Members of the National Housing Federation (NHF) and UK BIM Alliance are collaborating on a joint project to help housing associations implement digital asset management.
The two organisations have launched an introductory brochure, ‘BIM 4 Housing Associations: Asset Management in the 21st Century’.
The project team is led by Jack Ostrofsky, head of quality and design at Southern Housing Group, and funded by A2 Dominion, Notting Hill Genesis, Peabody, Optivo and Southern Housing Group – all members of G15, the group of London’s largest housing associations that own or manage more than 600,000 homes.
The two organisations stated that while housing associations are “well placed to benefit from integrating BIM processes into their development and asset management strategies, few hold sufficient information about their projects, and even fewer in digital form”.
Quick-start guide to implementing BIM
The project is developing a set of exemplar documents, compliant with the UK BIM Framework, that together with a report will provide a quick-start guide to implementing digital processes. They will cover:
- the business case for BIM for Housing Associations, including examples of projects in action;
- the benefits of applying BIM processes to existing buildings;
- exemplar asset information requirements for asset management;
- exemplar exchange information requirements for development projects; and
- advice on the procurement process and appointment of relevant professionals.
Sarah Davidson, implementation co-lead at the UK BIM Alliance, said: "Client-led requirements for digital information management are an essential part of the process for implementing BIM across industry, and not just in the housing sector. The Alliance is pleased to support this project. We hope that its outcomes will support and influence all those working in digitising our industry."
Project chair Jack Ostrofsky added: "Getting the right information out of the development process is challenging, and construction professionals only have an outside view of what housing associations need. This client-led project aims to bring people from every discipline together to create a tool box to enable BIM for residential."
Amy Simmons, head of policy at the NHF, said: "This project represents a practical effort to help our members meet their requirements with regard to building safety, but also to become more efficient in their asset management processes. The documents will be free to use to all."
The project aims to publish its suite of documents towards the end of this year.
More information can be found here: https://www.ukbimalliance.org/project/bim4-housing-associations-project/
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