A slew of recommendations in the Centre for Digital Built Britain’s BIM interoperability report has met with widespread approval following a recent consultation across the sector.
The report was produced by CDBB’s BIM Interoperability Expert Group (BIEG), which met with 21 representative organisations to gather evidence, and make considered recommendations, to government from industry, on how best to support and develop the existing BIM Mandate in such a way as to make it accessible and beneficial to all. These recommendations, referred to as “recommended enablers” were then opened to public consultation by the CDBB, and the responses compiled into a summary report.
The majority of responses showed positive support for the recommended enablers set out within the report, with 100% of respondents agreeing with the recommended approach to support the further development of industry foundation classes (IFC), and also agreeing the importance of asset information models (AIM) and common data environment (CDE) to achieving the beneficial outcomes of interoperability.
All respondents also agreed with the BIEG that there is a need for a greater understanding by owners/operators, to drive procurement of interoperable data as a strategic asset.
Overwhelming support (ranging from 74%-94%) was expressed for the BIEG’s further recommended enablers including:
- Classification schema alignment;
- IFC and COBie – practical application & development;
- Education & skills;
- Standards (review of standards landscape).
Keith Waller, programme director of the Construction Innovation Hub, said: “We were very pleased by the obvious interest and support in the topic of BIM interoperability and its potential for positive impact on the future of the built environment. Our aim is to deliver an interoperability programme that addresses the issues and challenges raised as a result of the public consultation and we remain committed to broad collaboration and industry engagement as a means of delivering a solution that benefits all.”
Fiona Moore, BIEG chair, said: “The support for the recommended enablers set out in the BIM Interoperability Expert Group Report has been extremely encouraging.”
Professor Andy Neely OBE, director of CDBB and pro-vice chancellor for enterprise and business relations at the University of Cambridge, said: “Enabling the industry to make faster, more efficient and reliable decisions as a result of using more reliable information, and providing seamless procurement of information between asset owners over the lifetime of the asset are the type of positive developments that will help cement the UK’s position as a global leader in productivity.”
The full summary document is available to download and review on CDBB’s website.
