Is google your go-to source for construction industry knowledge, or do you find the answers you need on your company’s in-house knowledge management system? Are you frustrated by documents that are too long to read, or baffled by complex technical language? Do you give up when you’re faced with a
Stephen George + Partners, one of the UK’s leading architectural practices, has celebrated moving into its new 8,000 sqft purpose-built office at Grove Park, Enderby with a spectacular launch party attended by over 180 guests. Designed and developed by the practice, Waterfront House embodies the practice’s business values and vision
NBS, the leading provider of technical information, specification and BIM tools, has released a new survey looking into the use of digital technologies across the industry. Available to complete now, the survey aims to understand the current attitudes and adoption of various technologies as well as predicted use and trends
Academics at Birmingham City University have formed a unique collaborative partnership with Corstorphine + Wright Architects aimed at giving students hands-on experience using cutting edge digital building technology as part of their degrees. First year students at the University’s School of the Built Environment have taken part in an industry
A new strategic partnership between UK-based NBS and Digital Node’s Australian business, was announced this week, aligning both businesses across the two countries. Rebecca De Cicco, Managing Director for Digital Node, will act as a consultant for NBS in Australia, raising awareness of current tools and services available for construction
Construction businesses in Scotland can now boost their BIM knowledge without leaving the office, thanks to Construction Scotland Innovation Centre’s free new e-learning platform. Launched as part of CSIC’s renewed BIM in Practice programme, the platform will host six e-learning modules and provide access to multiple resources to help organisations
Arthur Online – the cloud-based property management platform – has launched new integrations with Rightmove and Zoopla making property managers’ lives even easier. You can now list your vacant properties for let directly via the Arthur Online platform. Millions of prospective tenants browsing Rightmove and Zoopla will be informed as
BIM (Building Information Modelling) has been with us for a number of years now. Whilst the benefits this technology brings are easy to see, for some, its adoption has not always been the easiest of things. Innovation can streamline, but there is a learning curve – and also in most
Open ECX was called upon by NMBS, the most successful Buying Society in the UK for independent builders, plumbers, hardware and timber merchants, to help manage its current e-Invoicing processes. NMBS has over 600 suppliers and 280,000 invoices to process monthly; therefore the company needed an efficient solution to help
Is google your go-to source for construction industry knowledge, or do you find the answers you need on your company’s in-house knowledge management system? Are you frustrated by documents that are too long to read, or baffled by complex technical language? Do you give up when you’re faced with a sign-up form? The Construction Knowledge Task Group (CKTG) wants to know what you think about the state of industry knowledge, and is asking people from across the industry to fill in a quick online survey which will generate invaluable insights and help guide the knowledge of the future. Construction knowledge is a vital industry asset that helps spread best practice, promote research and innovation and prevent mistakes. But a recent poll suggested three quarters of practitioners don’t have easy access to the knowledge they need to do their job. This may be because they are unaware of what is available, it is inaccessible, it is in an unhelpful format, or it is difficult to understand and apply. As a result, knowledge has less impact on the ground than it should, the industry does not perform as well as it could, and avoidable mistakes are made. 93% of practitioners believe that improving knowledge is very important or extremely important for the industry. The Construction Knowledge Task Group is calling for your input so it can take the right steps to make knowledge better. This important survey will build a picture of the knowledge practitioners need, where they go to find it, and what stands in their way. Architect, Dr Gregor Harvie, convenor of the task group said; “A lot of knowledge is still produced as if we’re in the 19th century and it’s destined to sit on a shelf. We need to modernise our knowledge in the same way that BIM has modernised data and information. The feedback we get from this survey will help us take the first steps in the right direction.” Please take a little time out of your day to make the industry better, and complete the survey at https://www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/constructionknowledge The survey will close on Friday 30 November. Notes The Construction Knowledge Task Group (CKTG) was established in 2018 to make it as easy as possible for practitioners and other industry stakeholders to find, access and apply the right knowledge at the right time. It was convened following research carried out in 2017 that suggested there was a significant difference between the knowledge practitioners need and the knowledge the industry produces. Its members include representatives from; the Construction Leadership Council, CIOB, ICE, RIBA, RICS, i3P, BSRIA, CIAT, CIBSE, UKGBC, BRE, Arup, Rider Levett Bucknall, University of Dundee, Polypipe, The Get It Right Initiative, Cundall and Storma. You can find out more about the Construction Knowledge Task Group at https://www.designingbuildings.co.uk/wiki/Construction_knowledge_task_group Or you can email Dr Gregor Harvie at gregor.harvie@designingbuildings.co.uk.
