Submitted by Angela Walters on Wed, 17/03/2021 - 12:00
More than 2,000 public sector representatives and funders from around 100 countries across the world will join together today to launch a new Global BIM Network for the public sector.
Today’s Global BIM Summit, convened by the Centre for Digital Built Britain, signals the official launch of the Global BIM Network. Building on a foundation of existing successful collaborations the new international community aims to respond to today’s global infrastructure challenges and realise the benefits of digital delivered by BIM through public policy, procurement and projects.
Supported by the Construction Innovation Hub and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the Global BIM Network aims to connect international public sector representatives, multi-lateral organisations and infrastructure funders to advance the digitalization of the global built environment. The Network will build on its members’ transformation journeys to transition towards a digital built environment that delivers socio-economic benefits for people and places.
Digital transformation is a critical enabler for the public sector, which manages public expenditure on community services, utilities and infrastructure. The benefit of digital is not limited to new construction projects; it comprises refurbishment of aged infrastructure and goes beyond the construction stage to include operation and maintenance, enabling the information management for digital twins and smarter cities.
The Global BIM Network is the natural development of international collaborations between governments and multilateral organisations on the digitalization agenda in the construction sector and built environment. The Network will connect members working on similar developments in different parts of the world with similar challenges to share insights, resources and lessons learned.
UK Construction Minister Rt Hon Anne-Marie Trevelyan MP said:
“The digitalisation of construction will create better, more resilient infrastructure, while minimising the impacts of climate change. This requires close collaboration between governments and industry, and the launch of the Global BIM Network is a vital next step. By bringing together policymakers from across the globe, the Network is committed to addressing the digital capability of the public sector in creating infrastructure that supports our ambition to build back greener and improve prosperity for all people and places.”
Lakisha Ann Woods, Chief Executive Officer of the US National Institute of Building Sciences said:
“The construction industry is historically siloed, having to develop individually, what is essentially needed by all is inefficient. While states and organisations have different practices and systems, the components of building an infrastructure are essentially the same. If we can use common processes and information structures, we can create and share them together. The same can apply globally to allow for shared expertise.”
Gonzalo Rivas, Chief of the Competitiveness, Technology and Innovation Division at the Inter-American Development Bank said:
“We believe that the most important thing is to level out the digital playing field, in such a way that all countries can begin to take part gradually, with bigger and bigger benefits for the digitalisation of construction. And we know that BIM is the first and big step in this direction.”
Adam Matthews, Chair of the Global BIM Network said:
“The Global BIM Network is really about bringing everybody together. It's not about any one individual country, or any one particular region. It's about bringing all of our learnings together and creating better outcomes for people and places. It is a collective, global view that benefits the public sector, the private sector, and a view that ultimately will improve the outcomes for the global built environment.”
The Global BIM Network will also guide the ongoing development of the Global BIM platform, an open-access online repository for the global public sector and infrastructure funders seeking guidance, documentation, protocols, operational manuals, evidence, tools, training materials and other resources to facilitate the strategic introduction of BIM worldwide. It is open to anyone with an interest in growing the benefits from the structured use of BIM as part of the larger digital transformation of the construction sector. Members of the Global BIM Network will share knowledge and build best practice for the global public sector’s use of digital innovation.
Organisations and individuals who would like to join the Network can express their interest on the Global BIM Platform at www.globalBIM.org.
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Notes for editors
Definitions
BIM – Building Information Modelling (BIM) is the “use of a shared digital representation of a built asset to facilitate design, construction and operation processes to form a reliable basis for decisions” (BS EN ISO 19650-1:2018).
BIM facilitates early supply chain and operational team involvement. Furthermore, it unlocks more efficient and transparent ways of planning, designing, creating and maintaining built assets, whether buildings or infrastructure, over their whole lifecycle.
About CDBB
CDBB (Centre for Digital Built Britain) is a partnership between the UK Government's Department for Business, Energy & Industrial Strategy and the University of Cambridge. It is also a partner in the Construction Innovation Hub. CDBB seeks to understand how the construction and infrastructure sectors could use a digital approach to better design, build, operate, integrate the built environment. A digital built Britain will:
- understand what information is needed to enable better through life economic, social and environmental value from our built environment;
- champion human-centric design of infrastructure and the services they deliver;
- exploit new and emerging digital construction and manufacturing skills and technology to reduce costs and increase productivity;
- grow new career, business and export opportunities for the UK.
For more information, visit www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk
About the Foreign, Commonwealth & Development Office (FCDO)
The FCDO pursues our national interests and projects the UK as a force for good in the world. We promote the interests of British citizens, safeguard the UK’s security, defend our values, reduce poverty and tackle global challenges with our international partners.
About the Construction Innovation Hub
The Construction Innovation Hub’s vision is a world where our built environment improves quality of life, delivers greater social value, reduces environmental impact and is delivered by a world-leading, innovative and sustainable industry.
The Hub is developing solutions that will help drive the transformation of the sector. We are pioneering ways in which buildings and infrastructure are procured, designed, delivered and operated to deliver market-ready products and processes that will shape our future built environment, ensuring safety, quality and value.
This collective innovation will drive adoption of manufacturing-led approaches to construction, digital tools and secure, connected data that support sector growth and open export opportunities, accelerating recovery and the transformation to a future-ready sector.