Following Trimble’s Connected Construction Conference last year, Benedict Wallbank reflects on the industry’s progress towards Building Safety Act compliance.
Experiences of implementing the Building Safety Act (BSA) have been decidedly mixed. Headlines speak of significant project delays due to Gateway 2, but when you look closer at the reasons for these delays, it is evident that the Act is doing its job. Recent figures revealed that only 14% of Gateway 2 submissions had been approved, with more than 40% invalidated or rejected out of hand, due to either being incomplete or failing to demonstrate full compliance with building regulations.
Although the BSA is beginning to influence change, there remains confusion over the requirements and what data or evidence needs to be shared with the regulator.
“How can we ensure that information management platforms and digital ecosystems used today will still be interoperable and adoptable further down the line?”
Digital tools vs people
Once more, the industry is looking to digital tools as a means of providing certainty. While tools are an enabler, people are the important factor. Digital technology has always relied (and will always rely) on high-quality data being fed into it to deliver value and a high-quality output. People must have the correct information initially.
When it comes to satisfying the regulator, it is neither technology’s role nor responsibility to deliver this compliance. It is on people to evidence that they are collecting the right safety information and structural data and that it is being reviewed by a competent person. That said, technology can of course overlay this process and improve its delivery or efficiency; however, you need the process in place to begin with.
In many ways, it should stem from the accountable person at the start of a project – “this is how I would like the building information evidenced and this is how I would like your digital system to support me in that”.
Digital, accessible, accurate and secure
At the heart of mastering compliance with the BSA is digital, accurate, accessible and secure data. The Act also states that the minimum length of time a dutyholder must keep this information is 15 years, while for the asset owner and manager it is for the lifetime of the asset. This presents tremendous challenges for everyone, including technology providers, with the presence of legacy information highly likely.
Technology changes quickly: just think about the advancements and innovations that can come within a 15-year period. As an example, 15 years ago marked the dawn of the smartphone… It raises the question: how can we ensure that information management platforms and digital ecosystems used today will still be interoperable and adoptable further down the line?
It is not enough to have a common data environment. Instead, we need to be taking an open-platform approach to BIM – with IFC files of BIM models remaining functional and accessible – as well as seamless and broadened interoperability between software and platforms. Some providers (like Trimble) are actively championing APIs and interoperability, recognising the need for open data workflows and connected platforms, regardless of the originating software.
Demonstrating and documenting compliance
Demonstrating compliance calls for complex and intelligent design tools and documenting compliance requires information management systems. If we as an industry are to master compliance with the BSA and its new evidential frameworks, an integrated ecosystem of software is necessary, enabling a streamlined flow of data that is communicated between all project stages, stakeholders and platforms – taking us smoothly from Gateways 1 to 3.
While feedback from specialist SMEs and subcontractors suggests that they often have a specific digital platform imposed on them by the main contractor, if the industry was to truly adopt an open BIM approach, these obstacles and associated data silos could be negated.
At Trimble, we pride ourselves on being at the forefront of interoperability, delivering the power and the means to make work flow. While our innovative portfolio of software and hardware products span the design, estimation and construction processes, we are also investing heavily in backend functionality to enable third-party software integration.
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