Stephen George + Partners, one of the UK’s leading architectural practices, has celebrated moving into its new 8,000 sqft purpose-built office at Grove Park, Enderby with a spectacular launch party attended by over 180 guests. Designed and developed by the practice, Waterfront House embodies the practice’s business values and vision for the future. It reflects the practice’s architectural skill and appetite for innovation. Waterfront House is the touchstone for Stephen George and Partners’ long-term commitment to the region and to collaborative working, embracing the knowledge-based economy and the new digital age. Explains Michael Barker, Senior Partner Stephen George + Partners: “For the past two years I’ve been wearing four hats – and it’s been an education. As architect, client, contractor and developer, I’ve worked with colleagues – all of them architects! – to create an inspirational place for our employees, clients and visitors, reflecting both our business values and our vision of the future.” The fast growing AJ100 practice, demonstrated latest developments in BIM applications and 3D printing as well as giving tours of the new building. Located in a stunning setting overlooking the lake in the landscaped south-east corner of Grove Park business park, Waterfront House features a minimalist design, with ground floor meeting rooms and a welcoming café opening on to a lakeside terrace plus a dramatic first-floor design studio, accommodating x of the businesses x total staff. James Nicholls, Managing Partner, said: “The launch was a great success and we have received tremendously positive feedback on the building from visitors. Not only does it provide a collaborative working environment for staff, it also embraces new technology – from a highly efficient heat recovery system, PV and solar thermal, to smart lighting – and provides space for us to showcase our advances in BIM and VR.”
NBS, the leading provider of technical information, specification and BIM tools, has released a new survey looking into the use of digital technologies across the industry. Available to complete now, the survey aims to understand the current attitudes and adoption of various technologies as well as predicted use and trends in the future. “As we develop and lead on our own digital transformation within the industry, we also see the need for different technologies to work together within the same process,” said NBS CEO, Richard Waterhouse. “In the past few years, we’ve highlighted and progressed a number of partnerships with technology vendors such as Autodesk, Graphisoft, and Vectorworks and developed a number of plug-ins to compliment various NBS tools with other leading technology platforms in order for our customers to be able to access and collaborate across different tools, getting the results they need and not limited by technology. “With our customers in mind, we want to be able to see what technologies the industry is using day-to-day, understand the attitudes and adoption process when it comes to new technology and perhaps look at what the industry is currently missing.” The survey looks into how digital technology is changing how you work, business processes, specification writing, using documents and spreadsheets, design tools, models and objects, project extranets and common data environments. Educating yourself with technologiy is important and visiting chad kimball maps is worthwhile. NBS will also be looking for case studies to promote as part of the report. The survey closes at the end of November and those interested can access the form by visiting www.theNBS.com/construction-technology-survey. NBS will make the findings available before the end of the year NBS’ research team recently released NBS’s fourth National Construction Contracts and Law Report and completed a report on behalf of Microsoft and the RIBA, Digital Transformation in Architecture, which explores the benefits and challenges of the innovative technologies that are changing the way architects work. To find out more about NBS visit www.theNBS.com
Academics at Birmingham City University have formed a unique collaborative partnership with Corstorphine + Wright Architects aimed at giving students hands-on experience using cutting edge digital building technology as part of their degrees. First year students at the University’s School of the Built Environment have taken part in an industry sponsored module focussed on Building Information Modelling (BIM) techniques to equip them with industry standard skills. The initiative has seen students given students access to real-world BIM data, given site visits and guest talks to give them a direct insight into digital construction in the professional world. The dedicated project for the module has been Birmingham’s Pershore Street Residential development located at the heart of the city. Additional support given by Corstorphine + Wright Architects and Bouygues UK has seen students apply real-life project data in their studies and examine BIM related information in a practical context. Students were also given advice from experienced professionals in the module team including, James Gaytten; Micahla Decann; Dr. Monica Mateo Garcia