Building product manufacturers told to gear up for BIM

With a record turnout of 174 delegates from 133 client companies the recent RIBA Insight Consultancy Day events highlighted the need for construction industry product and service providers to embrace Building Information Modelling (BIM). Dr Stephen Hamil, Head of BIM at NBS stated that it's no longer 'if' but 'when' we need to start acting on BIM.

Dr Hamil emphasised how important BIM is becoming to the public sector in its efforts to streamline budgets. Throughout the summer BIM has also been one of the hottest topics within the industry, as it strives to cut costs, increase efficiencies and protect profits.

The events in Manchester and London provided a platform for both Dr Hamil and Peter Barker, Operations Director at BIM Academy, to present and discuss the benefits of BIM to product manufacturers. Dr Hamil also talked about the National BIM Library for the UK construction industry, a free-to-access online service that will enable architects, contractors, interior designers and other construction professionals to locate and download generic BIM objects for a wide range of systems and products (such as walls, windows, doors, foundations, cladding and roofs). The Q&A session that followed showed that there was considerable interest among delegates, a fact later support by written feedback. RIBA Insight clients can now register their interest in receiving further details about our upcoming BIM offering for product manufacturers.

"The seminars and workshops were all very informative and the content was relevant to take back to our company."

Delegate Feedback

Apart from BIM, the Consultancy Day also featured presentations and workshops on CPD and NBS. RIBA’s Head of Continuing Professional Development Joni Tyler outlined the new RIBA CPD Core Curriculum while Mick Goode, an architect and director at Croft Goode Architects, explained how best to approach architects and what they like to get out of CPD.

A session on website optimisation and use of social media in the construction industry environment prompted a stream of questions from the floor, expertly handled by Pritesh Patel, Digital Marketing Manager at Pauley Creative, and Paul Wilkinson, construction PR and marketing and AEC ICT consultant at PW Comms.

"It was free and we have gotten something extra for the cost of our NBS Plus subscription with RIBA Insight . It gave me information about the architects market I probably wasn't otherwise aware of – BIM in particular."

Feedback from the London event

Two afternoon workshops rounded off the day. Creating and delivering successful CPD material offered some very practical (if occasionally blunt) advice to RIBA CPD Providers Network members on how others perceive their offering. Julia Hall, RIBA’s CPD Assessment Coordinator, and Andy Sivell, editor of the RIBA CPD Showcase and director of content provider Working Titles, were well-equipped to speak from personal experience.

Making NBS product specification work for your business was the second workshop (running concurrently). Keith Brownsword, Technical Author at NBS, and Lynda Thompson, Customer Liaison Coordinator at NBS, presided.

RIBA Insight encourages all clients to suggest subject areas they'd like to see included in future Consultancy Day events.

In case you missed the event, copies of all presentations are available upon request to RIBA Insight clients.

To learn more about BIM, watch the video sessions now or download the BIM Report.

 

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