1. Survey Results

The Build Digital 2022 Annual Survey sought to measure the sector’s digital adoption baseline and collate information on the supports, interventions, and guidance required to help the supply chain on its digitalisation and sustainability transformation journey. The survey results will be used to monitor the project’s impact and tailor the project deliverables. Regarding standards, the survey investigated if respondents were aware of International standards and how likely they were to recommend implementation to a client. Other questions explored included whether clients are likely to require the full implementation of standards-based BIM and what ISO, international, and European standards are important with respect to one’s work. The survey also sought to understand the main reasons for using standards and how these processes/methods/tools currently help the most.

1.1. Survey Findings

The survey recorded 257 responses, with a diverse selection of professionals answering. Within that response, architects, BIM coordinators, engineers, and construction managers represent 70% of the respondents. A total of 69% of the captured responses are from SMEs, demonstrating a balanced response to the survey, considering that SMEs make up most of the sector. The reactions are also representative of both public and private organisations. Some key findings include that 9% of the survey respondents only use an end-to-end digital information management / BIM process, with the rest of the sample using BIM to varying degrees throughout a project’s life cycle. Encouragingly, 41% of respondents are proactive with a clear business-focused strategy, with a further 32% keen to progress but unclear on the steps involved.

The survey explored the challenges participants have encountered regarding contracts that specify information management / BIM international standards or digital methods. The results highlighted that the greatest concern was insufficient details to manage issues that arise, including vague specifications of ‘use BIM’ or ‘BIM dimensions’. Other high-rated barriers included inadequate education and training, lack of guidance to support implementation, and insufficient knowledge among parties to the contract.

The survey explored how likely the different professionals would recommend implementing full, standards-based BIM to a client. A total of 73% of respondents indicated that they are very to somewhat likely to recommend a standards-based approach to clients; however, this depends on the project’s size. Many respondents noted that they had not adopted BIM and were unfamiliar with the full suite of standards. The rationale for using standards was that it presented a more efficient way to capture/resolve quality issues and eliminate clashes (design quality), improve understanding/visibility of design decisions, and reduce design and construction costs.

Encouragingly, 60% of clients are very to somewhat likely to require full, standards-based BIM implementation on their projects. From the clients  who completed the survey, it was revealed that some require further upskilling to appreciate the most applicable standard. However, it was highlighted that clients seek to learn in this area to make informed decisions. It was also recorded that clients were very likely to request the inclusion of sustainability-related certification.

92% of respondents acknowledged that an ‘Irish Information Management Framework’ is extremely to somewhat important. This would enable the connection of standards, contracts, guidance notes, and associated requirements, including sustainability, circular economy, and carbon reduction targets. The framework must be conscious of public procurement guidelines, as these rules heavily influence most respondents.

The recent Build Digital International Standards Review highlighted the importance of OpenBIM methods and open exchange formats. These findings were partially validated, with 18% of survey respondents noting that over 50% of their work employs open BIM, indicating a potential requirement to provide guidance in this area. Encouragingly, IFC was a popular choice for exchanging data formats with project participants. DWG and PDF were both noted as the most popular choice in this regard.

The results highlight that the most important standard recorded was ISO 9000 / ISO 9001: Quality Management. The ISO 9000 is a series, or family, of quality management standards, while ISO 9001 is a standard within the family. This standard lays out the fundamentals and vocabulary for quality management systems. The next most important standard recorded was ISO 19650 (series) for information management using BIM. The ISO 19650 series is the key BIM standard adopted by ISO, CEN, and nationally as standards for managing information over the whole life cycle of a built asset using BIM. The Irish Annex, which provides guidance on how to implement I.S. EN ISO 19650-2:2018 within the national context of construction projects, has been adopted by 38 respondents. Other standards recorded with over 20 responses were BS ISO 19650-2: UK Annex and ISO 45001:2018 Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems.

Respondents were asked what the main reasons for standards-based activities were. The most prevalent causes include a faster way to capture/resolve quality issues and eliminate clashes, improved understanding/visibility of design decisions, and reduced design and construction costs. When asked to expand on how these processes/methods/tools currently assist projects, the most relevant answers included better decision-making, improved/faster collaboration, and improved quality/reduction in errors and rework. Some of the main barriers recorded include a lack of client demand and being too busy with other priorities to develop a proper plan. It was also noted that traditional ways of working taking precedence and ‘stakeholders’ being unreceptive to change were key barriers along with insufficient knowledge.

Standards were also highlighted as the main area required for upskilling regarding standardised information management. Guidance documents were also voiced as the most-requested feature to be developed, along with exemplars of completed templates and process flows.