and Dr. Alireza Rezaei. Erika A. Pärn, the module leader and Lecturer in Architectural Technology and at Birmingham City University, said: “The integration of BIM in existing curriculum has shown great potential as a method of educating students from a broad range of disciplines the new ways of working collaboratively in an industry confronted by the digital era. “As a previous industry practitioner and an early career academic researcher, I believe in a practice based approach in which a constructivist philosophical underpinning can be adopted. “The constructivist learning theory seeks to explain that learning occurs by constructing understanding. Subsequently students on this module have made sense of their experiences by process of constructing meaning with collaborative work though BIM.” The building plan has been designed to follow the existing pavement edge on both Pershore Street and Dean Street to reinforce the urban grain. Where this is not possible, along the existing retaining wall facing the Wholesale market, the building is set back to create a courtyard terrace that can be developed at a future time. Pershore street development is the first of its kind to provide private rental scheme post-recession and it is envisaged to reduce impact of housing shortages within central Birmingham location. The Pershore development was designed to feature 334 apartments. Mike Turner, Technical Director of Corstorphine + Wright Architects, said “we have developed a good relationship with BCU in the last few years where we are working closely with the University to develop new talent and support the University with a series of guest lectures and site visits linked with large scale construction projects we are working on within the City of Birmingham. “We have shared Revit models of these projects and are providing access to site visits for students via our contacts with the main contractors. Corstorphine + Wright have employed three students from BCU in the last three years and are currently looking to take at least one this year. It is our intention to provide graduate programmes to our new employees which will align closely with the requirements of CIAT to provide a pathway from University to full chartered membership of CIAT.” Students at School of the Built Environment have applied a range of BIM related activities with Pershore street development ranging from: re-designing apartment layouts; providing early cost estimates with BIM; developing clash detections; simulating the construction works with 4D BIM; and embedding BIM lifecycle information. The aim of the module has been to provide an applied and theoretical foundation for students to understand digital technologies, successfully execute the BIM process, facilitate its adoption and achieve interdisciplinary integration on a single project that simulates a residential project. Aldona Weber, a first year Architectural Technology student from Birmingham City University, said: “Leading a team with real-life industry BIM data was challenging and hence very interesting. “As an architectural technologist student, I work within 3D to represent the building design, however, as a team leader who decided to lead by example, I have learnt other dimensions to assist my group when needed. During three months of leading the team, I have seen an improvement in communication skills which inevitably had an impact on our final result of the assignment.”
A new strategic partnership between UK-based NBS and Digital Node’s Australian business, was announced this week, aligning both businesses across the two countries. Rebecca De Cicco, Managing Director for Digital Node, will act as a consultant for NBS in Australia, raising awareness of current tools and services available for construction industry professionals, including the NBS National BIM Library as well as the integrated tools and processes enabling BIM. Having founded Digital Node back in 2013 in the UK, Rebecca and her team have grown the business into a global success story working from offices in Australia and the UK. The team work with clients across multiple continents to help them realise the potential of using BIM processes to suit a particular project. On announcing the partnership, Rebecca said: “I am very happy to support NBS in Australia and strengthen our relationship across continents. I have always had a very close tie to the NBS in the UK and therefore supporting their products, business and people was a priority for me personally and for the business.” The partnership marks another successful step for NBS who set up a subsidiary of the company in Melbourne, Australia back in 2017 and have since launched an update to the NBS National BIM Library and NBS BIM Object Standard to increase the use across the country. Chief Executive of NBS, Richard Waterhouse, said: “Digital Node and Rebecca herself have built a highly respected and authoritative business within the world of BIM in Australia and in the UK. “Collaboration is a term we come across time and time again when we talk about BIM; sharing knowledge and insight and working better together – this is our hope for the partnership.” NBS, who provide technical