Analysis

Government Playbook reinforces role of BIM and digital

The government’s new Construction Playbook reinforces the BIM and digital requirements for public sector clients and contractors.

The Construction Playbook is similar to the existing Outsourcing Playbook, and provides guidance on planning, evaluation, contract selection and implementation.

Early on in its 83 pages, the Playbook states: “Contracting authorities should use the UK BIM Framework to standardise the approach to generating and classifying data, data security and data exchange, and to support the adoption of the Information Management Framework and the creation of the National Digital Twin.”

The requirements also apply to contractors and suppliers; the Playbook states: “[They] should apply the UK BIM Framework. This includes standards, guidance and other resources that will deliver BIM interoperability and government soft landings [GSL].”

Government soft landings and data transfer

In relation to GSL, the Playbook states that a “proportional GSL approach supported by the UK BIM Framework should be applied to all public works projects”.

The Playbook reinforces how important the GSL approach is at the pre-handover stage: “Before a project is signed off, it is critical to ensure that the public work is operationally ready to be used. This includes:

as-built project information model delivered to the contracting authority;
information transferred from the project information model to the contracting authority’s operator;
end user orientation and training should be undertaken, ensuring familiarity with key operating systems; and
handover of a digitised operation and maintenance manual including the CDM2015 Health and Safety file.”

The Playbook says that where appropriate, “contracts should be written to include… obligations on the supplier to supply data and information back to the contracting authority at the end of the contract”.

Modern methods of construction

In relation to modern methods of construction, the playbook states: “In practice, contracting authorities can achieve [the] benefits [of MMC] by:

supporting the development and use of consistent structure, rules and language in standards and specifications to facilitate shared understanding and the use of digital and automated solutions;
digitising standards and specifications so that requirements are both human- and machine-readable. This will help to facilitate cross-referencing with other standards and process workflows; and
sharing design content across portfolios and sectors using digital object libraries and common approaches to reducing differences."

Read the Playbook in full here: https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/the-construction-playbook