One area relatively untouched by BIM so far, at least in the UK, is procurement. RIBA has had its product selector platform for many years, and this has now been combined with the NBS BIM Library and the NBS Plus library of manufacturers' product information, into a single portal NBS Source.

In the four years since BIM Level 2 became mandatory on all public projects in this country, the benefits of BIM in terms of time and cost savings through increased collaboration have become apparent. However, as Richard Shennan, Global Buildings Sector Leader at Mott MacDonald, wrote as far back as 2016:

While the use of BIM accelerates, its true efficiency gains are being limited by procurement processes designed for a pre-BIM world”

The use of a common data environment is clearly the first step in this process. Off site construction and pre-manufacturing offer a range of benefits from improved efficiency and shorter construction times to reduced cost and environmental benefits. To ensure that accurate information is conveyed to the manufacturer, and that the on site aspects of the work can be carried out efficiently the data that all project partners are working with needs to be

1. the same and;
2. up to date.

The new NBS Source platform aims to become part of the common data environment. Architects, engineers, and specifiers need to select products to be used on their projects, but according to a National BIM survey we discussed in a recent blog, over half of them say it is much harder than it should be. For manufacturers, ensuring that their products are understood by the designers and decision makers, and are being correctly specified, becomes much easier when the specification, design, modelling, and procurement all take place in one place, with full visibility.

Driving Vision have been working with their clients to implement the truly interconnected IT infrastructure that using BIM and NBS Source requires. Hosting both BIM execution plan and the BIM implementation documents in a common data environment means they can be updated, accessed, or extracted at any time, and from anywhere, throughout the project. Using our cloud computing solutions, 3D visualisation tools and our well-established processes to help participants establish and manage project workflows we can make the realisation of a seamless design to procurement project path possible.

To progress towards Level 3 BIM, which “assumes that there is total collaboration between all parties involved in the planning, construction or operation of the asset throughout its lifecycle”, procurement must become more integrated with existing Level 2 BIM. With NBS Source and Driving Vision’s process to support you in its implementation another step towards a fully collaborative construction management system has been taken. Get in touch to learn more about our processes and support.

Implementing BIM can be daunting, but Driving Vision is here to help you at the pace you are comfortable with. Get started by getting in touch now