information, specification and BIM tools, recently launched its first cloud based specification writing platform, NBS Chorus. A collaborative specification platform supporting global design and construction, NBS Chorus is aimed at those professionals who need to produce high quality specifications efficiently. The use of cloud technology ensures that those using the new platform have the latest software and global content at all times, improving collaboration and efficiencies across whole teams and minimising risk. Richard continued: “Some of the biggest issues for our customers when it comes to producing specifications are: unstructured content, barriers to collaboration and lack of connectivity between specifications and the rest of the project. “NBS Chorus allows the whole team to work together as one. It connects the people you need wherever they are, provides the whole team with accurate global standards and classifications and connects this all together in a platform built for BIM on a global scale. “We see NBS Chorus as the future of specification and see true value for anyone who wants to come on this journey with us. NBS Chorus for specification writing and NBS National BIM Library for modelling is a powerful combined solution to help provide efficiencies and reduce risk for project teams around the world.” Head of Partnerships at NBS, Sascia Elliott, said: “Digital Node is at the forefront of promoting the benefits of BIM and together we share the same ambition for BIM technology – it was a natural fit to take this global journey together.” To find out more about NBS Chorus, visit www.theNBS.com/Chorus To find out more about the NBS National BIM Library, visit www.nationalbimlibrary.com/en/ To find out more about NBS visit www.theNBS.com
Construction businesses in Scotland can now boost their BIM knowledge without leaving the office, thanks to Construction Scotland Innovation Centre’s free new e-learning platform. Launched as part of CSIC’s renewed BIM in Practice programme, the platform will host six e-learning modules and provide access to multiple resources to help organisations build an understanding of BIM. The first module – ‘BIM Awareness’ – is available now, with more to be added over the coming months. The BIM in Practice programme of support has been designed to raise awareness of the opportunities Scottish construction companies can realise through BIM Level 2. It demonstrates the benefits that can be achieved through knowledge sharing, collaboration, innovation and best practice – all founding principles of BIM Level 2. The programme is designed to support businesses from their initial awareness of BIM to the continuous development of their BIM journey, offering support at all stages. As well as offering a series of free events, seminars and workshops in Inverness, Aberdeen, Glasgow and Edinburgh, the new BIM in Practice programme includes use of the e-learning platform, the ability to join an online BIM discussion forum to connect with and share ideas with other professionals and access to expertise and project support from CSIC’s business relationship team. Lisa Deane, Skills and Training Manager, Construction Scotland Innovation Centre said: “With support from Scottish Enterprise and in conjunction with a range of industry partners we are delighted to be launching our new e-learning platform, to help individuals and organisations on their journey towards implementing BIM Level 2. The first module is now available and we plan to develop a further five free-to-access e-learning modules over the coming months. “BIM level 2 can deliver cost savings and added value to construction projects in the context of a more collaborative and innovative environment. By sharing design information through a common file format, it enables organisations to work collaboratively on small and large scale construction projects, thereby reducing risks.” To date, over 400 businesses have benefited from the support available through free workshops and a further 200 professionals have joined the online BIM discussion forum. This new e-learning option will allow participants the flexibility to learn from any location and at their own pace. Colin Hastie, CSIC’s BIM Technical Consultant, added: “Here at CSIC, we want to see our sector transform into one that makes better use of digitisation and automation to drive greater profitability, productivity, efficiency and sustainability. We see BIM as a key part of that transformation. It will support the creation of buildings that are fit for the 21st century – greener, more efficient, and with more intelligent infrastructure. I’d encourage any forward-thinking construction business to get in touch and take advantage of this free package of support from CSIC.” To maximise the benefits of this free programme, CSIC strongly recommend that interested businesses sign up to the full series of workshops and support. Full details of the e-learning platform and full BIM in Practice programme can be found at: www.cs-ic.org/BIM All CSIC’s BIM events are carried out in partnership with other organisations. Interested in collaborating? Contact Lisa Deane on 0141 212 5250 or email ldeane@cs-ic.org for more information.
