Earlier in the year, Autodesk signed a memorandum of understanding with Schneider Electric. The aim was described in their press release as “to collaborate to enhance current practices for building lifecycle management based on building information modelling”.
The mainstay of Schneider’s business is as an energy consultant. So how can BIM help with energy consumption and what contractual issues does this raise?
First, there is informed decision-making. The “I” in BIM is paramount to making better long-term value-for-money choices, and the more that software can make the effect of construction choices on long-term use, the more valuable it will be. Expertise provided by energy consultants might have disproportionate cost impacts over the life of an asset.
Second, a fully integrated design that has included energy consumption analysis might close the gap between output-based specifications and input/process specifications. Output specifications focus on the built asset, rather than the inputs and construction processes required to achieve this. Essentially, they define what is to be delivered, but not how it will be delivered.
A contractor’s risk in signing up to contractual commitments to comply with output specifications in relation to energy consumption again carries a high level of long-term risk. There is therefore a gap between the risk and reward of signing up to an output specification in relation to energy consumption.
That gap might be closed by a fully integrated BIM model lowering the risk of failing to hit output targets. But a model with information about energy consumption encourages two ways in which risk and reward can be more closely related.
The BIM model should give a clear basis for a performance monitoring regime. For example, the most important elements of the model might be subject to specific monitoring and be directly related to a contractual mechanism for liquidated damages or payment incentivisation. A clear model should assist in ensuring these measures are sufficiently clear to be objectively measured.
Ultimately, risk and reward will most closely be aligned if the contractor (either itself or with a facilities manager) takes responsibility for the operation phase. Investment in a BIM model that assists in energy consumption judgements and monitoring will be worthwhile to a contractor that takes long-term responsibility for the asset. In that way, the BIM model is not just a tool to monitor performance but also to actively manage outputs.
Assad Maqbool is a partner at Trowers & Hamlins specialising in projects and construction
