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Digital Construction
BIM adoption continues in the Republic of Ireland
Justin Stanton Editor, CM Digital
The Samuel Beckett Bridge in Dublin. Image: Matthi | Dreamstime.com
Faster clash resolution, improved collaboration between project teams and improved accuracy are the top three benefits from adopting BIM reported by public sector construction clients and industry in the Republic of Ireland.
The latest annual survey from Build Digital reveals that digital transformation is providing faster resolution of design clashes and improved collaboration for more than half of the 205 respondents.
Nearly half cited improved accuracy, while about a third reported risk reduction and better access to information.
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It’s worth noting that the three most popular benefits were expected by the vast majority of respondents. However, the single most popular expected benefit of digital transformation – cost reduction – did not appear among the top five benefits achieved.
Two-thirds of respondents have experience with multiple digital deliverables, using digital tools and methods to produce three or more types of deliverables in their projects.
The most common BIM uses, cited by more than half of the respondents, were: capturing and representing physical spaces and environments; conceptualisation, planning or design of assets; and simulations and model-based estimates.
Intriguingly, less than a fifth reported experience of using AI to generate, populate or extract BIM data.
Digital maturity
Digital maturity assessments are more common than assessments of employee digital competence. The main topics covered are project delivery, information management, and internal business processes, while employee competence assessments focus more on information management, BIM authoring and common data environments (CDEs).
More than two-thirds use CDEs, and more than a third use openBIM. CDEs are not only more widely adopted than OpenBIM, but also used more intensively, with most organisations applying them in the majority of projects. OpenBIM use is less intensive, with many organisations reporting that it is applied in a limited share of projects.
Half of the respondents have received no formal training in digital tools and methods specific to the construction and built environment sector. But more than three-quarters expressed a desire to receive such training.
BIM in contracts
Led by private-sector respondents, close to two-thirds report experience with contracts specifying openBIM requirements. Around half report experience with contracts specifying BIM in accordance with the 19650 standards suite.
A substantial share of respondents report being likely to recommend BIM adoption in accordance with 19650. The most frequently reported challenges relate to partners’ digital capability, training in specified tools and methods, and contract delivery support, while specific issues most often concern insufficient contract instructions and non-standard terminology.
More than two-thirds of private-sector respondents report being aware (or partially aware) of the core BIM requirements within the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF), the Irish government’s set of guidelines and tools for the procurement and delivery of public sector assets.
The data indicates that the CWMF BIM requirements are being implemented to varying degrees among participants’ organisations. Almost half of the organisations have partially implemented the framework, with compliance primarily aligned with 19650 and Uniclass. The majority of organisations yet to implement CWMF BIM requirements expressed a willingness to adopt the framework within the next six months.
More than half of the respondents report behavioural changes where BIM is adopted, specifically improved communication, greater transparency and willingness to share information.
