OVERVIEW
Digital technologies are doing a lot to support infrastructure development. Technologies generate large volumes of digital information. Digital information must be correctly managed to realise its value. BIM (Building Information Modelling) is fast becoming the industry standard for managing digital information collected from infrastructure projects.
INFRASTRUCTURE THAT’S MORE SUSTAINABLE
Infrastructure development continues at pace to accommodate our ever-expanding human population. These days, people are focussed on creating infrastructure that’s more sustainable, more intelligent (E.g., smart buildings, smart cities, digital twins), and more value-generating.
Infrastructure is said to be responsible for 53% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions through infrastructure operations and embedded emissions¹. In this era of climate change, the infrastructure industry is striving to de-carbonise its activities, with the development of more sustainable construction materials such as self-healing concrete, air-cleaning bricks, passive cooling ceramics, laminated timber and bio-plastics.
INFRASTRUCTURE AND THE DIGITAL REVOLUTION
The world is well into its digital revolution, with virtually every activity seemingly assisted by some form of digital technology. Over the last 20 years, the infrastructure industry has undergone a digital transformation. Drone technology is being used to facilitate site surveys. Virtual reality software and wearables are being used to visualise completed projects before construction teams even break ground on site. 3D printing is being used to create bespoke components on civil engineering projects. Sensors are being installed in infrastructure to monitor the physical condition of asset components in real time. New technologies are being created almost daily to continually improve efficiency, productivity, safety, and to generate additional value on infrastructure projects.
Digital technologies generate vast quantities of information, and that information must be stored somewhere. Luckily, there are technologies available to capture, store and manage this dearth of information that’s created in a variety of digital formats, and is produced at super-fast speeds.
DIGITAL INFORMATION IS A VALUABLE ASSET!
Information stored in digital format has many benefits. Digital information is so much easier to manage than information recorded on paper. Digital information is also much easier and quicker to access.
In business, quick and easy access to the right information improves efficiency and productivity. People can easily utilise information to understand and inform, to problem-solve, to make decisions, and to facilitate innovation.
Infrastructure projects generate large volumes of information: designs, specifications, as-built drawings, asset inventories, commissioning & testing results, warranties, safety certificates, operation & maintenance (O & M) manuals, health & safety files – the list goes on.
ARE YOU STILL ACCEPTING PROJECT INFORMATION IN PAPER FORMAT?
Pre-digitalisation, infrastructure project information would be delivered to the client in paper format (or at best, as PDF files saved on a memory stick, which someone would then print out!). Whole rooms would be taken up with folders of paper files, and these files could often be incomplete or out-of-date. Facilities managers were known to spend hours rummaging through folders trying to locate the latest version of an asset inventory or an O & M manual. This method of information storage was never efficient.
So, if the infrastructure industry is now widely impacted by digital technology, can we safely presume that project information is now generated and delivered to the client in digital format? If not, how can project teams expect paper files to ‘cut the mustard’ in this day and age?
Clients: If you are still accepting paper-based project information, you are missing out on valuable digital information that can significantly improve your business:
- Easy access to quality digital project information helps project teams design, build and hand over projects more safely, more efficiently, and more cost-effectively.
- Easy access to quality digital asset information helps facilities managers operate and manage your infrastructure more safely, more efficiently, and more cost-effectively.
- Easy access to quality digital project & asset information allows you to develop longer-term asset management strategies that can generate even more financial value from your built asset.
Digital information is as valuable as the physical infrastructure associated with it!
DIGITAL INFORMATION MUST BE MANAGED PROPERLY!
Digital information is valuable. Therefore, it must be managed using effective information management processes to ensure it remains:
- Accurate,
- Relevant (for your requirements)
- Complete,
- Up-to-date
- Quickly accessible to authorised users
- Secure (to prevent unauthorised access)
Research was carried out in the UK to calculate the return on investment from implementing quality information management processes. It was estimated that a £1 investment in could potentially generate between £5.10 – £6.00 in direct labour productivity, and between £6.90 – £7.40 in direct cost savings².
Implementing an effective information management strategy is a wise investment!
LET’S TALK BIM (BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING)!
So, which information management strategy should you adopt to manage your digital information? I’ll be impartial for a moment and say that staff in your organisation with the appropriate skills could create a half-decent information management strategy for you. However, the BIM (Building Information Modelling) framework is fast becoming the industry standard for managing infrastructure information stored in digital format.
But isn’t BIM only for buildings?
Although ‘BIM’ does indeed stand for ‘Building Information Modelling’, the BIM framework (which includes guidelines for the effective management of digital information), actually caters for all types of infrastructure. In fact, with the publication of the international BIM ISO 19650 standard³ in 2018, the BIM framework can be applied to any type of project where there’s a requirement to deliver information in digital format to the client.
