The Building Information Council (Bouw Informatie Raad, or BIR) promotes widespread application of BIM in the Dutch construction and infrastructure industry. BIR is a unique partnership between various stakeholders in the construction industry, where the members represent both their construction industry segment and their own company. They make practical agreements that are in the interests of the entire industry and ensure these are implemented within their own segment. The partnership focuses on implementing BIM to strengthen the quality, continuity and competitive position of the Dutch construction and infrastructure industry. The resources cotained on the website help to accelerate the development and adoption of BIM within the Netherlands.
This second part leaflet looking at the legal aspect of BIM forms a checklist for projects. This checklist (how to work together with/in a BIM) shows topics about which agreements can be made in the context of BIM. The topics in this checklist are derived from BIM protocols used in the market, combined with topics that have emerged from practice (in particular Pioneering’s BIM protocol 2.0). For a project where BIM (at least from BIM level 2) will be used – in whatever project phase – it is advisable to go through the checklist below in a start-up meeting about the BIM deliverables to be made to date.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
BIM Loket is working towards a sector in which working with BIM and open standards is the norm. As part of this they need to develop information and training related to BIM to upskill the industry and increase the capability to deliver these requirements. The BIM Loket website contains lots of information and support documentation like this template for the BIM Protocol and BIM Implementation Plan. For the application of BIM in a construction project, good contract and work agreements are indispensable. Such agreements are usually recorded in BIM Protocols or BIM Implementation Plans. Practice shows a wide variety of protocols and implementation plans. These terms are used interchangeably and in different meanings. A few years ago, the former BIR Building Information Council already noted a growing need for clarity. To give substance to this, the BIR Working Group BIM Protocol launched two models at the time: the “National Model BIM Protocol” and the “National Model BIM Implementation Plan”. The Model BIM Protocol is intended as a basis for recording project-specific contract provisions around BIM. The Model BIM Execution Plan is a template that project teams can use to record their mutual BIM work agreements. The Models also offer a clear conceptual framework, which is in line with developments in countries around us and is prepared for future European BIM standards.
The National Models should provide more clarity in the terminology used. In practice, for example, different organizations appear to use the term ‘BIM Protocol’ in different meanings. The growing practice is that in most cases a ‘BIM Protocol’ is drawn up after the contracts between client and contractor(s) have already been signed. The parties involved may then discover that a number of agreements that they record should have already been contractually arranged. It is also possible that agreements in a BIM Protocol conflict with contract provisions. This situation can be brought to an end by separating the contractual provisions and the cooperation agreements on the application of BIM. Following the British example, the contractual BIM provisions are included in a ‘BIM Protocol’ (a contract document) and the BIM collaboration agreements that construction partners make among themselves in a ‘BIM Implementation Plan’.
The National Model BIM Protocol has two versions:
An editable version in Word that you can use as a template for your contractual BIM provisions;
An extensive PDF version with – in addition to the template itself – further explanations and instructions; you can use this version as a manual when filling in the template.
There are also two versions of the National Model BIM Implementation Plan:
An editable version in Word that you can use as a template for your BIM appointments;
An extensive PDF version with – in addition to the template itself – further explanations and instructions; you can use this version as a manual when filling in the template.
The Building Information Council (Bouw Informatie Raad, or BIR) promotes widespread application of BIM in the Dutch construction and infrastructure industry. BIR is a unique partnership between various stakeholders in the construction industry, where the members represent both their construction industry segment and their own company. They make practical agreements that are in the interests of the entire industry and ensure these are implemented within their own segment. The partnership focuses on implementing BIM to strengthen the quality, continuity and competitive position of the Dutch construction and infrastructure industry. The resources cotained on the website help to accelerate the development and adoption of BIM within the Netherlands.
