ADComms is committed to continuous improvements that provide our customers with cutting edge technology that meets today’s demands. As part of the Northern Line Extension project to the London Underground (LU) network, we recently started the Building Information Modelling (BIM) journey. For London Underground, BIM is a methodology for creating and using information about their assets. Consequently, it requires LU to put the same level of rigour and governance into creating and managing information about infrastructure assets, as they do in building and operating the assets themselves.
BIM Overview
BIM is a process involving the collaborative production, use and management of digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of a facility / asset. As a result, information models, when fully coordinated, provide a shared knowledge resource to support decision-making about a facility or asset throughout its life – from early concept stages, through increasing detailed design, construction, operation and maintenance, and ultimately decommissioning and finally removal / demolition.
The objective of BIM is to procure/produce, manage and maintain data and information about engineered assets. The information/data is complete, consistent and trustworthy for use cross operational and business intelligence purposes. Therefore, this aims to drive efficiencies in the production, modification, operation and decommissioning of engineered assets, through data analysis that helps improve decision making to deliver best value to stakeholders. BIM is a collaborative process that leads to better solutions for clients and their supply chains enabling lean, accurate and complete design information for an effective construction process. This results in clients having better tools for asset management. Assurance is at the heart of BIM and arguably its most important use. Overall, for ADComms and our clients, this is the main benefit from implementing BIM within the business through design and construction phases.
Future Improvements
ADComms is currently working towards Level 2 BIM compliance. In the future, this will ensure we create and share appropriate information, in a suitable format, at the right time to facilitate better decisions throughout the delivery and operation of a built asset. This will contribute to LU’s duty to deliver design, construction and maintenance/operations handover information (both graphical and non-graphical). This is in line with the April 2016 mandate from Government, that all UK public infrastructure projects meet BIM maturity Level 2.