The powers-that-be who came up with the BIM acronym didn’t foresee the confusion they would cause by saying ‘B’ equalled ‘Building’! These days, many people have re-badged BIM as ‘Better Information Management’, which makes a lot more sense.
BIM is much more than 3D models!
So, what is BIM exactly? Let’s start by stating LOUD AND CLEAR that BIM is not 3D models (a myth that refuses to die!). Nor is BIM a piece of software that you plug in and play.
BIM is a toolkit of information management standards, processes and digital technologies that a project team decides to use on a project to ensure that the right digital information is captured and shared with the right people (at the right time), to allow all members of the project team to complete their tasks efficiently and safely.
No two projects are the same, and so no two BIM implementations are exactly alike (in terms of the digital information that’s captured, the digital technologies used to capture, store and manage the information, or how the digital information is used). The BIM ISO 19650 standard provides guidance on what best practice looks like when deploying the BIM framework on a project.
The BIM framework fosters collaboration between all members of a project team. In the case of an infrastructure project, this means the design, construction, facilities management and asset management teams, AND THE CLIENT! BIM champions the whole life cycle of an infrastructure project.
The BIM framework encourages standardisation of processes. It supports the use of available industry standards and/or current best practice. This means project teams have the opportunity to adopt best practice in every aspect of project delivery and operations, which generates even more value from the infrastructure project.
BIM begins and ends with the Client!
The client specifies the digital information that needs to be generated. This includes information relating to the infrastructure design, and the ‘As-Built’ information needed to operate and maintain the infrastructure. The client is responsible for setting the information requirements, even if project delivery activities are outsourced to 3rd party designers and contractors. Clients also dictate the operations and maintenance information needed, which can then be passed on to any outsourced Facilities Management teams.
BENEFITS OF USING THE BIM INFORMATION MANAGEMENT STRATEGY
Clients
With the BIM framework, clients no longer have to accept post-project information from contractors that they don’t need, cannot use, or doesn’t benefit their business objectives. Clients can request specific design, build, operations and maintenance information – in the digital formats that work for them – that will help generate even more value from their infrastructure assets. With easy access to the right information, clients can proactively develop long-term asset management strategies to drive even more productivity and longevity out of their assets.
Project Delivery Teams
Everyone involved in the design and construction phase of the project collaborates and inputs into a single information delivery plan. Design and construction teams are very clear about:
- The digital information that needs to be generated (as specified by the client).
2. Whose responsibility it is to generate the information.
3. How the information will be generated, i.e,. the information standards, the processes and digital technologies that will be used to generate the information.
4. The digital formats that the information will be presented in to support efficient and safe project delivery, and efficient and safe operations and maintenance.
5. When the information needs to be delivered, so the client and project team can complete their relevant activities on time.
Operations Teams
Operations teams know the as-built information they are going to receive, which will have been captured at the correct level of detail to support efficient and safe operation and maintenance of the built infrastructure.
Visit Six35Consulting.com to learn more about BIM
SUMMARY
- Digital technologies generate huge volumes of digital information.
- Digital information is valuable, and it must be effectively managed.
- BIM is fast becoming the industry standard for managing digital information generated from infrastructure projects.
- BIM is not just about buildings! BIM can be used for any type of infrastructure project and any project where digital information needs to be collected.
- BIM enables effective collaboration between all members of an infrastructure project team, including the client.
- Clients greatly benefit from digital information captured through the BIM framework. They can use the information to create long-term asset management plans to create even more value from their infrastructure projects.
REFERENCES
| 1 | Global Infrastructure Hub Article (published 8 December 2021): Circular Infrastructure: the key to decarbonisation. https://www.gihub.org/articles/circular-infrastructure-the-key-to-decarbonisation/ |
| 2 | Centre for Digital Built Britain: The value of Information Management in the construction and infrastructure sector. cdbb.cam.ac.uk/files/cdbb_econ_value_of_im_report.pdf |
| 3 | BS EN ISO 19650-1 & 2: 2018. Organisation and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including Building Information Modelling (BIM) Information Management using building information modelling (Part 1: Concepts & principles; Part 2: Delivery phase of the assets). |
BIOGRAPHY
Dr Medina Jordan is the Owner and Director of Six35 Consulting.
Six35 Consulting works with clients that own, invest in, or manage physical infrastructure, and aspire to implement the BIM (ISO 19650) framework to generate more value from their infrastructure assets. Six35 Consulting specialises in the process-side of BIM.
I identify and implement the correct processes for your business to effectively manage digital information captured from project activities. I cover the full lifecycle of an infrastructure project: Design > Construction > Operations & Maintenance > Disposal.
Effective information management facilitates maximum return on investment (ROI) from the digital technologies used to collect and store information from your infrastructure projects. Quality digital information can be trusted and used to develop long-term asset management strategies for your built assets, prolonging asset life and increasing asset value.
Visit my website at: www.six35consulting.com
Connect with me on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/medina-jc-jordan