The AEC (UK) BIM Standards draw on guidelines from BS1192:2007 and other world-wide sources of BIM production methods. They do not replace, but instead to provide a practical implementation to any company seeking to adopt a working solution. Nigel Davies, chair of the AEC (UK) committee explains, “The importance of these standards cannot be underestimated. In the bigger picture of BIM development and standardisation in the UK, the AEC documents provide a working implementation of those codes. Our aim is to provide continual updates to align with the major initiatives taking place. Where guidance doesn’t yet exist, we help to bridge the gap between non-standardisation and a unified framework.”

Of particular note in this release:

• Definition of BIM modelling workflows and co-ordination of collaborative working
• Advice on separation of modelling data, reference use and procedures
• Workspace organisation
• Object naming recommendations

If your company uses, or is considering the adoption of Bentley’s BIM authoring tools, this document will assist you in their configuration, installation and use.

Download the AEC (UK) BIM Standard for Bentley Building here.

Please email the committee via nigel@evolve-consultancy.com if you have any comments or feedback on the first release of this standard.

• Additional discipline codes not covered by BS1192:2007
• Updated implementation of Uniclass tables F & G
• Enhanced table Z for more structured definition of non-physical, CAD-based elements
• Full compliance with the BS1192:2007 Presentation field
• Expansion of the 4-character Descriptions field to full, clear, English terms
• Updates to the “View” field to better integrate layer standards with 3D and BIM software

Nigel Davies, chair of the AEC (UK) Committee commented, “Even with all the progress we are seeing towards BIM adoption, the importance of data organisation starts with a consistent and clear CAD layering standard. The changes to the AEC (UK) layer standard have been made by the companies using this standard. It’s a testament to the robust, coordinated methods employed by many of the forward-thinking practices in the UK, small and large, that this latest release is as popular and important to the UK design and construction industry as the original was 10 years ago.”

AEC (UK) CAD Standards For Layer Naming v3.0

The AEC (UK) BIM Standard, released in November of 2009, was developed as a generic document referring to the techniques and concepts utilised in using BIM technology. It was intended to be applicable to all software platforms.

This larger document looks to interpret and expand those concepts with specific reference to Autodesk Revit, supplementing it with further best practice and practical policy. Working practices which conform to standards such as BS1192:2007 are also incorporated to allow this document to work alongside current project management and document control protocols.

In short, if you represent a design practice which is looking to adopt BIM methodology and has chosen to use Revit as the primary tool to do so, then this document should cover your requirements.

This standard is provided as a template to download and incorporate into your office or project protocols. Although this standard has no legislative backing, it is written in the context of rules to be followed rather than points to cover. Companies and individuals downloading the standard are free to take on as much or as little as they wish, but the wider acceptance of the document as an industry standard would require that it remain as close as possible to the original form.

Future releases of the Standard will look to cover technological advances and the wider BIM ecosystem, incorporating other professions in the design and construction process, such as Quantity Surveyors, Specification Writers, Fabricators, Manufacturers, Contractors and Facility Managers.

Above all, the authors hope that this is a clear, concise and readable explanation of working best practices in Revit and a solid foundation for efficient collaboration and communication.

This is a live project so please feel free to email the committee on paul@revitguru.com if you have any comments or feedback.

Paul Woddy
Revit Sub-Committee Chair

• Central and project resources
• Model naming
• Object naming
• Drawing composition for CAD/BIM and 100% BIM workflows
• Spatial co-ordination
• Component modelling
• Data exchange
• And more

The committee members include architects, civil, structural and MEP engineers, multi-disciplinary firms and technology consultants, representing a broad cross section of the AEC market. Nigel Davies, chair of the AEC (UK) committee, and CAD/BIM Management expert, feels this is an important factor in the AEC (UK)’s successes. “The fact that this is a standard written by people who are using BIM tools in their day-to-day work sums up what the AEC group has always been about,” he says. “This isn’t a ‘What Is BIM’ brief, this is the foundation for a common way of modelling, managing and exchanging BIM data in the UK. This is for people who have been sold the idea – and the software – but are asking ‘What now? How do I go about doing this?”

Paul Woddy, Revit guru, sees the standard as an important step forward in the on-going modernisation of the construction industry: “By bringing together in agreement, two opposing forces of Revit users and Bentley users, we have a robust and thorough framework for a universal BIM methodology.” He goes on to add, “We still have a long way to go and are now working on product-specific documents, templates and libraries, which will assist users to comply.”

The AEC (UK) BIM Standard is available for download from the Documents page of this website.

All comments should be returned to Nigel Davies (nigel@evolve-consultancy.com) no later than 30 October 2009. The comments will be reviewed at the start of November with an aim of publishing version 1.0 later that month.

Read the article at http://worldcadaccess.typepad.com/blog/2009/05/the-bim-standard.html

Although BIM is now widely accepted as the route to a better quality of Architectural, Engineering and Construction (AEC) design output, there is a distinct lack of common approach across the industry. This absence limits wider adoption of BIM, minimises the return on technology investment made by companies and forces them to continually re-invent disparate processes and software content. Without any practical or independent guidance in place, and following requests by software users, the AEC (UK) Committee has undertaken to produce a BIM standard. The AEC (UK) BIM Standard will address the needs of design organisations whose projects demand operating in a multi-disciplinary BIM environment to connect their design geometry with engineering, scheduling, cost analysis and sustainability technology.

In addition to a published document, the AEC (UK) Committee aims to provide configurations and online content for both Autodesk and Bentley Systems BIM software. To achieve a practical implementation approach across platforms, the Committee has welcomed new, expert members from the UK Revit Community.

The first release of the AEC (UK) BIM standard is anticipated for October 2009 and there will be opportunity by the UK BIM community to shape its future development. This reflects earlier, successful collaborative efforts by the Committee to produce the AEC (UK) CAD Standards. Further details about the Committee’s work can be obtained by emailing the chairman, Nigel Davies at nigel@evolve-consultancy.com.

AEC (UK) Committee, May 2009

We won’t be publishing any white papers on what BIM is, or what it means to the industry; we’ll be putting together practical standards which anyone should be able to use. File naming, object naming, how to split models up and solutions for exchanging information are all subjects we intend to cover. As usual with the AEC, this will be a standard produced by those people actually working on these issues.

Keep an eye on this site for more news shortly.

In the meantime, please view and download the current AEC (UK) CAD Standards documents.