BS8536-1:2015 Briefing for Design and Construction: Code of practice for facilities management was published in July and available from August. As well as updating the 2010 standard to take into account operational requirements from the design and construction phase through to “soft landing”, this new standard aligns with the information requirements in PAS1192 and BS1192 and assumes the use of Level 2 BIM.
The BS document states that the aims in updating are to “complement and strengthen briefing practices and procedures” by promoting early involvement of the operator or FM team, and extending the commitment of the design and construction team to ensure operational implications have been properly incorporated.
The BS acts as a useful signpost to the FM angle of BIM. It also gives a clear steer as to the requirements that should be set out in the design and construction contracts and the asset management contracts that deal with their interaction.
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As an example, as part of the aim to ensure that the project should take into account the operational requirements of the end user, the BS requires that a plan of work is produced to co-ordinate the deliverables of all contributors and the decisions required at each work stage. For the first time, the BS specifically cites the NBS toolkit as a means of developing an appropriate digital plan.
Equally, the BS generally requires that the employer’s information requirements (EIRs) set out the information to be delivered, and the standards and processes to be adopted by the design and construction team.
As one would expect in the context of BIM, the BS cites the need for a common data environment (CDE) and the need to define a means and format for information exchange (and mentions COBie as an option). And, interestingly, the BS states that “creation and management of a project-specific building information model in particular should be seen in the wider context of the owner’s information management system”.
It sounds like a straightforward point, but one which should not be underestimated in the procurement of individual projects. There is a simplicity in the notion of early involvement of the end operators in the forward planning for a construction project. Rather than looking narrowly at the project, the requirements must reflect the overall practice and infrastructure of the client.
The importance of the revisions to the BS is the focus on the greater overall value that might be achieved by an integrated view of construction and operation. That includes integration with an overall asset management strategy.
By Assad Maqbool, partner at Trowers & Hamlins specialising in projects and construction
