In the final Q&A to mark the turning of the year, Dr Bola Abisogun OBE, chief excitement officer of the Digital Twin Skills Academy CIC, calls on the industry to find its moral compass.
BIMplus: What was the best thing that happened in information management and digital construction in 2024?
Dr Bola Abisogun OBE: The best that happened in 2024, at least for me, was threefold. First, the legislation regarding the Building Safety Act and specifically, the Higher-Risk Buildings (Keeping and Provision of Information etc.) (England) Regulations 2024 (Golden Thread Regulations) became a legal requirement, and the critical element regarding the golden thread of information took effect on 16 January 2024.
That critical event was followed by the ‘end of the transition period’ regarding the approach to ‘active’ management of building safety, which began on 6 April 2024. The significance of that critical date of implementation – being ‘the dawn of a new era in and for digital construction’ – was further articulated by Sir Martin Moore-Bick at 11am on 4 September 2024, when he read the Executive Summary of the final Phase 2 report of the Grenfell Inquiry.
“There has got to be a sea change in culture, mindset and professional commitment to a digital-first approach towards integrated, collaborative project delivery in UK construction.”
What are you looking forward to professionally this year?
If I can be brutally honest, there has got to be a sea change in culture, mindset and professional commitment to a digital-first approach towards integrated, collaborative project delivery in UK construction. What I really want to see (in 2025 and beyond) is better client awareness and understanding of the mission-critical legal requirement called the golden thread, acknowledged in the form of tangible, evidence-based, Gateway 3 contract deliverables. We all have to upskill to achieve and maintain this, and absolutely no one is exempt.
It’s a new era of CPD for all!
What does the industry need to do more (or less of) this year?
That’s easy: find its moral compass, talk less about what needs to happen and “Just Do It”, through more positive action and a meaningful and measurable legacy of sustainable change.
Recommend a book, podcast, TV series, film or album that you enjoyed in 2024
I was recently approached by the CITB to help shape and support their 2024 campaign on achieving better awareness of the Building Safety Act and everything to do with this new era of delivering digital construction in a post-Grenfell era. I would highly recommend my podcast/couch conversation with the CITB’s Adrian Beckingham.
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