HS2 appoints Atkins for BIM role

Atkins has won a four-year contract to provide BIM support to HS2.

The contract will see Atkins provide technical and professional support to the £42bn infrastructure project and will cover the planning and delivery or activities including BIM educational and assessment tools for the supply chain, and working to help drive long-term efficiency and durability into asset management.

The appointment follows a publication by HS2 which showed that UK firms had improved their BIM skills in recent years, the industry still had an inconsistent approach to BIM and would need up-skilling in certain areas to improve client expectations.

HS2 is currently developing an approach together with the BIM Taskforce, to help build digital skills and know-how across thousands of suppliers to the UK’s design, construction and civil engineering industries.

BIM Level 2 – which aims to create a common data environment throughout the supply chain – will be mandated on all major government projects by 2016.

Jon Kerbey, HS2 Director of BIM, said: “I am very pleased that Atkins are on board to help us achieve our vision of delivering a world-class implementation of BIM. HS2 is one of the largest infrastructure projects in Europe and a fantastic opportunity to embed BIM right from day one, delivering real value to the project - and to the industry as a whole.”

Mark Roberts, Director of Atkins, said: “Adoption of BIM will revolutionise programmes like High Speed 2, materially improving delivery efficiency and success, and embedding an approach that looks beyond design and construction into the requirements and benefits for the whole operational life of the railway.”