thinkBIM Leeds – December 2013 Conference

Today was the final thinkBIM conference of the year. Held at the fantastic WSP offices in Leeds it was a fitting way to bring 2013 to a close in terms of UK BIM events (for me at least).

The keynote presentation was from David Philp, Head of BIM at Mace. David is also part of the HM Government core BIM team and he delivered a progress report on how UK industry is performing against the Government BIM strategy.

David started by expanding on the acronym BIM and said what the Government approach is all about is essentially ‘collaborative working in a digital environment’. The 2025 construction strategy published this year was summarised in a single slide looking at the headline targets. These targets are lower costs, faster delivery, lower emissions and improved exports through the government and industry working to the digital strategy. As the construction industry is 6.7% of GDP it is something that is given focus and it offers the opportunity for further growth if the industry can deliver against the strategy.

The UK construction industry in 2025

David also delivered a clear message in terms of education and development opportunities for young people who will seek a career in construction. He gave the example of a young child now purchasing an app on a tablet, designing with digital Lego, ordering the ‘parts’ and then constructing the design. This digital generation will come through into the construction industry and we must now innovate and adapt to meet the digital revolution.

Second to present was Robert Klaschka from Studio Klaschka. Robert looked at open data and the comparison between the software environment around the internet and BIM software. Developing for the internet, pretty much anything is possible and opportunities are there for all - innovation happens at an incredible pace. Due to the open standardised data structures, a (what was) small organisation like Google can create amazing applications and grow into one of the biggest organisations in the world. This is possible due to the open platform. Robert asked if the same can be said of construction software?

Two inspirational quotes from Tim Berners-Lee were used:

• “Customers need to be given control of their own data – not being tied into a certain manufacturer so that when there are problems they are always obliged to go back to them”
• “Data is a precious thing and will last longer than the systems themselves”

Robert also talked about the pace of technology advancements. For example, who would have thought that when taking photographs on their digital camera ten years ago that ten years later there would be software that digitally arranged those photographs based on face recognition technology?

Big data

Following Robert, there were a number of round-table discussion sessions that the delegates could choose to participate in.  These were:

• Ben Wallbank – ‘The responsible client’
• Me – ‘The new RIBA Plan of Work 2013 Toolbox’
• Adrian Malone – ‘Putting BIM to work – lessons learned from live projects’
• Gillian Smith – ‘Developing intelligent objects for the market’
• David Philp – ‘Digital collaborative working aids better supply chain efficiency and added client value’
• Robert Klaschka – ‘How data management is key to any design organisation’

An overview of the subject behind my round-table is at the link below:
- http://www.thenbs.com/topics/DesignSpecification/articles/the-riba-plan-of-work-2013-toolbox.asp
The associated RIBA Plan of Work guidance publication is at:
- http://www.ribabookshops.com/item/assembling-a-collaborative-project-team-practical-tools-including-multidisciplinary-schedules-of-services/80461/

When talking about the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 Toolbox there were many ideas as to how this could be taken onto the web as a digital application working off structured databases. The sort of questions and suggestions asked where as follows:

• Could the project roles and schedules of services feed into professional agreement documents?
• Could the design responsibility matrix also note those team members that were to be consulted in addition to those being given responsibility? (Sort of a RACI matrix for construction)
• Where aspects of the templates are not required on a project, could they strike out to see that an active decision had been taken?
• Could a permissions model be provided so that the project team members could write to and read from their relevant areas?
• Could the design items be grouped into work packages for projects where the contractor design manager comes on board?
• Could worked examples and suggested templates be provided for different sectors?

However, most of the discussion was around the level of detail/development/information for the design items and how this should be agreed and delivered. This was no surprise as it seems to be the hot topic of conversation at the moment in the BIM world. The UK seems to be a little behind the likes of USA and Australia on this (see my BIM and LOD blog post). So in preparation for this I had prepared some sketch proposals as to how LOD definitions and associated guidance could work together to provide the industry with a robust template.

Do we need LOD reference guidance for the UK?