Arthur Online – the cloud-based property management platform – has launched new integrations with Rightmove and Zoopla making property managers’ lives even easier. You can now list your vacant properties for let directly via the Arthur Online platform. Millions of prospective tenants browsing Rightmove and Zoopla will be informed as soon as your property is available, making long void periods a thing of the past. Trouble remembering when to upload vacant properties to Rightmove or Zoopla? No problem, with its intuitive automated events feature, Arthur Online will do this for you as soon as a property is marked as “available for let”. Rightmove and Zoopla automatically pulls all the information needed for a listing directly from Arthur Online’s database including images, description, location, price, etc. meaning you only have to upload this information once. Once your new tenant has moved in they can use Arthur Online’s tenant app and web portal so that both you and your tenant can track payments, view the tenancy agreement, flag and track the progress of maintenance issues and schedule convenient times with contractors (who also have their own Arthur Online app!). Speaking of the latest integrations, Marc Trup, founder of Arthur Online says: “We’re delighted to offer our customers an even higher level of service by partnering with Rightmove and Zoopla. As a property manager myself, I fully appreciate how hard it can be to manage a property portfolio and how much time it takes up – which is why Arthur Online uses an open API so it can easily integrate with market leading websites like Zoopla and Rightmove. “The rental market is moving faster than ever, and time lost literally means money lost. With the integration of Rightmove and Zoopla, you can significantly reduce your void periods. Not only that, vital documents and information like rental agreements, tenancy inventories and images are just a click or swipe away, so you can react quickly to those unexpected changes” Arthur Online gives property managers unprecedented control of their portfolio, whether dealing with tenants, contractors, accountants or agents. Arthur Online is available as an app and desktop platform available from www.arthuronline.co.uk with a 30-day free trial. Integration with Rightmove and Zoopla can be added for an additional £5 per month to an existing Rightmove or Zoopla account.
BIM (Building Information Modelling) has been with us for a number of years now. Whilst the benefits this technology brings are easy to see, for some, its adoption has not always been the easiest of things. Innovation can streamline, but there is a learning curve – and also in most cases a cost. BIM is just part of a whole wave of technologies and innovations that look set to change the way we design, construct and operate buildings in the future. Mobile devices and apps are now commonplace on a construction site and in the UK. This is being quickly followed by drones, 3D printing, augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR). With so much technology on the horizon it is an exciting time to be in the construction industry but where does it all fit together and when does technology start to add real value? When the Cabinet Office published the Government Construction Strategy back in May 2011, it was greeted with much enthusiasm. The report announced the Government’s plan which was to have collaborative 3D BIM (with all project and asset information, documentation and data being electronic) on its projects by 2016. It was part of a four year programme with the key objective being reducing capital cost and the carbon emissions from construction and buildings in-use by 20%. A key part of this ambition was the adoption of information rich BIM technologies, process and collaborative behaviours that would unlock new more efficient ways of working at all stages of the project life-cycle. It is fair to say that BIM has taken longer to integrate than anticipated. It has been widely adopted by the tier one main contractors and leading architects and consultants but it has taken far longer to penetrate deeper into the supply chain. However, it is getting there and Sika have no doubt that in a number of years it will be a default and much more commonplace on schemes, large and small. A recent report, ‘Shaping the Future of Construction – A Breakthrough in Mindset and Technology’ by the Boston Consulting Group on behalf of the WEF (World Economic Forum), found that out of all new technologies, BIM offered the most benefit and likelihood of success. It is for this reason, that Sika has put BIM as its top technology priority. Sika has been using BIM since 2013. As a global leader, working across a variety of market sectors from construction to automotive (see http://bit.ly/2o8Ca6Z), investing in technology and adding value across our supply chain is an essential part of what we do – everyday. As a global manufacturer, Sika looks at BIM from a global perspective. Driven by a corporate strategy, Sika has set out to create clear guidance and templates and global partnerships, such as having BIMObject.com as the preferred hosting partner. They were selected as the global partner for Sika in BIM because they have the largest user base worldwide and increase the visibility