BRE is to curate three days of BIM seminar sessions at the Build Show, one of nine co-located exhibitions in UK Construction Week taking place at the Birmingham NEC in 6-8 October.
Speakers at the BIM Prospects Theatre will include Andrew Carpenter, chair of BIM4Housing, Nick Tune, chief executive of CoBuilder UK, Dr Sarah Graham, UK division head of software supplier Integrated Environmental Solutions, and David Jellings, managing director of Solibri UK.
Miles Watkins, BRE’s group business development director, commented: “Our key focus at BRE is on helping industry and government meet the challenges of the built environment. The BIM Prospects Theatres at UK Construction Week will provide a unique chance to interact with professionals from all sectors, giving us a fantastic opportunity to engage, share best practice and help move the industry forward.”
Topics on the programme will include:
- the practical delivery of COBie
- development of the International Foundation Class (IFC) data exchange standard
- making BIM work for product manufacturers
- the classification of products
- making sure your business is ready for BIM Level 2.
The seminar on COBie will examine best practice and include case studies based on a COBie trial undertaken by 11 Tier 1 contractors in 2013, as well as perspectives from the US.
The session on BIM for construction product manufacturers will take a closer look at the various software programmes and BIM libraries that allow manufacturers to make their products easily available to architects, designers and contractors.
Nathan Garnett, show director for the Build Show, said: “BIM is a massive topic for the construction industry but there is still a huge amount of confusion and uncertainty surrounding it.
“In fact, we completed some research earlier this year, in which 96% of respondents felt there was a need for greater training and support around BIM. We believe that the seminar programme the BRE has put together will go a long way towards addressing this need and will provide useful insights and advice for all concerned.”
In addition to the seminar series at the BIM Prospects Theatre, BIM will also be discussed on the main UK Construction Week stage.
A debate about the outlook for BIM in the UK will also close the main show. The speakers will be CoBuilder’s Nick Tune, Sasha Read from software company Bluebeam, BRE’s chief scientist Jeremy Watson, Andy Sneyd, head of design at Laing O’Rourke’s Crown House subsidiary and president of the Building and Engineering Services Association, and Frank McLeod, head of project technology at WSP/Parsons Brinckerhoff.
The inaugural UK Construction Week is expected to draw more than 55,000 visitors to the Birmingham NEC from 6-11 October.
The event brings together nine shows under one roof: the Build Show incorporating the Civils Expo, Timber Expo, the Surface & Materials Show, Kitchens & Bathrooms Live, Plant & Machinery Live, Energy 2015, HVAC 2015, Smart Buildings 2015 and Grand Designs Live.
We completed some research earlier this year, in which 96% of respondents felt there was a need for greater training and support around BIM. We believe that the seminar programme the BRE has put together will go a long way towards addressing this need.– Nathan Garnett, show director for the Build Show
