In late 2013, McGraw Hill conducted 435 online surveys with
architects, engineers, contractors, consultants and building owners from across
Australia and New Zealand’s construction industry.
The
Australia and New Zealand SmartMarket Report released on Wednesday
analyses the full range of data received and, in relation to BIM
adoption, the levels of experience and collaboration, expected and estimated
return on investment and likely future importance and adoption rates of BIM in
five years in Australia and New Zealand.
On
reading the report and listening to the speakers at Wednesday’s Consult
Australia Technology Symposium, it is clear that greater sharing of models and
data will provide the best incentive to improve the BIM and engage all project
team members to return the benefits.
What
the client wants
Over
two-thirds of respondents reported that working with team members who have BIM
expertise improves project outcomes and increases quality.
What
we are seeing on the ground is a need to shift the thinking from mandatory BIM
implementation (i.e. the UK model) to best practice design and construction.
The
ANZ SmartMarket Report data also suggests building owners within both
the public and private sectors are likely to have the greatest influence on BIM
adoption.
Clients
will always expect better design and properly coordinated delivery of the
project, on time and within budget. BIM is a tool that assists in delivering
what the client wants. The technology facilitates the improvement in best
practice. The project team should apply BIM because it makes business sense to
do so. It generates savings through efficiencies like the development and
implementation of any new technology or process should.
What
the designer wants
Canada
reports that 89 per cent of contractors ‘always or often’ receive models from
designers. When it comes to expectations in receiving models from designers in
Australia and New Zealand, just nine per cent hold this view. We rank at the
lowest end, well below all other regions. In comparison to the US (44 per
cent), South Korea (50 per cent), Brazil (50 per cent) and the UK (29 per cent)
our real BIM adoption rate falls far short of what we think is happening in
relation to BIM take up and real project collaboration.
According
to the report, over two-thirds of architects and engineers are requesting ‘more
3D Building Product manufacturer-specific content.’ With the groundswell of
take up amongst architects and engineers, the report highlights the need for
this group particularly to demand content that is searchable and that can be
indexed.
When
working closely with designers across a range of large and small project, our
5DQS team at Mitchell Brandtman finds that the greatest benefit to everyone is
reliable data that can be revised quickly and accurately as the design
develops. The technology allows for this. What is critical to the process is
the understanding of the power of this data across the consultancy team and
that everyone is aware of its usefulness up and down the chain of supply.
Inevitable data anomalies are then able to be identified and rectified
collectively and quickly.
What
the contractor wants
According
to McGraw Hill’s report, Australian and New Zealand contractors are more likely
to focus on whole of project team benefits through improved BIM processes.
Contractors rated more highly (in comparison to architects and engineers),
better data integration, functionality and interoperability of the software as
the factors most likely to increase the BIM benefits for users.
Contractors
in Australia and New Zealand also seem to be leading the way in their plans to
invest/upgrade IT infrastructure, expressing high to very high importance for
BIM. More than half of the contractors who responded also plan to invest in
developing collaborative BIM processes, which McGraw Hill reports is outpacing
the average of all other global regions.
What
is also evident from the statistics overall is the role of contractors. The
data supports the view that this group is most likely to be the key drivers of
BIM adoption in Australia and New Zealand in the next few years given their
calls for greater functionality of the software and more clearly defined
deliverables to support BIM.
In
our experience when working with contractors, particularly on large scale
commercial and public sector projects, they are focused on IPD (Integrated
Project Delivery) and VDC (Virtual Design and Construction) as the means to
successfully deliver a project on time and on budget. IPD provides contractors
with a softer way to contract. VDC allows contractors to rehearse the build
which reduces waste and delivers a leaner project more likely to be on time and
within budget.
Contractors
want to de-risk the project through accurate and fast updatable documentation.
All parties participating in BIM achieve this. Efficiency should be the driver
for increased adoption and this is only going to come from greater sharing of
project successes, knowledge sharing of work-arounds and software developments
and full collaboration across the project team from preliminary design through
construction and post construction.
Trades
Take Up Fast
Contractors
are reporting high proficiency use amongst mechanical/sheet metal/plumber trade
contractors in Australia and New Zealand. It is most likely that these trades
can more readily see the immediate financial benefits and process improvements,
particularly where they are moving to greater prefabrication.
Given
that trades make up approximately 83 per cent of costs on a typical building
project, it is expected that BIM will most likely bring about the most
immediate savings and benefits to the subcontractors. This is certainly what we
are seeing on our 5D projects.
Engaging
Non-Users
When
we look more closely at the non-users responses, more than two-thirds believe
their competitors are using BIM but over 40 per cent of them feel that it is at
a low implementation level of less than 15 per cent of projects. The report
points specifically to this being more commonly thought within companies
working domestically only.
By
contrast, all large contractors (revenues of $250 million or more) say their
competitors are using BIM and half of those believe it is at a high
implementation level.
The
most significant benefit that would influence take up for both non-user
contractors and architects/engineers is more accurate construction documents
followed closely by improved communication. What is surprising is that amongst
the early BIM adopters these are both generally considered as immediate and
achievable deliverables when implementing BIM across the project team.
It’s
always about industry Best Practice
The
report makes a strong case for greater education amongst domestically focused
and small companies in Australia and New Zealand yet to adopt BIM or who are
still at a very low level of implementation.
Whilst
the strength of the advocacy of BIM in Australia and the number of
organisations collaborating and conversing on how to improve it is essential,
developing sound business strategy at the individual level to improve ROI is
imperative. This can be achieved through better design and model data
management and is likely to have a greater impact on adoption rates and
encourage best industry practice. Historically this has always remained the greatest
incentive for adoption of any new process or technology.
Whilst
the industry debates the need for a national standard, what may serve us better
is focusing on standardising the elements that can report the ROI coming out of
better design and model integration of 4D and 5D.
We
also need industry-wide education on the best practice benefits of project
collaboration along the supply chain. We know early decisions have a high
ability to influence time and costs. We need to look beyond the issues of where
we should be on the BIM journey and focus efforts on who can influence best
practice at the early stages of design. This may create far greater success in
leveraging BIM’s benefits throughout the design, construction and post
construction phases for those in the project team who choose to adopt.
Source: Sourceable.net
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