Architecture & design
The various ‘levels’ of BIM The speaker’s next focus was the various ‘levels’ of BIM. He explained: “Level 0 is what we have been doing for many years – basically working with drawings, schematics, and schedules. This produces our designs. Moving to Level 1, which, up until the last 2-3 years, involved using CAD, entails a bit of 3D modelling and simple models, but typically these would be unstructured and uncoordinated. Level 2,” he continued, “is all about the shift to a 3D model with integrated attribute information. So, the goal for the future is that we will take all the models from the architects, the structural engineers, and the mechanical and electrical engineers, and co-ordinate them in BIM, using a structured process, with much of the project information embedded in the model. “We will also be looking to encompass lifecycle data, in fact at getting more involved upfront earlier on to deliver a co-ordinated model with the benefits of the lifecycle contained within it. Currently,” he continued, “Level 3 doesn’t actually exist; I believe it is probably about 10 years away. At that point there will be one single version of the truth, and everything will be uploaded and changed in real time. The model will also be able to be used in a way that estates teams can benefit from. Level 3 will represent a fully integrated, and fully collaborative, project insurance.”
Contractual documents Taking a look at the various government guidance documents on BIM published to date, the speaker said that among the key ones were PAS 1192-2, 1192-3, ‘and a few others, as well as some contractual documents – the so-called Construction Industry Council (CIC) documents’. Gary Allen added: “Although not formally binding, these ‘CIC’ documents are part of the arrangements, and are to be used in conjunction with current contractual models.”
BIM, the speaker went on to explain next, was ‘essentially a seven-step process’. He elaborated: “As the slides show, these steps are linked to the main documents, PAS 1192-2, and 1192-3. The PAS document that is key for the client side is PAS 1192-3, which relates to the Organisational Information Requirements (or OIR), and Asset Information Requirements (AIR). This guidance is all about understanding what goes into OIR and AIR, which then spits out your more detailed information and project-specific requirements.” Going on to explain what these constituted, Gary Allen explained that Organisational Information Requirements are ‘the data and information required to achieve the organisation’s objectives’. He said: “This is very high-level. You need to have a strategy in place. The Trust needs to say:
22 Health Estate Journal September 2016
Figure 2: The ‘seven-step’ BIM process.
‘We are going down this path of gathering information; we are going to store it his way and to use it like this.’ Where will the information be stored, however?” These deliberations would, the speaker said, culminate in the Asset Information Requirements – ‘more to do with you estates strategy, which then moves into your Employer’s Information Requirements, or EIR.’
Project-specific requirements The latter, the speaker explained, set out the project-specific requirements for a new project, detailing ‘all the
competencies of the team’. He elaborated: “The EIRs are essentially the standards and competencies that we need to understand and have in place. From a technical standpoint, we are talking about the software platform, common data exchange, levels of detail, security, collaboration procedures, and information. This is the specific information for delivering a project. It is really important to ensure that your team has the competencies to deliver the project to meet your high-level BIM requirements. “At project level,” he continued, “the fundamental principle doesn’t change with Level 2 BIM. The old-fashioned information you have is only as good as you hold; it just becomes a 3D model; your design team is probably doing the same
From a technical standpoint, we are talking about the
software platform, common data exchange, levels of detail, security, collaboration procedures, and information
work; it is simply represented in a different way. As you can see from this slide showing the new RIBA Plan of Works, we have now adapted the plan of works to make it a bit more cyclical, and to understand the business processes. We are taking more interest in the business case and the upfront needs of the project to deliver the outcome, including striving to identify the revenue costs and the data running cost. “What his model does,” the speaker continued, “is enable anybody who needs this information to access it. It also gives you valuable cost information. Importantly, it allows you to identify your revenue costs – the biggest cost of any facility.”
A need for new roles Against the backdrop of the new BIM ‘landscape’, Gary Allen acknowledged that there would inevitably ‘be new roles’. He expanded: “Trusts and clients will need to have both information and BIM managers. Currently, the job criteria are very vague – but these personnel will typically possess a combination of good engineering and estates knowledge, and knowledge of information technology, to enable them to interrogate all the additional data. Such personnel are not yet in great supply, although the RICS does run ‘BIM Manager’ courses.” Gary Allen’s presentation also explained the fundamental elements of an Employer’s Information Requirements standard structure – from a technical, management, and commercial standpoint, and looked at the various (BIM) project levels, from both a design standpoint, and a design and outputs perspective. The IDC-Consult speaker concluded a concise, but informative and very topical presentation, by cautioning delegates: “The concept of a Building Information Model is, of course, no different to asset or 2D drawings and specification documents. The model can only really be as good as the data within it.”
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