Aecom has appointed David Philp FCIOB FRICS as its new director of BIM for Europe, Middle East, Africa (EMEA) and India, a role that is understood to include responsibility for integrating legacy systems from new acquisition URS.
At Aecom, Philp will work alongside David Bennison, formerly of URS, who leads the company’s EMEA and India technology and data solutions group, which oversees consistency, quality and innovation in data management and BIM.
He will also work alongside Elizabeth Peters, Aecom’s BIM centre lead for UAE and Oman.
The new role will cover Aecom’s presence in the water, energy and transportation sectors, and its architectural and engineering consultancy as well as construction project and cost management.
Projects for which he will have oversight include the £175m Deephams Sewage Treatment works for Thames Water, being delivered by an Aecom Murphy Kier joint venture. The project is using the BIMXtra “middleware” platform originally developed at Kier but now being developed for a broader market.
Philp joins from Mace, where he was head of BIM. He will also continue his part-time secondment as head of BIM implementation for the UK government’s BIM Task Group, supporting the strategy for industry to use BIM Level 2 on all centrally-funded government projects by 2016.
A press statement from Aecom says: “David brings considerable experience of working in both the private and public sectors. This expertise will help accelerate Aecom’s BIM strategy and unlock the benefits of an integrated virtual design, build and operate approach, helping clients achieve better outcomes.
“His main responsibilities will be to drive consistency in the company’s approach to BIM and delivery excellence both in EMEA and India and in concert with the company’s global community of nearly 100,000 professionals.
John Horgan, Aecom managing director, EMEA and India, said: “Aecom is home to thousands of professionals who are already using BIM in a data rich environment to support a collaborative, rapid decision-making process that adds value to our clients’ projects. David’s experience will further enhance our BIM capabilities, bringing leading edge UK expertise to the wider EMEA and India geography.”
Commenting on why he chose to join Aecom, Philp added: “The fact that Aecom’s design, build, finance and operate model encompasses the entire asset lifecycle is exciting and I look forward to experiencing a fully multi-disciplinary offer, powered by BIM, in execution as never before.
“There is an extremely solid foundation to build on with digital tools and processes already in position. BIM is very much an enabler and will help us virtually prototype our solutions so we are able to pass on the benefits achieved through optimisation and greater efficiency to our clients.”
The fact that Aecom’s design, build, finance and operate model encompasses the entire asset lifecycle is exciting and I look forward to experiencing a fully multi-disciplinary offer, powered by BIM, in execution as never before.– David Philp
