On the 2nd December project managers and environmental specialists from a range of top UK companies attended an informative event about the future of Building Information Modelling (BIM).
The event was hosted by leading ecological consultancy Thomson Ecology and prominent heritage practice Wessex Archaeology, who have been working in partnership to provide a comprehensive set of streamlined specialist services to clients.
The implementation of BIM in public sector development will bring cost efficiencies to projects by ensuring that the data acquired throughout a project is shared effectively. The morning’s session explored the ways in which archaeological and ecological works can integrate with the BIM process.
The workshop included a number of presentations which looked in depth at some of the issues involved. Speakers included David Philp, Head of the BIM UK Task Group, whose remit is to bring expertise from the private sector and government together to strengthen BIM implementation. Matt Blackwell, the Head of BIM for Costain Ltd, gave the views of the private sector on current best practice.
Chris Brayne, Chief Executive of Wessex Archaeology said:
‘We are inspired by the view that BIM is about Better Information Management. By aligning our workflows with BIM concepts, archaeologists and ecologists can make a dynamic contribution to the development process, from the planning stage, through construction and on into the long-term management of the asset.’
Nancy Thomson, CEO of Thomson Ecology, added:
‘BIM is a game-changing concept in building project management. Geo-data relating to ecology, archaeology and in fact other ‘ologies can be brought into this concept with careful co-operation and planning. This workshop is a first step in getting key people together to start this process. The fact that the event was fully booked shows the extent of interest in this subject.’
This event has provided a wide range of professionals with a greater understanding of how ecology and archaeology can fit into their projects and the real benefit and value that comes from this.
