Over Two-Thirds of Construction Professionals Want Manufacturers to Provide BIM Objects

According to the ninth NBS National BIM Report

The ninth NBS National BIM Report has been published and analyses the views of nearly 1,000 construction professionals.

On the subject of BIM objects and their use, the survey found that …..

….. more than two thirds of the respondents wanted manufacturers to provide them.   Moreover, over half (54%) of the respondents said that they maintain a BIM object library in-house.   Also some of them do access manufacturer’s objects from a BIM library, with 45% using the NBS National BIM Library.   The NBS commentary says, “These figures do highlight some issues.   They suggest that manufacturers generally need to provide more BIM objects to an industry quality standard.”

Other key findings include:

• Most of those surveyed plan to adopt BIM – it continues to be the goal for construction professionals but use hasn’t increased this year, with the challenges to adoption keenly felt by small practices.
• Construction professionals continue to recognise the benefits of BIM – 60% say it has brought them cost efficiencies and over half say it sped up delivery.   Almost three quarters say it results in operation and maintenance savings.

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• ISO 19650 is making an impact – despite only being available since the beginning of the year, people have already used it.
• More clients need to understand the benefits of BIM and drive its use – this includes central government which is perceived to have had limited success in maintaining momentum with BIM since the 2016 Mandate.

As well as the findings of this year’s BIM survey, the report includes articles from a range of industry perspectives:

• Vicki Holmes from contractor Multiplex explains how they promote BIM and collaboration across the project team
• Sean Kerney from engineering firm Mott MacDonald talks about their involvement in a project that uses BIM to reduce poverty around the world
• Turner & Townsend’s George Mokhtar talks about the potential role that Artificial Intelligence can play in construction
• Robert Klaschka from EvrBilt explains how to as-built point cloud scans can provide the construction verification that clients increasingly require
• Paul Shillcock, co-author of PAS 1192-2, and author of ISO 19650-2 and the UK National Annex, talks about the journey to ISO 19650
• Velux’s Barbara Entwistle gives a manufacturer’s perspective on the use of digital technology to improve communication and product innovation
• Sarah Delany shows how the Uniclass 2015 classification system is being used on projects around the world
• Jenny Archer from NBS pulls out highlights from the parallel BIM survey they ran with the Construction IT Alliance (CitA) for the first time this year among professionals in Ireland

The full 55-page report can be downloaded free of charge from the NBS website here.