Using BIM to deliver a more efficient way of working

A collaborative research project into the tangible effects of BIM

Clarkson Alliance was awarded a grant from Innovate UK in recognition of our efforts to integrate the latest technology into projects and properly research the tangible effects of Building Information Modelling (BIM).

Our objective was to conduct research that articulated the changes in process and behaviours that construction teams need to adopt when working in a BIM environment. From experience, we know that the biggest challenge is not the tools and processes but the collaboration amongst individuals that is required to make it successful.

We partnered with social housing provider, Worthing Homes, on the Meadow Road housing project – a design and build scheme for 12 houses, with value of £1.5m. By implementing a full 6D level 2 BIM on this £1.5 million project, the team was able to evaluate the benefits and challenges of using BIM on an ‘average value’ contract.

 

Some important learnings from the project included:

  • Powerful visualisation and clash detection tools within Autodesk Navisworks allowed design issues to be quickly and easily identified and resolved.
  • The ability to identify and resolve design issues using the visualisation software means there is far less inherent design risk in a BIM project and hence little point in paying the contractor a risk premium to transfer it
  • An early focus on the asset information model (AIM) – the information needed to efficiently and effectively operate and maintain the finished building – ensures the client’s requirements are captured early in the process and written into the Employer’s Information Requirements
  • Generating good asset information provides benefits to maintenance teams
  • The ability to remodel very quickly when changes occur during the design process
  • BIM offers great potential for off-site manufacturing processes.

Read the detailed interim report.

Video: watch the Meadow Road project being constructed in BIM

Courtesy of Clearbox

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