AEC (UK) committee reconvenes for next phase of UK BIM adoption

The AEC (UK) committee has announced their intentions to update and expand the AEC (UK) BIM documents in line with the initiatives that are taking place in the UK construction industry. The widespread adoption of the AEC (UK) work, an “off-the-shelf implementation of British Standards”, has demonstrated the need for their continued development, alongside and supporting BS1192-1, PAS1192-2 and now PAS1192-3 & BS1192-4.

Chair of the AEC (UK) committee, Nigel Davies, explains, “Our aim has always been to provide software-focussed application of the British Standards, and now more than ever, as BIM adoption becomes commonplace, a unified approach to digital authoring tools is increasingly important.” He continues, “The focus of BIM has moved on in even just the last two years since version 2 was published.” The AEC (UK) priority then was primarily directed at guidance for building consistent models, now it is far more concerned with interoperability and collaboration, a stance borne out by the publication of guides for Revit, AECOsim Building Designer, ArchiCAD and the forthcoming Vectorworks version, along with the appointment of ArchiCAD and IFC expert, Rob Jackson, to the committee.

The next phase of work will build on the integration with PAS1192-2, unreleased when the AEC (UK) documents were published initially. Highlights to expect include:

• Interoperability considerations and guidance on model data structures for optimal exchange
• Considerations for LOD and LOI for software-specific modelling workflows
• Stage-based information requirements, mapped directly to in-built software properties and IFC classes

The committee believe that this new release will confirm the position of the AEC (UK) work in the UK. Davies is keen to point out that the AEC (UK) is not an alternative to the British Standards and key UK BIM documentation, but is intended to help implement them in the main BIM authoring tools. “Adopting BIM and the British Standards can be daunting. Our intention is that anyone sitting down in front of their computer ready to start ‘BIMming’ can follow this guidance and work to a proven formula for success, compliant with Level 2 BIM requirements.”

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