1.2. Survey Summary

The key findings from the survey highlight that there is still a gap within the industry of projects that apply standards throughout the complete life cycle. The sector is seeking clarification on samples of how to manage issues that arise in partnership with education and guidance. Despite this, there is a recognition that a standards-based approach for clients is essential as, ultimately, it can lead to a more productive and less wasteful sector. For this to be realised, clients require additional education and guidance. This is important because client demand and cultural barriers were recorded as key impediments to BIM adoption throughout the complete life cycle. An ‘Irish Information Management Framework’ can assist in overcoming these barriers as it will provide a fundamental point of guidance for the industry. This framework will need to be conscious of not just ISO 19650 but also other important ISO standards, i.e. ISO 9001, ISO 55000, and ISO 21500.

2. Workshops One and Two

2.1 Introduction

The Standards Workshop took place in Dublin and Galway on Wednesday 26th November between 13.00 and 14.00, with representatives from six different organisations. This included a diverse representation of professionals within the architectural, engineering, consulting, training, and client sectors. The workshop attendees represented leaders in their respective organisations regarding the promotion and practice of BIM. The workshop sought to provide an opportunity to seek insights into standards adoption within Ireland and to collate information to be cross-referenced with results from the survey. Items under discussion included challenges to adopting standards, important workplace standards, practical solutions, and key focus areas for Build Digital moving forward.

2.2. What Has Been the Greatest Challenge You Have Encountered in Standards Adoption?

The workshop attendees noted that standards could be interpreted differently by stakeholders. Standards are required at national and international levels to clarify how the digital construction process should be managed from the start. A discussion must occur at the project's beginning, where the information level is clearly outlined. This conversation should outline what format the information should be provided in and what the client needs it for. At present, the client lacks understanding, and they need to clarify what format the information needs to be handed over in so as to meet their Asset Information Requirements (AIR). Some suggestions to standardise this would be to include a set template and for the client to appreciate/understand the level of information being asked, i.e. do they need this information or is a streamlined approach more efficient? This discussion at the beginning should also specify what information should be captured within the family/model parameters. Further recommendations included talking to the client’s asset management team and clarifying the benefits of the expected front-end costs.

2.3. What Standards Are Important for Your Project?  

The group was aware that the International Cost Management Standard (ICMS) is in circulation, enabling a reporting framework that explores the interrelationship between construction costs and carbon emissions. Digital construction costing methodologies will need to be aware of this moving forward. At present, it would appear that ISO 19650-1 and ISO 19650-2 are the primary standards for organisations concerning standardising digital information throughout the life cycle. Other classifications include Uniclass, which is a unified classification system made up of a set of tables that different parts of the industry can use in various ways, and Construct Operate Build Information Exchange (COBie), which is a non-proprietary data format for the publication of a subset of BIM focused on delivering asset data. Industry Foundation Class (IFC), an open international standard for BIM data that is exchanged and shared among software applications, is also being actively applied. It was recorded that, in some instances, the workshop attendees were requested to use PAS 1192-2:2013. This standard was superseded by the ISO 19650 series , and in that respect, this should be the requested standard.

2.4. What Practical Solutions Does the Build Digital Standard Pillar Need to Employ to Deliver the Digital Change Required by the Industry?

One workshop attendee noted that they would like to see a “grassroots” approach, which would require a detailed understanding of how clients request standards. This would provide an understanding of how clients request standards and to what level of information. Other requests involved educating the different actors on the importance of 3D modelling and how a poorly detailed model can have detrimental effects on a project supply chain. This could be avoided by running software warnings. Further asks included providing guidance that will enable better transparency and potentially examining mechanisms to penalise those for not executing their part of the work package correctly regarding BIM. As noted at the time, this would be more aligned with the procurement pillar.

2.5. What Is This Pillar’s Most Important Focus/Outcome for Your Organisation?​

There was a request to assist in further standardising naming conventions regarding alignment with what is happening in the industry. A desire was also expressed to provide a standard/guidance that the client can use that can enable them to prescribe what is to be delivered and in what format. Further guidance for the appointing party to ensure clarity and information requirements are aligned was also identified.

2.6. Summary

The results highlighted that standards are currently being interpreted differently, and clarification from the client at the beginning of the project concerning the required level of information is necessary for the context of model development and associated information to suit their AIR. ISO 19650 is being requested for projects, but an unstructured approach to standard selection remains. The attendees would like modelling improvements and better transparency to drive BIM adoption forward. For this to be accomplished, standards/guidance that the client can use that can enable them to prescribe what is to be delivered and in what format is essential.

3. Cross-analysis of Workshop and Survey Results

This section aims to establish the key themes that have become evident through the survey and workshop findings. This will enable a further interrogation of the results at a third workshop, as detailed in Part 5 of this document.

