NBS National BIM Report 2018

One of the best parts of the job is working with our NBS Research team each year to produce the NBS National BIM Report.
- thenbs.com/knowledge/the-national-bim-report-2018

It's always fascinating to see the opinions from hundreds of construction professionals on the subject of BIM. It is also really interesting to compare opinions across the data set we have built up over eight years now.

The first thing to say about this year's report is that the adoption rates are most definitely not showing any signs of slowing down. Whether you look at the 'self claim' against the question around BIM adoption, or the usage statistics of the standards associated with BIM, the figures rise each year.

BIM Adoption over the years

Standard usage

When asked about the UK Government strategy and its success. The respondents are very supportive of the strategy, but believe that more now needs to be done to embed BIM Level 2 in industry. Personally speaking, I think this initiative has been a fantastic success and something to be very proud of - yes, it may not be as embedded in industry as it could be - but that could be looked on as a very 'glass half empty' view point.

Again, on a personal note, it's slightly disappointing to see that BIM isn't yet really delivering on one of the original objectives of creating an industry that has a lower environmental impact. Back in 2011, embodied carbon, recycled content and energy use were very high on the agenda - but we must ask, have the industry really delivered against expectations here?

Assessment against Government objectives

It is very pleasing to see that attitudes seem to be changing with respect to BIM technology being more than just 3D design and coordination tools. Usage of common data environments to manage data and information is happening on at least some projects for 2/3rds of the industry now. It's also great to see some very good competition in this field - the more competition then the better functionality we'll see in future years and the better interoperability.

Another statistic on the technology side is that 8 out 10 respondents are coordinating models and specifications on at least some projects. Clearly only a percentage of the information on a project lives in the 3D model - a big percentage is in data sources that should be coordinated with the 3D model.

Lots of healthy competition in the CDE world

Don't forget about the information in specifications!

One final observation was around BIM objects. There have been endless debates in BIM community about whether generic or manufacturer BIM objects should be used. The answers are pretty conclusive here. The industry wants both!

Early in the design process, it would be expected that more generic objects are used. As the design firms up, the majority of users appreciate the trend for more and more manufacturers to be providing quality BIM objects.

Can we have standardised generic and manufacturer objects please?

As always, we have a great selection of expert articles within the report too. I'll do a second blog post on these. But I've just covered a small section of the results in this post - please download the report yourself and form your own opinions:

- thenbs.com/knowledge/the-national-bim-report-2018