NEWS
BIM – COLLABORATION IS THE KEY Building Information Modelling, BIM, is changing the way we in the industry view the construction process – of this there is no doubt says Dave Fittis, Director at Desco, an international MEP design consultancy
A
t Desco we have been working in the 3D environment for over 10 years, with full bim capabilities for almost three and the specialist experience to be able to adapt the technique to any project. It was important to the senior management team at Desco to be early adopters of bim, in light of the fact that it was already widely used by architects and increasingly becoming a client and project demand. As a result, we have invested time and money in the technology and training to ensure that our team have the required skills in place to negotiate the various procedures and processes stipulated by the bim technique. Fundamentally, bim was born out of a desire to drive waste out of the design and construction process, with a subsequent reduction in procurement costs, and to leave clients with an asset management tool superior to the traditional o&m manual. in order to get the most out of bim, we believe collaboration is key and a joined up approach should be adopted by all parties at the inception of any project, from the client through to architects, engineers and contractors. bim requires a shift in mindset – it is not simply 3D CAD (although that undoubtedly forms part of it). the clue to its real power lies in the “i” of bim; information.
in essence, a bim model comprises a data-rich, virtual building, capturing the physical and engineering properties of the complete project. It can be used by designers, cost consultants, project
planners, contractors and ultimately the client/occupier. bim software has been developed to allow multi-disciplinary coordination yet if one part of the chain is missing, bim cannot reach its full potential. it’s important that for bim to be a successful technique, everyone needs to be on the same page. During the design phase it brings together the various elements and systems of each member of the design team, ensuring greater certainty in the design; it is much easier to deal with clashes between components at the design stage than on site. For meP engineers, bim software has taken a while to catch up with that used by our design team colleagues, however it has now matured to a stage where it can be used with confidence, even though industry-wide development of components and families remains frustratingly slow; this is certainly an area where meP equipment manufacturers can help. our experience tells us that despite the fact that bim can benefit every project, not every project is at the stage where it is ready for bim. you have to know your client – with bim there’s no half-way house and your customer has to understand its benefits and in many respects, we as consultants have to be able to educate our clients about what they are. As a relatively new process, the industry is operating at different stages and it’s really important to be able to adapt according to the project. our experience of bim at Desco has been positive to date.
We’re extremely fortunate to have an exceptionally dedicated team across the UK and internationally, who have been quick to embrace the shift in mindset which is a pre-requisite of bim. at Desco, we believe future of the design process is with bim – it’s reconnecting the industry like no technique before it and the sooner you take the leap, the sooner you can begin to reap the benefits. For more information, visit Desco’s website,
www.desco.uk.com
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single service are the most popular form of delivery but 14% more organisations now outsource to one provider.
• Long-term contracts are most effective at building relationships (91%) with short term contracts considered most effective in only one instance – enabling organisations to exit contracts.
• Cleaning, maintenance and security services are outsourced in nearly 70% of cases.
• 94% of people believe cost is most important factor in tender
evaluation, whilst 52% think organisations will improve productivity and efficiency of services to a greater extent in the future. • Over the next five
years, demand for total facilities management and integrated services is expected to increase, with single service delivery decreasing and bundled services remaining at the same level.
• There continues to be mixed attitudes towards sustainability. There is a strong indication that it will become more important in the next five years, although much like innovation, it is rated as low relevance in terms of outsourcing objectives. The key findings from this research are available in a report called ‘Time for change in facilities management’ which can be downloaded at
www.interserve.com or at
www.i-fm.net
GREENING GOVERNMENT ICT STRATEGY UPDATE The UK government has published its second annual report on implementation of the Greening Government ICT strategy. The use of Information and Communications Technology (ICT) services across both the public and private sectors will grow significantly as the UK moves towards an information dominated economy, supported by the recent Informnation Economy Strategy, and the adoption of the Digital by Default policy for all government transactions with customers set out in the Government Digital Strategy. Our reliance on the hardware and communications that underpin them is also set to grow. This trend is already
happening around the world: a recent report in The Register highlighted research
that concluded global CO2 emissions from powering ICT was now around 10% of total emissions, having grown since 2008 when a study by Gartner Research placed ICT carbon emissions alongside aviation at 3%. there is also the prospect of many more users coming online from the developing world. The Cabinet Office set up the cross-government Green ICT Delivery Unit, which developed and launched the Greening Government ICT Strategy. The Strategy aims to cut carbon emissions and waste from ICT used across government setting a number of commitments to achieve by April 2015.
www.gov.uk/government/ publications/greening- government-ict-strategy
Public sector sustainability • Volume 3 issue 9 11
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