We are about to experience an unprecedented surge of investment in physical assets, renewing travel and transport systems, power networks and buildings across many sectors. The AEC community can plug in to that renewed energy and play a major part in supporting Asset Managers with vital BIM-enabled information.
Better management of those assets is an existential issue for organisations responsible for the massive investment and delivery challenges that now face us. Asset Management is a complex issue, combining financial and technical skills to deliver returns on investment, balanced with the delivery of valuable services to society.
The emergence and rise of Asset Management as a separate discipline is no coincidence. We need to ask ourselves:
- Do we know enough about AM?
- Are we clear about how we can meet AM requirements?
Our previous article (Part1: Why asset management and BIM need to interface) highlighted the energising effect of Asset Management (AM), with a clear and increasing need for BIM information to support owners and operators.
The focus now shifts to responding to that impetus and gaining access to the massive opportunities that undoubtedly exist.
Understanding the AM perspective is key to unlocking the potential, using BIM to implement better information management, opening the door to collaboration and adopting a whole life approach for Asset Management .
Practical training with accredited CPD providers will help lay firm foundations for building the support infrastructure and services that the AM community so desperately needs. This will focus on getting to grips with the AM strategy for managing information, and how the information standards and a range of BIM tools can meet the many and varied needs of Asset Managers.
Understanding AM / BIM
Asset Managers are at the forefront of the response to recent events and future needs. Recovery from the pandemic and action on new decarbonisation and sustainability requirements is resulting in a surge of investment in physical assets. McKinsey Global Institute’s analysis of capital investment concludes that “The world will see a once-in-a-lifetime wave of capital spending on physical assets between now and 2027.”
Owners and operators will invest massively in upgrading existing assets as well as creating new. Asset Managers are tasked with ensuring a positive return on those investments and are under pressure to deliver better results. They know that all AM decisions are based on asset information, so better information management is high priority.
Together, we must establish an appreciation of how AM and BIM work together at the information management interface. Initially, the AEC sector needs a clear understanding of:
- What AM is
- The AM model / system
- The ISO for AM
- Why AM is important
- Asset information requirements
- The alignment of BIM with AM
Implementing AM / BIM
The AEC sector can make a significant contribution to improving Information Management (IM) and the owners and operators have clear evidence of the value. Asset Managers, along with the BIM community, were provided with quantitative evidence in the KPMG report “The value of Information Management in the construction and infrastructure sector”, finding:
Every £1 invested in IM could secure:
- £5.10 - £6.00 in direct labour productivity gains, and
- £6.90 - £7.40 in direct cost savings
These are compelling results. Where else do organisations secure a 7:1 ratio of return on investment?
So the question is not if, but how, the AM sector should invest in IM. We too, must invest, building on our current BIM capabilities and knowledge of the information standards to support AM requirements.
The AEC / BIM sector is well placed to provide vital missing information to Asset Managers, building on an initial understanding of AM to deliver solutions with purpose-led information targeting specific needs. Training will provide a basis for implementation, with knowledge of:
- Who does AM
- AM / BIM collaboration
- The information management standards
- Trigger events requiring asset information
- BIM tools / techniques for AM
- AM / BIM use cases
Accredited Learning, CPD and Training – Please Share Your Views
CIOB are working with Neil Reed at BIMcert and Asset Wisdom, an AM education specialist to develop CPD accredited learning and training for the AEC and BIM sector.
We would love to here your views and invite you to take part in a short poll that will help shape the support provided on this important issue.
Please complete the poll, which should take no more than 10 minutes, by following this link to the CIOB survey.
Click here to read the published version of this blog on the CIOB's online 'BIMplus' platform.
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