The development of the digital construction environment, Government and client drives for the implementation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) is only the start of fundamental change within in our industry.
This change provides the opportunity develop our understanding of whole life performance in the built environment and use it to inform and develop future solutions, making BIM integral to our ability to deliver our sustainable built assets. BIM enables manufacturers to provide robust and accurate information in a quick, consistent and collaborative manner, that can inform design decisions like never before.
Fundamental performance data, traditionally shared manually, can be embedded into smart objects or data sheets. These can be further enhanced with additional information on sustainability, scheduling, maintenance requirements and end of life opportunities, allowing early decisions to be taken with confidence that will not have detrimental effects later in life.
As a business we are exploring how we can provide solutions that can facilitate the delivery of a sustainable built environment, not just at product level but in construction and in use.
The Government’s 2016 BIM mandate has been a key driver for the industry to develop their approach to BIM and at the time of its launch in 2011 it presented a significant challenge for the industry to respond to. For manufacturers the challenge was to develop an approach to support its implementation and a method to supply accurate product information to projects. For more information on how we can support your project with our product information see our object library or data pages
Collaboration
BIM will see a change in how the construction industry operates and how organisations work together with collaboration being fundamental to delivering success. To support this we have been actively engaging with our customers to understand their requirements and how we can assist in their development of BIM. Across our own industry and the wider construction product manufacturing sector we are engaged and support discussions and activities to develop the route forward manufacturers. We are an active member of BIM for Manufacturers and Manufacturing (BIM4M2), initially formed by the Construction Products Association (CPA) it now operates independently and has a clear vision:
“For the UK construction product manufacturing sector to be recognised as a world leader in the integration of BIM and manufacturing technologies to supply the products and solutions for a sustainable built environment.”
It is the leading forum for manufacturers to share knowledge and develop a world leading approach for the integration of BIM and manufacturing. Within our sector we are a member of the Mineral Product Association’s BIM Working Group which is focused on creating a collaborative and consistent approach to BIM to facilitate the incorporation of our products and solutions.
