In 2013, University College London Hospital (UCLH) identified the need to de-risk their capital projects and reduce the cost of delivery, and identified BIM Level 2 as a key enabler. A key objective at the outset was for UCLH’s current and future suppliers to understand this need to shift from traditional design tool driven thinking, to the holistic management of opportunity and risk through the purchase and use of data-rich BIM information.

PCSG was engaged to assist with the development of a UCLH Corporate information strategy and used the Phase 4 “Proton Beam Therapy” project as an introductory pilot programme.

As part of this process, PCSG designed and delivered the:

• Organisational Information Requirements
• Asset Information Requirements
• Employer’s Information Requirements (EIR)
• Contract configuration of the BIM Protocol for specific UCLH requirements
• Supply Chain BIM capability specification
• Training and awareness programme
• Workshops to enable UCLH to define their COBie (BS1192/4) data requirements

PCSG supported UCLH during the evaluation of the Stage 1 tender responses and during the dialogue phase through to the assessment of the final bid offers.

Positive Outcomes

• UCLH’s internal project delivery processes have been re-engineered, leading to the clear definition of their information requirements for each project gateway
• The project-specific EIR and commercial tools have enabled UCLH to communicate their information clearly to the supply chain
• UCLH used the process to successfully identify a capable supply chain
• Phase 4 has used the processes and BIM data to deliver an extremely technically and logistically challenging project

About the project

PCSG was first approached by SRM in 2012 to support them in developing a BIM Level 2 strategy. During our initial ‘discovery’ phase it became clear that, for SRM to fully benefit from a BIM Level 2 strategy, the ageing IT infrastructure and business systems required a full business systems strategy to update and overhaul the old technologies.

How PCSG helped

Working alongside SRM’s internal business systems teams, our specialists helped deliver this multi-million-pound investment. The work involved:

• Development of a strategy which defined the current state, target state and roadmap
• Development of a full business case
• Integration of full BIM Level 2 processes into the new design
• Design, procurement and roll-out of 23 separate information technology projects
• Communication and training to ensure staff engagement and successful adoption
• The introduction of new technology to provide a secure and fast performing data network
• New collaborative information management systems
• Reporting tools
• BIM Level 2 applications to support 3D design co-ordinate, 4D planning, 5D costs estimation and data analysis

The five-year programme centred on three distinct delivery phases:

1. Infrastructure and support.
2. Standard desktop and mobile hardware and software.
3. Project systems and BIM Level 2 applications.

PCSG, along with technology partner, 3Squared, developed a new mobile app for SRM to collect information, photos and videos when on site. The ‘Site Companion’ tool provides a digital means of capturing and sharing data on daily events, snags, safety incidents, inspections, deliveries and commissioning activities in an easy to use app. The system has a number of data aggregation and reporting functions.

Positive outcomes

The implementation of the business systems strategy at SRM is already enabling teams and suppliers to adopt BIM Level 2 processes and procedures. The reliable, secure and high-performing networks and tools are supported by consistent adoption of project Common Data Environment technologies to ensure that design and construction information is better managed on projects. 3D design coordination, 4D planning and 5D estimation tools are being adopted throughout the business and triggering the realisation of significant efficiencies.

“PCSG has helped us to deliver a total transformation of our business systems. Their team has integrated well with ours and together we are providing a much improved service to staff adopting BIM Level 2 as well as all of the other productivity tools we have delivered”.

Paul Barker, Business Systems Director at SRM

The PCSG team were based in St. Petersburg and co-located with the client and design team. The work commenced with a series of stakeholder discovery workshops in the city. These established the basis for the design of information requirements, common data environments, standards, methods, processes and procedures, procurement and commercial guidance, communications and training.

PCSG worked with the Client, Construction Manager and the design team to develop all the documentation, materials and technology required to deliver the ambitious scheme, which included manufacturing design approaches never before used in the region.

Mark has collaborated with government departments, several hundred industry professionals and the supply chain to agree the Level 2 strategy.

“Whether you describe it as a mandate or simply a direction of travel, the intention over the last few years has been to embed BIM and digital technology into central government spend so as to lever the market towards behavioural change.”

Dr. Mark Bew MBE, PCSG Chairman

Mark also led the development of the Level 3 BIM Strategy, which has proven even more challenging and again involved key players from across industry.

Between 2012 and 2017, PCSG, led by chairman Dr Mark Bew, has been instrumental in:

• Creating the BIM Task Group
• Developing a panel of leading experts into a core team to provide leadership and guidance
• Managing a cross-Government and private sector steering group
• Designing all elements of the Level 2 approach
• Engaging Government departments and supply chain to validate the approach and encourage adoption
• Creating a national ‘BIM4’ market engagement model
• Managing the development of seven British Standards
• Delivery of pilot projects
• Instigating the EU BIM Task Group and UK Growth strategy with the Department of International Trade
• Development of business case for the Level 3 project
• Identification and handover of the programme to new host organisation for Level 3

The methods and approaches pioneered in the UK BIM programme have opened the market for many other nations as well as the UK to drive productivity, output, manufacturing and data analysis. The market for skilled resources is at a premium and technology sales have increased dramatically. The market has also created a firm foundation for future development and the basis for many smart city programmes.

