The Future of BIM: Digital transformation in the UK in construction

There is no doubt that COVID-19 has accelerated the pace of digitalisation in the construction and infrastructure sector.

The industry is now on the verge of the fourth industrial revolution: digitalisation is having a profound impact on the work itself, the way the industry works together, and it will drastically affect surveyors’ abilities to progress innovation and create better places and spaces for future generations. Building information modeling (BIM) and the accompanying use of a common data environment (CDE) form the bedrock of this transformation.

As clients increasingly look to technology for solutions that create efficiencies, RICS professionals needs to gain a better-informed understanding of the potential of BIM, how it is evolving, and vitally, how they can take advantage its development to stay ahead of the curve.

Within this insight paper, we look at how BIM has evolved and merged into a much broader paradigm in the UK, and how this might set an example for other markets. As the UK transitioned from national to ISO standards, the focus has shifted from considering adoption and implementation of BIM as the end goal to using BIM and CDE as a catalyst to promote a holistic shift towards a model-driven approach to the design, delivery, and operation of constructed assets.

The insight paper provides answers about the evolving ‘what’ and ‘why’ of BIM and its potential for surveyors, including:

• the background to BIM
  
• the need to innovate
  
• why the development of the definition of BIM needs to be explored
  
• the need for surveyors to examine the digital technologies available, and a plan of action for implementing them.