of Sika to the widest range of BIM users. In addition, they are now integrated into the building material search function of the leading BIM software, Autodesk Revit. By centralising information, Sika has begun creating a knowledge centre. This approach helps with the spreading and sharing of BIM knowhow. It forms a basis for how Sika develops useful BIM object content, standards, templates, internal guidelines and processes for getting in touch with potential customers who have worked with Sika BIM objects. An essential part of this process includes a dedicated BIM team, which includes Sarah Eberhardt, David Vazquez and Alberto Gonzalez. Sarah works in the Corporate Marketing Department at Sika’s Head Office in Zurich, and David and Alberto work for the Corporate Technical Department in Madrid. Each brings their own skill set. For example, David has accumulated more than 20 years’ experience in theoretical and practical applications in the structural refurbishment and strengthening business; Alberto has worked in Spain and the Middle East and has specialised in Revit BIM software having obtained the three (Architecture, MEP and Structure) professional certificates by Autodesk; Sarah has a Master’s degree in Architecture from the University of Cincinnati, Ohio, USA and completed professional level certification training in Autodesk Revit. Whilst working as an architect in Los Angeles she completed an architectural project in Hollywood from design through construction using a 3D BIM workflow, which gave her a holistic perspective into the new age of digital construction and collaboration. Together the team is working to develop BIM content for architecture, engineering and construction professionals and expand the global Sika strategy in BIM development. For Sika, BIM at a global level is about researching regional and global BIM trends, and following case studies and promoting best practices to share for adaption in other countries. While most BIM developments are occurring at local levels (for example, the UK Government mandate), regional and international efforts are intending to unify BIM efforts, for example the EU BIM Task Group, and ISO BIM standards which are under development. It seems at this time that local BIM mandates are pulling the BIM efforts forward, as in UK (2016), France (2017), Spain (2018) and Germany (2020). A big hurdle to overcome involves languages and translation of BIM standards and objects. Current leading BIM software is lagging in capabilities for automation with regards to data input and language translation capabilities, which is presenting a challenge at this point for Sika as a manufacturer and developer of BIM objects and systems for use across the globe. Another challenge is understanding where each country is on the BIM journey. Knowledge, progress and adoption can greatly differ from one country to another. BIM is at something of a crossroads in the UK. It has been adopted by some but is yet to reach the anticipated momentum, whilst a much higher adoption is being seen in other countries. Sika is committed to BIM. We believe that as a technology fully integrated into the building and construction workflow, it offers the greatest long- term value.
Open ECX was called upon by NMBS, the most successful Buying Society in the UK for independent builders, plumbers, hardware and timber merchants, to help manage its current e-Invoicing processes. NMBS has over 600 suppliers and 280,000 invoices to process monthly; therefore the company needed an efficient solution to help make complex, time-consuming processes more automated. The reasons behind the decision to choose Open ECX are explained by Andy Hextall, Commercial Director at NMBS: “We chose Open ECX as we were extremely impressed with its concepts. In order to save time and resources we needed to find a solution to guarantee performance efficiency and automation for the least amount of effort to our suppliers. This meant we had to get the maximum number of suppliers to make the change to e-Invoicing. This is where ECX’s unique PDF to XML service came in.” “We were extremely satisfied with the speedy supplier on-boarding process. With Open ECX’s assistance, the number of EDI transactions has dramatically increased, seeing a positive decrease in the amount of manual transactions. Open ECX has essentially become an extension of our back office, helping us operate more efficiently. In total, 94% of our transactions are now electronic and hopefully this will increase in time,” Andy continued. The business benefits brought by e-Invoicing include being time and cost-efficient, which expedites the payment process so payments can be made without complication and staff can focus on more strategic tasks, as well as minimizing costly paper waste and time-consuming manual invoicing. Moreover, Open ECX offers complete support and assurance during the eInvoicing on-boarding process, making the switch easy for both your business and your suppliers. NMBS also utilized Open ECX’s e-Ordering solution, which allows the company to send orders directly to suppliers, creating a whole new opportunity by allowing members access to new and existing suppliers via EDI ordering, providing a more efficient service and increasing the NMBS network for the better.