These international markets continue to grow and PCSG has been involved in various strategic activities based on the UK methods in Australia, Germany and Lithuania.

Being an early adopter of Level 2 BIM, the MoJ received support from the UK Government BIM Task Group. The objective of the intervention was to save 20% of the capital cost in delivering new MoJ projects, enabling more assets to be delivered within their capital budgets. The methods and techniques defined by the BIM Task Group and the new British Standards were used to define the information requirements and were refined and developed by PCSG to manage the specifics of the MoJ estate. This involved a process of establishing the MoJ information requirements by re-engineering their corporate delivery process, including the introduction and development of a number of lean initiatives to improve process flow to reduce time and waste.

The process was enabled through a number of facilitated workshops to optimise process and data flows. Clearly defined information requirements for each gateway were developed to ensure the right business information was available to drive the governance process. In several cases this resulted in a 20% improvement in programme performance, through more timely governance and decision making.

PCSG wrote the specification for the Common Data Environment (CDE) along with the invitation to tender which the MoJ procurement department used to tender and select the CDE provider. We assisted with the delivery and acceptance of the product and the MoJ has now seen significant benefits on both programme and budget performance. The new data platform has also provided a key enabler to the MoJ to move to a more manufacturing-based approach to project delivery.

Our work provided the following:

• Policy context for our work, including the role of construction technologies in helping to achieve the objectives of the Victoria Government Future Industries Strategy.
• Impact of Capex decisions made now on the Victoria Government vision, objectives and outcomes.
• The relative cost: benefits and interventions with respect to the total cost of ownership.
• Metrics that can be observed and the value at each stage in the asset’s lifecycle.
• Comparative assessment of the Digital Built Britain and Digital Built Victoria high value opportunities.

The report outlines the opportunities and proposed next steps for the Victorian Government in developing and implementing a Digital Built Victoria strategy.

This report provides information on how improved construction output leads to improved operations, and how improved construction output leads to optimised business services. It demonstrates the impact of poor investment decisions in this area and our strategic need to focus on two key questions:

1. How does the Victoria Government build better assets?
2. How does the Victoria Government ensure it builds the right assets?

It also provides clarity around the following areas:

• Metrics that can be observed and the value at each stage in the asset’s lifecycle.
• Impact of Capex decisions made now on the Victorian Government’s vision, objectives and outcomes.
• The relative cost benefits and interventions with respect to the total cost of ownership.
• Comparative assessment of the Digital Built Britain and Digital Built Victoria high value opportunities.

The report was commissioned in Spetember 2017 and completed in February 2018.

The NSW Government cannot continue its current trajectory in planning, delivering and operating its built environment, and new ways must be found to help meet these macro challenges head on through a more effective use of existing assets, focused needs-based investment and the development of new service models.

The purpose of this Strategic Case for a Digital Built NSW was to provide advice to the NSW Government on the high-value opportunities that can be unlocked by developing and implementing a Digital Built NSW (DBNSW) strategy.

This is set in the context of supporting a developing Smart Places Strategy and was focussed on the key components of Digital Engineering (often referred to as Building Information Modelling or BIM) and the convergence of Digital Engineering with Geospatial and emerging Internet of Things (IoT) technology.

This report was commissioned in April 2018 and completed in June 2018.

To help TMR better understand its current state of BIM maturity and the optimum roadmap for development, PCSG was appointed as Technical Advisor with the following remit to:

• Help TMR meet the Queensland Government BIM implementation target of 2023.
• Understand current (high) level status of People, Process, Information and Technology applicable to BIM.
• Gain an understanding of where TMR Digital maturity currently is against:
  • Other Australian government agencies
  • International Best Practice such Transport for London
  • Australian Supply Chain
• Undertake a gap analysis to achieve BIM level 2.
• Produce a BIM roadmap for TMR that sets out the recommended approach to BIM implementation over a five-year period.

Repeated reviews of the Australian construction industry performance have shown that traditional approaches to delivering and managing design and asset information in infrastructure construction is sub-optimal.

The resulting cost of this inefficiency is borne by client organisations, often manifested in extensions of time, variations, change cost and the re-procurement of asset information between lifecycle stages.

Adopting a strategic digital approach through BIM has been recognised and demonstrated to be effective in alleviating some of these challenges, while also providing an efficient mechanism for the procurement of data for asset management purposes.

This work was commissioned in March 2018 and completed in May 2018.