Based on this analysis, the following key themes have been established.

3.1. Client Awareness

There is a gap within the industry of projects that apply standards throughout the complete life cycle. As noted in the workshop, a rationale for this is that the client lacks understanding regarding specifying the information required to be captured during the BIM process. This is reinforced through the survey results where clients recorded that they need further upskilling to make informed decisions. This is essential as there is a lack of client demand which impacts the maturity of BIM within the sector. As established in the workshop, clients must be made aware of the benefits that can be realised through the expected front-end costs. Ultimately, the goal is for clients to become more informed so they can clarify what level of information they require regarding asset delivery.

3.2. Information Framework Requirements

The survey highlighted a number of barriers to entry regarding information management, including vague specifications, inadequate education and training, lack of guidance available to support implementation, and insufficient knowledge among parties to the contract. The key barriers noted within the workshop include client upskilling and, in some instances, poor 3D modelling. While an information framework’s main goal is to provide a point of reference to promote strong guidance and collaboration regarding best practices in sharing and collating information throughout a project’s life cycle, it can assist in addressing these barriers to entry. As highlighted within the survey, results will enable the connection of standards, contracts, guidance notes, and associated requirements, including sustainability, circular economy, and carbon reduction targets.

3.3. Guidance

The findings again highlight the importance of the Digital Standards pillar and overall Build Digital project. A lack of guidance to support implementation was highlighted as a key barrier preventing a robust standards-based BIM approach. The survey results emphasised guidance documents, templates, and process flow as the main areas required for upskilling regarding promoting standardised information management. As discussed above, clients are also seeking guidance to familiarise them with a BIM project’s requirements. The workshop attendees also noted standards/guidance for the client and appointing party to ensure clarity and information requirements would be welcome. Other guidance suggested includes understanding terminologies and discipline-specific guidance.

3.4. Current Standards

The survey highlighted a strong selection of standards being used within the sector, including the ISO 9000 series, ISO 19650 series, BS ISO 19650-2: UK and Irish Annex, and ISO 45001:2018. The workshop results also demonstrated that ICMS is an important standard of note. The workshop findings also recognised that Uniclass, COBie, and IFC are all prevalent open standards within the sector. Along with the International Standards Review conducted as part of the pillar, it has highlighted the breadth of standards and open exchange standards that must be considered as part of any information framework.

3.5. Summary

The results from this exercise have established that Build Digital must consider the development of several guidance documents, with the strongest focus being on driving client understanding. These guidance and template documents must form part of a coherent information management framework that must also be aware of the broader range of standards. When completed, this framework can assist in overcoming a number of consistent barriers to entry for SMEs and private and public sector bodies.

In order to interrogate these findings, an additional third workshop was held.

4. Workshop Three

 An additional workshop was undertaken in partnership with the Digital Standards and Digital Procurement pillars at Technological University Dublin on Friday 9th December between 11.30 and 13.00, with representatives from 12 different organisations. This included some of the leading businesses within the Irish AEC sector, who were all responsible for the digital construction remit within their organisations.

The workshop sought to provide an opportunity to further interrogate the findings from the survey and workshops. To accomplish this, it was agreed that both pillars would ask the workshop three questions after an initial update/presentation from each of the chairs. The purpose of this exercise was to assist in validating a final set of recommendations for the standards consultation exercise with the industry.

The following questions were put forward from the Digital Standards pillar based on the Cross-analysis of Workshop and Survey Results. The workshop attendees were provided answers from the cross-referencing exercise performed for the workshop and survey results.

4.1. What Are the Most Prevalent Standards Used Within the Sector / Your Organisation?

This question sought to understand if any additional standards that were noted as being of significant importance had not been captured. While both ISO 9001, ISO 19650, and ISO 45001 were again registered by multiple attendees, the following standards were also recorded through multiple sources:

• ISO 16739 – specifies a conceptual data schema and an exchange file format for Building Information Model (BIM) data, i.e. IFC;

• ISO 55001 ­– specifies requirements for an asset management system within the context of the organization;

• BS 8536:2022 – design and construction for operability ;

• CEN/TR 17654 – this document deals with the processes involved in the procurement and delivery of information to planning and construction projects, specifically with the exchange information requirement (EIR) and BIM execution plan (BEP), considering the administrative processes;

• BSRIA – a UK-based testing, instrumentation, research, and consultancy organisation providing specialist services in construction and building services engineering;

• UK Government Soft Landing – a building procurement initiative developed by BSRIA and the Usable Buildings Trust where designers and constructors stay involved with buildings beyond practical completion.

