Submitted by Angela Walters on Thu, 04/06/2020 - 11:31
It’s undeniably been a difficult time for most lately, with our relevant sectors being particularly hard hit, and consequently left more vulnerable. However, I remain encouraged and inspired by the energy currently being demonstrated not just to rebuild what’s been broken, but to use this crisis as an opportunity to implement positive change in the ways of working – creating resilience for the future and also improving the impact on the environment and health and wellness of society.
Flourishing Systems
As many of you will already be aware, the mission of the CDBB is to develop and demonstrate policy and practical insights that will enable the exploitation of new and emerging technologies, data and analytics to enhance the natural and built environment, thereby driving up commercial competitiveness and productivity, as well as citizen quality of life and well-being. This mission was fluently represented in the recent Flourishing Systems paper published on the 14 May. The paper has been incredibly well received and seems to have struck a particular chord with audiences at this time. It’s no wonder that under the current circumstances our collective attention is drawn to look at how we can create stability, reliability and resilience within the infrastructure we’ve become increasingly reliant upon in recent months. The ‘system of systems’ thinking outlined in the Flourishing Systems paper not only helps to create resilience for the future, but also allows us to use our infrastructure for the public good, helping create positive outcomes for the economy, the environment and society as a whole – the very bedrock of CDBB’s mission.
BIM Interoperability
I’d like to take the opportunity to thank those who took part in the recent BIM Interoperability consultation. Collaboration is the foundation of the vast majority of work we do here at CDBB, therefore we appreciate the valuable input of everyone who feeds into what we do. There will be further publications from this group later in the year and we will keep you posted on the progress.
Pathways to the Information Management Landscape
Following on from the Flourishing Systems paper, we’ve also recently published a report outlining the proposed approach for creating the Information Management Framework by which national, and ultimately global digital twins will operate.
Authored by Matthew West and James Hetherington, the Pathway towards an Information Management Framework report is aimed at a technical audience keen to help develop the Gemini Principles to deliver genuine public good via a National Digital Twin and is the culmination of over a year’s consultation with a wide variety of experts.
In addition to this report, we have also published 'The approach to delivering a National Digital Twin for the United Kingdom', which outlines the National Digital Twin Programme’s progress to date, while looking ahead to the development of the Information Management Framework.
The open consultation on the pathway report is now live and we invite those who would like to help define the national standards for this truly unique concept to provide feedback.
Roadmap to Recovery
This week sees the launch of the strategic Construction Roadmap to Recovery Plan from the Construction Leadership Council’s (CLC) COVID-19 Task Force. The CLC has delivered comprehensive proposals designed to drive the recovery of the construction and built environment sectors following the COVID-19 crisis.
In alignment with both our own mission, and that of our role as a core partner of the Construction Innovation Hub, we strongly support the CLC’s efforts – in particular the adoption of digital technologies and processes that we believe is key to providing a more resilient future for the industry.
Finally, I wish to take a moment to thank all of our colleagues, partners, and collaborators for their incredible work over the past few months. As I mentioned earlier, it has not been an easy time for most, however the work that we are doing has never felt more relevant, or essential, and I’m reassured that if we continue on our path together we will help create a more positive and resilient future for the UK’s built environment. Thank you.