified many factors that currently impede its widespread adoption.
Consultations held with key industry stakeholders familiar with BIM point to the following factors playing a role in impeding adoption of BIM: lack of BIM object libraries; lack of model building protocols; legal and insurance impediments; lack of standards for information exchange and management and inconsistencies in information handover protocols; skills gaps; lack of strategic research focus and industry resistance to process change.
Background
The BEIIC was created with the aim of facilitating dialogue across many of the diverse stakeholders that comprise the buildings network and promoting whole of industry responses to government priorities.
Since its creation in 2008, BEIIC has been considering industry innovation challenges and ways of raising industry competitiveness in diverse areas, including climate change, sustainability, regulatory reforms and productivity.
BIM is a 3D modelling technology and design process that has already begun to change the way buildings are designed, built, operated and decommissioned. While there is no single accepted definition of BIM it is generally described as a database that provides digital information about the design, fabrication, construction, project management, logistics, materials and energy consumption of a building.
BIM technology offers the potential for many direct and indirect benefits to the buildings network industry, including improved information sharing; time and costs savings that can be directly translated into productivity gains; improved quality; greater transparency and accountability in decision making; increased sustainability and labour market improvements.
The governments of Singapore, the United States, Norway, Denmark and Finland are driving the use of BIM in their built environments through government procurement and facility management processes.
The current situation in the United Kingdom suggests the existing policy environment cannot drive BIM implementation through government processes. The UK government is helping the industry identify the benefits of BIM by providing support to various organisations.
Conclusion
According to the Australian government, BIM has macroeconomic significance; its accelerated widespread adoption would make a significant difference to national economic performance; and there is a compelling economic case for encouraging greater use of BIM in Australia.
Such encouragement can be effectively provided by the Australian Government.