The sketch above would have a definition that could be placed in the design responsibility matrix against an item at a particular stage. Then the project team could refer to the associated guidance to see precisely what this definition meant in terms of level of geometric information and specification information.
National BIM Library objects could potentially be used to develop the geometry guidelines and the NBS Create specification system could be the template for the key property sets and information.
This idea seemed to be warmly received, but at NBS we’ll have to do further user testing before progressing further.

The final part of the conference was the Pecha Kucha sessions and we had Rob Jackson, Paul Coates, Paul Wilkinson, Mark Stodgell and Peter Morton presenting. Pecha Kucha is exactly twenty Powerpoint Slides each progressing after twenty seconds.

First up was Rob Jackson from Bond Bryan Sheffield presenting from Las Vegas Nevada via Skype. Rob was at the Autodesk University conference – which admittedly  is (probably) not as glamorous as Leeds, but he didn’t seem overly sad not to be at thinkBIM.

Some pictures below from the Pecha Kuchas…

It's work, work, work for the guys in Las Vegas

Paul from InfraProject looks at the BIM ROI

Paul looks back at 1987

Mark from BIM Academy and the 'Information Manager' hat

BIMCampus - have placed 13 out of their first set of 15 students in jobs

Finally, the Leeds Brewery had provided a keg of beer again – so it was nice to finish the day with a couple of beers before getting on the train back to Durham again.

Well done to Claire and all of the thinkBIM team for another set of superb events throughout the year.

I recognise this WSP project

R Klaschka, not only a fan of the 'internet guy', but also the RIBA Plan of Work 2013 publications

thinkBIM - RIBA Plan of Work 2013 Toolbox

I'm looking forward to chairing another thinkBIM half-day conference in Leeds on Wednesday (4th December).

- http://ckehub.org/events/94 (there may be some remaining tickets left)

The line-up is tremendous as usual with contributors including Dave Philp from UK Government, Robert Klaschka from Studio Klaschka, Ben Wallbank openBIM, Adrian Malone Faithful+Gould amongst others.

I am running one of the round tables too - the overview of this is below. If anyone would like to comment on the questions that cannot attend the event - please feel free to comment below.

Overview for Round Table:
The new RIBA Plan of Work 2013 is now aligned with the unified UK construction industry stages agreed through the CIC. It also has a framework for the agreed information exchanges that are required on collaborative BIM projects.

This round table looks at the key tasks required to prepare for a successful BIM project including defining Project Roles, Design Responsibility and Schedule of Services.

Questions for Round Table:

• Is the new RIBA Plan of Work 2013 and the associated guidance and tools a good framework for collaborative BIM projects?
• How could the existing ‘Toolbox’ be enhanced with respect to BIM?
• What existing tools and processes do the members of the round table have in place within their practices?
• What additional guidance and tools are required to give the industry the support it needs with respect to BIM?

The National BIM Survey 2014 - Now open

The NBS National BIM Survey is now in its 4th year. Please take the time to answer the questions and help us pull together a fantastic report that gives a glimpse into where BIM is at now.

- http://www.thenbs.com/corporate/nbsNews/13-11_bimSurvey.asp

Also, if possible, please share the link in your organisation - we want as large a sample size as possible - everyone from those who think "BIM is just a fad. a marketing term used to sell software" all of the way through to those that have the three letters "B", "I", "M" tattooed on their chest. :)

All of the reports from the last three years are available to download for free from our website (links below). I've also included the fantastic infographic that our design team put together as a summary of the 2013 report. Click on any of the images below for these downloads.

National BIM Report 2013 - Infographic

So the survey link is - http://www.thenbs.com/corporate/nbsNews/13-11_bimSurvey.asp - thanks to everyone who spreads the word internally in their organisation or externally through twitter/linkedin/newsletters etc...

Computer Construction Awards 2013 - Team of the Year to NBS

Last night we won our first ever Construction Computing Award.

There was something a little bit special about this particular award as it was for our Research and Development team back at the office in Newcastle that I have been a part of since 1999.