4.2. What Are the Main Barriers for the Industry in Digital Standards Adoption?

The previous barriers discussed were expanded on, where it was noted that ISO 19650 places the onus on the client, and they need to be adequately prepared to react to this responsibility. It was acknowledged that the information framework would provide a good starting point for the sector and would assist the client in this regard. There is a need to establish the key gaps preventing full BIM implementation, including a lack of understanding of IFC, Open BIM, or model export settings. The definitions of ‘level of detail’ are also different, and there is a requirement to standardise this. 

Regarding SMEs, it was acknowledged that the key requirement was to “keep the lights on”, and it can be difficult to promote BIM to them. There is a broader requirement for SMEs and clients to understand the return on investment. In this regard, more case studies or example projects should be needed. It was recorded that understanding the value drivers for information in the client’s context is key, i.e. what value is the information providing to the client, and if there is no value, why ask for it? Currently, too many scope documents are being put out with information deliverables that have no value. This adds complexity and cost to the process and ultimately results in waste. Clients also need simple systems to support how they evaluate if design and construction information meets requirements.

4.3. What national guidelines (not standards) would you like to see developed to progress digital construction within the sector?

Some suggestions from the workshop attendees included practical implementation documents that are accessible to SMEs and beginners. Other workshop attendees requested more real-life examples or sandbox projects. Other suggestions focused on stakeholder information needs, i.e. asset managers, property consultants, end users, planners, cost managers, regulators, etc. A recommendation was made to get all stakeholders in the room and ask them what information they think they need at each project stage. This could be documented and released as the best example case.

Additional requests included guidance on the role of the project information manager in the pre-design scoping phase and guidelines for client/project managers/contractors to implement digital at the beginning of a bid.

4.4. Workshop Summary

The additional workshop enabled a deeper understanding of the barriers in place and the potential solutions and guidelines required to address these concerns. The workshop also helped to validate the previous findings by providing a broader perspective, which has helped to realise the issues that clients are currently facing, such as over-scoping and a requirement to see a better return on investment metrics. The findings also acknowledge the problems that SMEs are facing. A separate report by an SME focus group set up by the chair of the Innovation and Digital Adoption for Construction Sector Group (CSG) found that training should be available to allow small practices to undertake all roles prescribed under the ISO19650 as relevant to their appointment. To achieve a more robust digital SME sector, there must be adequate support, tools, or knowledge-sharing platforms to access once they have rolled out BIM in their organisation. The report found that SMEs need to be educated on Open BIM standards and integrate them into SMEs’ digital processes, potentially increasing the software market available to them, negating potential software providers’ influence, and providing cheaper options for the same result. Based on the findings above, the SME focus group also found that an unbiased, in-depth review of SME case studies would provide transparency for all parties, highlighting areas of weakness that can be worked on and where benefits are being realised. A standardised library will also streamline the modelling process and provide clarity on client requirements at various stages of asset delivery.

4. Implication, Issues, and Conclusions for Government, Industry, and Relevant Professions: Any Societal Impacts

Standards are important to society and are required to ensure a structured information management network for all organisations. The findings from this report can provide a detailed insight into the current maturity of the sector regarding standards and what are the most prevalent ones adopted. The report also brings to light the key barriers that must be overcome to advance a structured digital information process and proposes solutions to address these issues. The findings are relevant to public and private organisations as they highlight a common problem encountered within the sector. If the recommendations of the report are further explored and solutions adopted, it can drive standards adoption forward, which will enhance the information collection process for the life cycle of a project.

5. Conclusion and Recommendations

The data collection exercise detailed within the report has enabled an appreciation of the key areas on which the Digital Standards pillar will need to focus as it moves forward into Year Two of the project. The goal of Year Two is to provide discipline-specific guidance that can be used in partnership with an innovation framework. The pillar is also tasked with developing a standards-based CPD pilot and postgraduate and undergraduate module development. The following findings were most prevalent:

• Client education – the report has highlighted this as a key area of concern with a specific recommendation on educating the client on what information to provide when requesting asset data. Clients require simple systems to support how they evaluate if design and construction information meets requirements.

• Innovation framework – an innovation framework must be cognisant of standards outside of ISO 19650, i.e. ISO 9001, ISO 55001, ISO 21500, etc., and must provide a recognised framework for all levels of organisations to work from. This can assist in overcoming a number of barriers established throughout the report.

• Promotion of open standards – the different data sources analysed in the report highlight the importance of Open BIM, especially for SMEs, with a potential link to BuildingSmart to be realised.

• Guidance – requests were made to develop guidance in domain-specific professions, understanding terminologies and classifications, level of detail, and Open BIM. The request was to make these guidance documents simple to understand.

• Sandbox projects – the Living Labs will serve these findings, but requests were noted regarding developed templates that could be used as exemplars. There is also a pressing need for case studies to demonstrate a return on investment.