Alistair Kell
The world of Building Information Modelling (BIM) uses a language that those outside it struggle to understand and needs to change to drive adoption of the technology.
That’s according to several experts speaking at the Consrtruction Manager/BIM+ Construction Digital Summit in London on 15 May, who highlighted how the terms BIM is described in are often virtually impenetrable to those not familiar with them.
Alistair Kell, principal at BDP and head of information technology and process, said: “Something has to change. We are at a point where the technology is being adopted by a new generation and they adopt it well. This language is all they know.
“Those of us who are older have been brought up in a very different world and we need to figure how these worlds come together and move forward. Without that, our clients start scratching their heads when we start talking about EIR and AIR.”
Richard Saxon, associate director of Deploi BIM Strategies, urged the industry to avoid jargon. “You don’t need any of that new stuff. It only confuses,” he remarked.
And Alex Lubbock, head of digital construction at the Infrastructure & Projects Authority, added: “We still have to explain to people what ‘BIM’ is as a word and that is a problem.”
Lubbock advocated the use of the term “digital” instead. He said: “The maturity of the UK is that we have moved across to start talking about digital. This is a Digital Construction Summit, not a BIM summit. Digital is synonymous with productivity. We don’t question digital because it is all around us.”
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it is not just the acronyms it is the cobweb of other connections required to complete
Changing acronyms in the construction industry often causes more confusion than if we just left it alone. Having said that I don’t necessarily disagree with the need to avoid jargon I do think it should have been thought through more carefully from the outset almost 15 years ago.
Again another throwaway comment about the “older” generation. I should remind you that many of us pioneered the processes that eventually led to the development of a formal BS for BIM processes. That many of us have witnessed more radical changes to design and construction; from manual to digital; than the current generation ever will. The ability to adapt and change is second nature to us older folks.