Why do we make BIM so complicated?

Have you ever met a man that swallowed PAS 1192:2:2013 whole, there are a few of them, I promise. Or a man who swallowed PAS 1192:2:2013 and then regurgitated his own version, “we just tweaked it”? (Don’t you love that term?).

When you design, you design with flair, passion and heart, to achieve your objectives. Then you check it against a code of practice, the standard should not drive the process. Why is BIM not the same?

There are less than 365 days till the public sector is mandated to function at maturity Level 2 and already we can see the emergence of certification systems

Consider the world of the private sector, which is now driving BIM hard and fast, focusing on adding value. This is a world that is clear cut, either BIM adds value or it does not, the PAS swallowers stand out like sore thumbs.

Don’t get me wrong I applaud the development of the PAS suite and I cannot wait for DPoW, yes I’ve read them, I just didn’t swallow them. But the fact is that if you deploy dogma on a project you will slow the process down, add cost and probably miss the wood for the trees.

So it’s complicated because it is new and we have not learned to handle it. In the beginning the promoters are not practitioners and over complicate with one-size fits all, quickly followed by the opportunists who live in the confusion. That’s ok we’ll out-stay them.

There are less than 365 days till the public sector is mandated to function at maturity Level 2 and already we can see the emergence of certification systems. Can I dare to suggest that a single organisation cannot declare itself as being Level 2 compliant, as this implies that every project, every activity and those of the organisations it liaises with are also compliant. This is not the case, at best you can be Level 2 ready. It is the projects or developments that should be considered as Level 2, not the suppliers.

Level 2 will come and go, so let’s work together to deliver value through projects, taking a holistic approach to the delivery of assets and consequently developing an integrated approach.

Frank McLeod is UK head of project technology for WSP