BIM1701

INDUSTRY news
Newcastle-based NBS
recently welcomed Mark
Bew MBE to its offices to deliver
an industry talk to a 50-strong
audience on the 'Digital Built
Britain' programme. Mark, who
chairs the UK BIM Task Group,
spoke about the programme
which is the next phase of the
UK's journey towards a new
generation of smart infrastructure
and construction.
Mark touched on the journey
the UK construction industry
has been on, the praise for the
sector getting 'BIM ready' for
last year's mandate and looked
ahead to future trends including
BIM Level 3, quantum computing,
quantum sensing and
smart cities.
Mark, who is also chairman of
PCSG, said: "The progress
made in the last six years or so
has been fantastic but progress
mustn't stop there. We need to
continue to drive the quality of
data we’re using across the
industry that will help drive trust,
better use and better productivity
for us all.
"UK figures show that from
2009 to 2014/15 the construction
industry saved £1.2 billion
through the efficiencies and
benefits brought about through
the use of BIM and digital engineering.
In everyday terms
those savings would equate to
Mark Bew MBE (left) and NBS Chief
Executive Richard Waterhouse
'DIGITAL BUILT BRITAIN' DISCUSSED AT NBS
buying five schools and getting
one for free, and those are the
messages we need to be pushing
to showcase the improvements
and progress that the
industry is making."
The Digital Built Britain programme
which will be led by
Mark, with collaboration from
Innovate UK and the Department
of Business Energy and
Industrial Strategy, BEIS, will
bring together the development
of BIM, smart cities, industrial
controls and advanced manufacturing.
The programme will
work to guide, inform and educate
construction professionals
to understand the connection
between how buildings and
infrastructure impact society
and how using new technologies
and quality data will help
create smart cities that will keep
the UK at the forefront of the
world's stage in terms of construction
and digital excellence.
NBS Chief Executive Richard
Waterhouse said: "To welcome
such a key industry figure like
Mark to our offices was a great
privilege. Hearing again, that
the progress made over the last
six or seven years has catapulted
the UK construction industry
as leaders in digital information
and digital construction in an
international arena is fantastic."
www.theNBS.com
FORMER EXCITECH LEAD JOINS CLEARBOX
Clearbox has bolstered its
team with the arrival of
John Williams, former Head of
Excitech Consulting. John
joins Clearbox after 30 years
in the construction industry,
working with customers to
improve their outcomes
through a wide range of digital
technology.
John will use his wider industry
knowledge, along with his
new found exposure to the
Clearbox platform, to work with
customers to support their
implementation of solutions,
not only to address the compliance
and contractual requirements
for BIM Level 2 and
beyond, but also to realise the
opportunity of BIM to provide
lean processes, reduced waste
and ultimately increased ROI.
www.clearboxbim.com
3D REPO BIM APP IS AN ASSET TO CROSSRAIL
3D Repo has started development
on a unique mobile
platform for Crossrail designed
to manage maintainable
assets. The cloud-based innovation
by 3D Repo brings
together previously disparate
databases and information
sources to provide on-site,
instant access, to both historical
and real-time information.
The project is funded under the
Crossrail innovation programme,
Innovate 18.
Working with Crossrail, 3D
Repo has demonstrated integration
between information
already held within asset lifecycle
information management
software. Through a Crossrail
Asset Information and Configuration
Management System
(AIMS), data matrix ID labels
and RFID tags can be scanned
using a mobile device to provide
real-time access to plant
and system diagrams and
operation and maintenance
(O&M) manuals. 3D Repo’s
mobile platform will also let project
managers, maintenance
personnel and stakeholders
access different 3D views of an
asset allowing them to select
information that is most relevant
to them for the purposes of
installation, snagging and commissioning,
for example.
“With the Crossrail project
nearing completion we wanted
to demonstrate a system that
could provide a one stop solution
for post-delivery asset management.
3D Repo application
could deliver direct cost savings
in terms of simplified management
processes and transparency
of work, at every stage
of the project, from planning to
construction and handover to
facilities management,” said
Harry Parnell, Head of Digital
Project Delivery at Balfour Beatty
and Project Manager in
Crossrail’s Woolwich Station.
www.3drepo.org
6
January/February 2017