CCA "Hammer" Team of the Year award celebrated by plenty of NBS on stage

The award ceremony last night was a fantastic evening. We didn’t invite any clients for this particular evening and just used it as a “thank you” to 10 or 11 of our colleagues for their hard work over recent years on our digital products. In the photograph above are boys and girls from our customer centre, HR, software development, QA, sales teams etc…

The NBS R+D Team itself is broken down into smaller teams of which I do my best to look after Interface Design, QA, Beta Testing and NBS Labs. Also photographed above is my colleague John Henderson who looks after the software development teams. Not at the event was our exec-director boss Richard Watson - but he monitored the good news closely on twitter as it unfolded.

The award

...and also to say, a big "well done" also to our #bimGeordie friends from kykloud (North Shields) and 4projects (Sunderland) on winning awards on the night too - great stuff. ...and thanks also to Pam for inviting me onto the Autodesk table as a guest - originally I wasn't attending the night so that was very much appreciated.

Update - thanks for all of the "likes" on linkedin!

And the official photograph...

Everyone all dressed up

Original "before the event" post below...

This evening is the Computer Computing Awards 2013 (The Hammers).

At NBS we are up for 5 awards. Fingers crossed we win at least one. If you are there - please come over and say hello.

1. One to Watch Company (NBS)
2. Team of the Year (NBS R+D Team)
3. BIM Product of the Year (NBS National BIM Library)
4. Product of the Year (NBS Create)
5. Company of the Year (NBS)

So far this year, our record at award ceremonies is:

1. Building Award - 1 nomination
2. CN Awards - 2 nominations - won both
3. Construction Excellence - award to team for BuildQatarLive
4. BE2Awards - 3 nominations - won one
5. CC Awards - 5 nominations - won team of the year!

Finchale Priory to Durham - Fantastic Cycle or Walking route

The powers that be at Durham have just re-surfaced the Brasside-to-Durham cycle path. A massive 'well-done' to whoever made this happen!

This puts the 7km from Finchale Priory to Durham Cathedral as a really top class UK walk (or short cycle).

Google Maps for Finchale Priory

View Larger Map

I'd advise parking at Finchale Priory if you have the car. If you arrive by train - then start at Durham and work your way up the opposite way. Some photographs below:

The 12th century Finchale Priory 

From the road from Finchale to Brasside you'll see the abandoned Brasside bunkers

Hidden away behind Frankland Prison a lake in the nature reserve

A little further off the beaten path is the grade 2 listed abandoned Belmont Viaduct

The majority of the route is on this fantastically re-surfaced cycle path

The view of the Wear and Cathedral from the grade 1 listed Prebends Bridge

And the 'not-too-shabby' Cathedral awaits -
compared in the same conversations as Prague and Avignon amongst Europe's finest

The NBS "What is BIM?" video being used around the world

Almost once a month I'll get an email from someone that saying they love the NBS "What is BIM?" video. This is especially nice when it is from overseas. Last week I got an email from a Ben Fox from Melbourne Australia who had embedded the video in one of his presentations to students. The original video is below and so is a video of Ben's lecture:

Original video...

And skip to 16:30 below to see the same video within Ben's lecture...

As always, a big shout out to Soluis and HOK London (Dave/Cara) for working with us on the fantastic video.

To download quality, free-to-use, BIM objects please see - http://www.nationalbimlibrary.com/

To embed our video, please credit us "This is a 'What is BIM?' video from the NBS National BIM Library" and show the video in its entirety.

NBS and Bentley AECOsim Building Designer Keynote Tools

Marc Thomas

A nice blog post below from Bentley's Marc Thomas. Marc is an Architect who has used Bentley tools since 1992. Earlier this year he joined the Bentley Technical Support Team specialising in AECOsim Building Designer.

The web link to Marc's post is below. I also pinch a few screenshots for this blog post.
http://communities.bentley.com/other/old_site_member_blogs/peer_blogs/b/marc_thomass_blog/archive/2013/10/24/aecosim-building-designer-keynote-tools.aspx

Select the keynote that is taken from the specification export

Format the annotation on the drawing generated from the model

NBS Create, NBS Building and NBS Scheduler all export to a file format suitable for keynoting in Bentley AECOsim Building Designer.

NBS Live - List of speakers now announced

The list of 80 expert speakers at our RIBA accredited double CPD points conference NBS Live is now published.

