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UK best practice could be applied to Australian construction industry

The Building Information Modelling (BIM) Task Force is transforming the way large construction projects are delivered in the UK.

This was published under the 2010 to 2015 Conservative and Liberal Democrat coalition government
Construction

In September Mark Bew, Head of the British government’s Building Information Modelling (BIM) Task Force met with government agencies and businesses in Perth, Adelaide, Canberra, Sydney and Melbourne to talk about how BIM is transforming the way large projects are planned, designed, built and managed in the UK.

Since 2011 BIM has become an integral component of the UK government’s strategy for developing a more competitive and efficient construction sector and projects applying BIM techniques have shown savings of over 20% in initial project costs and 50% of greenhouse gas emissions, with other significant benefits to be gained in terms of supply chain management and how the asset is managed over its full lifecycle.

Working in partnership with Aurecon and BuildSmart, UKTI helped introduce Mr Bew to a wide range of project owners and their clients, who showed strong interest in BIM and recognised the potential benefits while also flagging up local market challenges and obstacles. Industry and State government representatives plan to visit the UK later this year to gain further insights into the UK experience and to identify ways in which BIM practices might be successfully deployed more widely in Australia.

For more information about working with the UK construction sector email Antonia.Yendell@mobile.ukti.gov.uk.

Published 25 September 2014