In the UK government's Government Construction Strategy, 2016 is a significant year: from this date, BIM will be mandatory in all publicly commissioned projects over £5 million. Anyone who does not use "Level 2 BIM" by this date will no longer have a chance in public procurement. Naturally, this will not only make planners and contractors think, but also take action.
National Building Specification (NBS), a division of the Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA), has conducted a survey on the use of BIM in the construction industry for the third year running. The results are very interesting, especially when compared with those of previous years. It is clearly noticeable that the British are moving further and further away from the WHY of BIM and more and more towards the HOW. In 2010, 43% of respondents did not know what BIM was - today it is only 13%. These figures speak for themselves - and for the commitment of RIBA and other organizations in the transition to BIM.
However, the survey also provides other interesting information: a full 93% of respondents believe they will switch to BIM within the next 5 years. At the same time, BIM users are of the opinion that the benefits expected from the switch have not only been achieved, but even exceeded. For example, the majority state that the duration of planning has been shortened and costs (both in planning and execution) have been reduced.
Only 6% of BIM users regret the switch.
However, it is also significant that despite the high level of openness towards BIM, a large proportion of respondents still believe that the definition of BIM itself is unclear and that more work needs to be done to clarify this. The change in thinking from conventional CAD planning to holistic planning in BIM still requires a lot of work, including in the areas of knowledge transfer and management.
Sources and further information:
RIBA - BIM Overlay to the RIBA Outline Plan of Work (PDF)
Learning from the UK: National BIM Report 2013 http://t.co/wFyNwsTq0K