Delegate spaces can be booked for this event now at the URL http://www.thenbs.com/NBS-Live/

Peter Hansford

The conference's keynote speaker is Peter Hansford, Chief Construction Advisor to UK Government. This is an excellent opportunity to hear Peter's thoughts on where the construction industry stands today and the key challenges facing it.

The conference then splits into four main streams, delegates can choose a single stream or jump between seminars to get a flavour of many different topics. I am involved in running the BIM Room, more on that later - but first the other rooms.

1. The Design Room
The opening session looks at design, but beyond buildings, and in particular public space and interconnected communities. This session has speakers from Accenture, Argent and Farrells.

Brendan Kilpatrick

Following this there is a session on balancing cost management and design - how to get maximum value without compromising quality. Senior members of Gleeds, Faithful and Gould and Pascal and Watson will all present.

After lunch there are sessions on Housing with speakers from PRP Architects and Levitt Bernstein and then modern methods of construction and contemporary procurement with Edge Structures.

2. The Business and Practice Room
A chance to look at your practice from a business point of view. The first session is on winning work and

Rob Manning

communicating to clients. Speakers are from MarketingWorks and 3D Reid. This is followed by looking further than just the UK with a session on how to operate overseas. Speakers from Jones Lang LaSalle and AECOM discuss these opportunities.

In the afternoon BIS, BAM, Hoare Lea and Dyer take a practical look at the new RIBA Plan of Work 2013. Dale Sinclair the author of the new plan of work and associated documentation leads this session.

3. The Technical Room
The first session looks at what Part L means for design. We are delighted to have Ken Yeang, the founder of

Ken Yeang

Ken Yeang Design International as one of the main speakers for this session. Following this speakers from Bauman Lyons and Argent LLP will discuss the four "r's" Reuse, Refurb, Recycle and Retrofit.

Mott MacDonald and Aedas will then look at post-occupancy evaluation studies and evidence based design before the future of green buildings will be analysed by bere, John Robertson Architects and the Technology Strategy Board.

4. The BIM Room
...and last, but not least is the "BIM Room" - I've been going to many BIM conferences over the last 4-5 years, and I am confident to say that we have an amazing line up of speakers here from the world of BIM...

Session 1 - BIM for beginners

Casey Rutland

A selection of industry experts who know how to explain BIM to those new to the process...

• Steve Race - BIM regional ambassador for CIC and author of BIM Demystified
• Paul Woddy - White Frog and also one of the original Revit team from before Autodesk
• Casey Rutland - Associate Director Arup Associates
• Sarah Davidson - R+D Director at Gleeds and chair of East Midlands BIM Hub

Session 2 - BIM and sustainability

Elrond Burell

When it comes to BIM and Passivhaus, I have seen Elrond and James both present over the last couple of years and they have some excellent case studies to support their knowledge...

• Elrond Burrell - Associate at Architype
• James Anwyl - Director at Eurobuild

Session 3 - BIM in action

Malcolm Taylor

Case studies from notable projects - a chance to listen and question those involved...

• Matt Blackwell - Head of BIM, Costain
• Malcolm Taylor - Head of Technical Info, Crossrail
• Tahir Ahmad - BIM Specialist, Crossrail
• Chris Brown - Digital Engineer, Laing O'Rourke

Session 4 - BIM and the Government

Mervyn Richards

A fantastic selection from the people delivering the current Government and defining the plan to 2025.

• Dave Philp - Head of BIM at Mace Group and Head of Government BIM Implementation
• Neil Thompson - Principle BIM Integrator Balfour Beatty
• Nick Nisbet - buildingSMART international expert - one of the team that defined COBie
• Rachael Park - Cost Consultant Mace and BIM 2050 group member
• Tom Loader - BIM Director Balfour Beatty
• Mervyn Richards - Main author of BS 1192:2007 and PAS 1192-2 - the standards that define the BIM process

...and in addition to all of this, NBS experts from key topic areas such as sustainability, contracts and law, building regulations and BIM will all be present to facilitate with the discussions and help run the sessions.

So if you want a fantastic day of learning and a chance to network with a number of though-leaders in UK construction then book your ticket at the website below:
- http://www.thenbs.com/NBS-Live/