The Digital Asset Policy provides clear digital requirements for Departments and Agencies to support the planning, design and construction of Victorian Government’s projects and assets. The Digital Asset Policy is founded on the Victorian Digital Asset Strategy (VDAS) released in March 2020 and supports the Government in delivering unprecedented levels of new infrastructure by uplifting the capability of Victorian Departments and Agencies. Implementing the Digital Asset Policy will improve project delivery efficiency, uplift design, and delivery capability, and provide greater data insight and analysis to continuously improve project performance.
The digital asset policy provides clear and consistent organisational and project requirements designed to optimise productivity, and be appropriate and proportional to a project’s value and risk context. The policy applies to all Victorian Government Departments, corporations, authorities, and other bodies under the Financial Management Act 1994. The policy is applicable to any asset investment proposal seeking budget funding and requiring the development of a business case, which is a mandatory requirement for capital investments with a Total Estimated Investment of $10 million or more.
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The European Federation of Engineering Consultancy Associations (EFCA) has launched a report called ‘Which way to go? Strategic scenarios for consulting engineers in times of high uncertainty’ aimed at business leaders making critical decisions in difficult times, such as following the Covid19 global pandemic. The EFCA’s Future Trends Committee, together with the Center for Strategy and Scenario Planning at HHL Graduate School of Management, Leipzig, explored the future and examined possible strategic developments.
A way of providing direction in times of uncertainty is to start with scenarios that show how the future might unfold in completely different ways. The report describes four scenarios for the consulting engineering industry, based on ‘critical uncertainties.
Although digital technologies have turned a lot of our processes and work behaviour upside down, they are no longer regarded as ‘uncertain’. We know we need to continue with digitalisation. What we are less aware of, or at least, less able to accept as a direct impact on our performance, is the mixture of external challenges: the daily threat of climate change, over-indebtedness and highly pressured global financial systems, an increasingly discordant European Union, even war, conflict and refugees affecting our borders. Such issues can directly, and jointly, impact consulting engineers. But how? The future is foggy, and visibility is poor. Where will the changes end? Which trends will prove to be decisive in assessing the future? What will our industry look like in five years´ time? Which key drivers will be formative for our market? How can our companies stay successful in a changing environment? These questions are not easy to answer in the increasingly volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world. This report aims to highlight some potential scenarios which may exist in the future related to these challenges.
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In 2018, four major European industry federations, CECE, Construction Products Europe, EBC and FIEC, organised a joint event under the framework of the “EU Industry days” to discuss a common approach towards digitalisation for the construction industry.
By working together with other organisations from the construction value chain the document ‘Smarter Construction, Stronger Economy, Inclusive Society: The European Construction Industry Manifesto for Digitalisation’, was published.
It was supported by 23 European industry organisations, representing a whole range of stakeholders within the construction value chain.
The manifesto outlines why the digitalisation of the construction sector must be one of the main priorities of the EU political agenda because:
- the European Union must take the political lead on digital construction
- an appropriate regulatory framework on data policy is necessary
- the new EU budget must focus on digital skills, R&D and deployment of IT infrastructure.
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Planbim’s lines of action are: institutionality and strategy, standardization, human capital, enabling technologies, communication and engagement.
The Government’s BIM Strategy was published in September 2017 to stimulate the public sector and to support the digital transformation and growth of the construction sector. It was prepared by the Ministry of Industry and Trade, working closely with Czech BIM Council experts. Within the Strategy, a key element for reducing costs, cutting waste and avoiding errors is the adoption of the Building Information Management (BIM), which makes the most of digital technologies to provide a consistent flow of information and measurable standards at all stages of the construction life cycle, including asset and facility management.
A pan-European collaboration of public sector organisations across 21 countries, this handbook was funded by the European Commission Directorate-General for Internal Market, Industry, Entrepreneurship and SMEs (DG-GROW) and the UK Government’s Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS), which was the lead coordinator of the programme.
The handbook addresses the increasing challenges faced by governments and public clients to stimulate economic growth. It advocates the wider introduction of BIM to deliver better value for public money, encourage competitiveness in international markets and meet sustainability goals. Hurdles to be overcome include climate change, resource efficiency, increased demands on social care, urbanisation and immigration, and an ageing infrastructure.
The wider adoption of BIM is set to deliver cost savings, productivity and operations efficiencies, improved infrastructure quality and better environmental performance. Governments and public procurers in Europe and around the world are recognising its benefits and potential to enhance decision making for buildings and public infrastructure across their whole lifecycle, from new projects to refurbishment of existing assets.
