Productivity Partnership seeks BIM feedback

In its drive to promote greater use of Business Information Modelling (BIM) in New Zealand, the Productivity Partnership collaborated with the BIM Acceleration Committee (a recent offshoot of the National Technical Standards Committee) and BRANZ to develop a set of resources – it is now looking for industry feedback.

These resources include a draft New Zealand BIM Handbook and New Zealand BIM Schedule as well as a brochure, Productivity Benefits of BIM.

“We’d like to receive as much comment as possible on the draft handbook and schedule before they’re finalised for publication,” said Productivity Partnership manager Chris Kane. “They’ve already had significant industry input but are now ready for wider review.”

A key focus for the Partnership this year is to encourage greater uptake of BIM in New Zealand, as the organisation sees it as a sure way of helping to meet the challenge of rising construction demand, while maintaining quality and containing costs.

“Computer modelling of design and construction can remove time and uncertainty from site work. It enables clients to understand what a building will look like before anything is built, so changes can be made at an early stage,” said the Partnership’s construction systems workstream leader and BIM advocate Andrew Reding. “It also allows design optimisation to reduce life-cycle costs, such as long-term maintenance and operating costs.”

The purpose of the Handbook is to:

• Promote the use of BIM throughout the project lifecycle.
• Create a common language for the industry to use.
• Clarify the briefing process for designers and constructors.
• Improve the level of coordination in both design and construction phases.
• Create a clear path for the future development of the industry.

“This is a very practical handbook that takes you through the steps of building with BIM in New Zealand,” said Mr Reding. “We expect that it will be a helpful resource for people right across the industry, including architects, designers, quantity surveyors, engineers and construction companies.”

The Schedule will serve as a template agreement between parties using BIM on a building project.

Feedback is now welcome on the draft BIM Handbook and accompanying BIM Schedule, available at www.buildingvalue.co.nz. Email your comments to info@buildingvalue.co.nz by 31 May.