BuildingSMART UK supported the BSRIA conference at the Barbican, London, in November 2010, which brought together 100 delegates to look at the realities of BIM roll-out. Among the speakers was Paul Morrell, the government’s chief construction adviser, who talked about the need to build ‘green’ and build ‘quality’– even against a background of public sector cuts. Paul Morrell is leading a team drawn from BIM users across the industry to prepare a road map (due in Spring 2011) for a progressive move towards routine use of BIM.

There were presentations on ownership of the model, the benefits of BIM for client and contractor, the experience of an architectural firm in adoption and the rapidly evolving position of government as a construction client. The conference had an interactive format and audience views were taken during the day through an audience response system – keypads used by delegates to answer questions, with answers immediately number-crunched and displayed as bar charts.

 

Delegates were seated around tables in groups of eight, representing different parts of the industry. Each presentation was followed by a ‘table discussion’ led by a facilitator, after which there were further questions and votes. This interactive approach was much liked by delegates, with the discussions allowing different experiences to be explored.