A European-wide strategic approach led by governments and public sector organisations will offer leadership and create with the private sector an open digital construction market that supports the European goals and is competitive in international markets.
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The Government Construction Strategy (GCS) 2016-20 aimed to develop the UK Government’s capability as a construction client in order to achieve efficiency savings and further establish best practices developed under the GCS 2011-15.
The overall aim was to provide a coordinated approach to a highly fragmented industry to improve the delivery, efficiency and performance of construction projects in the public, private and regulated sectors.
Key objectives included:
- Supporting the use of digital technology, including Building Information Modelling (BIM).
- Establishing collaborative procurement techniques that allow early contract and supply chain involvement. These include recruiting and upskilling the workforce while promoting fair payment.
- Fostering whole-life approaches to reduce costs and greenhouse gas emissions across the construction, operation and maintenance of public buildings and infrastructure.
GCS 2016-20 encompassed a collaborative action plan to deliver its objectives involving Working Groups – including representatives of central government departments, the wider public sector and industry – the Strategic Delivery Group and the Government’s Construction Board.
The Infrastructure and Projects Authority was tasked to deliver the Strategy in partnership with major construction spending departments and agencies.
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The UK’s construction sector has a strong competitive edge in the global construction market, forecasted to grow by over 70% by 2025. The 2013 Industrial Strategy: government and industry in partnership – Construction 2025, fruit of a collaboration between industry and the Government, shares a long-term vision for UK construction and includes an action plan.
The key objectives of the Strategy are to lower construction and whole-life costs by 33%, increase delivery by 50%, lower greenhouse gas emissions in the built environment by 50% and reduce the trade gap between exports and imports by 50%.
Objectives are aligned to targets and the areas of intervention include manpower, smart solutions, sustainability, growth and leadership:
- Attracting young people and upskilling the existing workforce are key to boosting capacity and capability.
- Developing efficient and technologically advanced solutions in all areas of construction, spearheaded by investment in research and innovation, is imperative to maintain global standing. The UK’s commitment to the Building Information Modelling (BIM) programme is an opportunity to excel.
- The enormous pressure to adopt environmental practices sharpens the focus on low-carbon and green construction solutions. These have the potential to provide value for money, for instance addressing material and energy waste.
- The global construction industry is set to grow by 4.3% each year until 2025 and it is crucial to boost the UK construction’s competitiveness. It is also a great opportunity to create a strong and resilient supply chain.
- The Construction Leadership Council, representing organisations across the industry, will provide leadership and oversee the delivery of the Strategy.
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A report for the Government Construction Client Group, the Building Information Modelling (BIM) Working Party strategy paper
This report was compiled by the BIM Industry Working Group in 2011 to brief the Construction Clients Group on the benefits of digital ways of working in the built environment.
It was commissioned by the Department for Business Innovation and Skills (BIS) and the Efficiency Reform Group from the Cabinet Office to devise a strategy to increase the uptake of Building Information Modelling (BIM) among public sector clients over a five-year period.
The adoption of BIM would not only improve the performance of government estate in terms of costs, value and carbon performance but also support and promote the UK construction sector’s standing and reputation in international markets.
Collaboration between industry and academia is crucial to ensure an increase of competency through on-going training, toolkits and knowledge exchange, supported by standards and accreditations.
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The Government Construction Strategy was published in May 2011 to support the growth of the construction sector, which is a major part of the UK economy. It was prepared by the Efficiency and Reform Group of the Cabinet Office and the Construction Sector Unit of BIS, working closely with Infrastructure UK (IUK).
The Strategy aimed to help reduce costs up to 20%, improve business models and practices, and establish a collaborative culture while ensuring the public sector is more informed and better coordinated to provide clear briefs and work with suppliers to develop cost-effective solutions for projects of all sizes.
Within the Strategy, a key element for reducing costs, cutting waste and avoiding errors is the adoption of the Building information Modelling (BIM), which makes the most of digital technologies to provide a consistent flow of information, measurable standards at all stages of construction and a basis for asset management when a project is completed.
To enable businesses of all sizes to implement BIM, the Government set up a timeframe and adoption path that allow companies at different transition stages to catch up. This is described in the Strategy as a phased process involving industry groups, in order to allow time for businesses to prepare for the development of new standards and for upskilling their workforce.
The 2011 Government Construction Strategy introduced fully collaborative BIM – with all project and asset information, documentation and electronic data – as a minimum requirement for all government clients by 2016. This is referred to as the UK BIM Mandate.
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