These advances also represent a step change in the way design teams can work and collaborate. Central to these advances is the utilisation of Building Information Modelling (BIM). Utilising BIM helps the design team to improve co-ordination, reduce risk and provide improved data rich information at all stages of the project.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been defined as “the act of creating an electronic model of a facility for the purpose of visualisation, engineering analysis, conflict analysis, code criteria checking, cost engineering, as-built product, budgeting and many other purposes”. Public and private sectors are no longer simply procuring buildings or structures; they are procuring a certain level of performance in which energy savings and carbon reduction are high on the agenda.

The co-ordination of the BIM model between the different design team disciplines enables all to gain a greater appreciation of each others disciplines during project design development, significantly improving collaboration and ultimately the delivery and quality of our designs.

Our BIM team is instrumental in further developing and implementing the SCMS Associates BIM Level 2 strategy.

Our strategy is focused on the high-level advantages of BIM which will maximise the client’s benefit on the projects with no extra cost.

• Early design validation and prototyping to show how assets will look and operate, helping to speed up the approval process and ensure buildability

• Opportunity to model several options and assess the impact of each

• Optimisation of solutions to reduce design, construction, and operational costs

• Closer collaboration with contractors leading to reductions in tender risk premiums, lower insurance costs, fewer overall variations, and fewer opportunities for claims

We have significantly developed our use of BIM achieving BIM compliance Level 2, where all drawing, scheduling and primary specification items were included within our models without deviation to any initial 2D drawing design. Providing more certainty around time, cost and risk. Collaborating with various information managers and clients to agree the Level 2 strategy and integrate in the wider project objectives we appoint our own BIM Coordinator to liaise with other disciplines and the wider supply chain.

Our experienced team have also worked with numerous developers, information managers, design teams and operators to develop first class solutions to support the BIM Level 2 delivery objectives: reduce the number of design errors, improve speed, and clearer communication and coordination within the project team. Operators, developers, designers and information managers can all greatly benefit form SCMS’s input to their projects.

SCMS Associates working practices with information managers at BIM Level 2 have always ensured that collaboration extends beyond delivery, with the requirement for soft landings and the requisite for an operation BIM Coordinator to be involved through the plan of work for that specific project – starting with the end in mind and using the model as a basis to visualise and test the lifecycle solution at pre-construction stage. This is where SCMS stands out in an industry where there is normally a large gap between the delivery and operational lifecycles.