BIM was initially mainly used as a 3D model, coupled with standardized, validated information from structures in the design phase. Today, BIM is applied much more widely. Applying BIM can now also mean that the model with construction information is used across project phases, that it is passed on, or collaborated in by more parties in the construction chain. In civil engineering, some clients have chosen a different approach route. These clients focus on the information about the building, linked to a geographical file and not directly on the 3D representation. The emphasis is on exchanging current, standardized and validated information during the life cycle with construction partners and within the organization using open BIM standards and libraries. All of this change needs updates to the legal situation around BIM. This leaflet explains over two pages the key facts to consider when looking at the legal aspect of BIM.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
BIM Loket is working towards a sector in which working with BIM and open standards is the norm. As part of this they need to develop information and training related to BIM to upskill the industry and increase the capability to deliver these requirements. The BIM Loket website contains lots of information and support documentation like this guidance report on BIM in legislation and regulations. The project which led to the report, titled “Room for BIM in legislation and regulations” explores the possibilities and impossibilities within laws and regulations for the application of BIM as a uniform/standard working method. First of all, the research focuses on the use of BIM data/files when applying for the Environmental Permit within the existing permit practice. The main conclusion of the study is that obstacles in existing legislation stand in the way of a successful application of BIM. Investments in BIM by the construction sector therefore have less business and social return and even lead to extra costs and time requirements for clients and construction companies.
The time horizon of this report based on the exploration of opportunities for BIM in legislation and regulations is 3 years. Some of th questions asked in the report include: what is the low-hanging fruit in existing legislation and regulations, where are the urgency and the concrete possibilities for BIM in legislation and regulations in this period?With this focus on low-hanging fruit, this exploration provides the basis for a strategic agenda for realizing the opportunities for BIM in legislation and regulations in that period. This strategic agenda could be seamlessly incorporated into the Building Agenda and could be realized within 4 years of the current Government.
The main conclusion of the study is that investments in BIM by the construction sector have less commercial and social return and, on the contrary, lead to extra costs and time for clients and construction companies than would be possible if the obstacles to BIM in existing legislation are removed. A large part of the current obstacles to the use of BIM in the entire chain from initiative and design to use, management and maintenance are in existing legislation and regulations, especially in the Ministerial Regulation Environment Act (MOR) of the WABO. The MOR blocks the use of BIM in the permit application for the Environmental permit. Partly because of this, there is a lack of a strong incentive for the competent authority for the environmental permit and in particular for municipalities to prepare for receiving BIM data (especially IFC models) from the permit process and the reuse of this BIM data. for other policy objectives. The majority of municipalities hardly seem to prepare for BIM yet. In the survey conducted (a sample of construction companies working with BIM), the construction sector indicates that it is being urged to remove this blockage and in particular to add IFC to the list of permitted formats for attachments to the permit application for the Environmental Permit. In addition, the study has mapped out the opportunities for BIM in the Quality Assurance for Building Act (WKB) and in the Digital Government Act. In summary.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
The global Industrial Revolution 4.0 (IR4.0) calls for Malaysian Construction Industry to transform their current approaches and practices in order to contribute significantly to the nation’s economic prosperity. IR4.0 will transform the Malaysian Construction Industry from intensive labour force-based industry to the use of automation and mechanisation to improve productivity and efficiency. The process involves optimising the conventional construction process towards Construction 4.0 through the application of advanced technologies. The introduction of BIM has helped transform the conventional construction process into an innovative delivery model. BIM requires specific legal and contractual requirements. In Malaysia, an increasing number of projects have started to use BIM at various levels since early 2000, however, contractual arrangements still remain conventional. To meet BIM requirement, the legal and contract terms should consider to be extended to digital construction production processes (model, data and information).
This document highlights the Legal & Contractual implications of BIM encountered by the Malaysian construction industry. Therefore, suggestions for improvement to accommodate Construction 4.0 are proposed. This document is designed to aid the stakeholders to embrace Construction 4.0 by addressing the challenges and proposing strategic outcomes. It should be read as the motivation to reform the Malaysian industry, thrusting the industry into Construction 4.0. This document provides the framework by categorising the case for change, where it currently is, where it wants to be and how it gets there? Leveraging on the legal and contractual issues of BIM implementation, this document suggests appropriate and specific action plans to drive the Malaysia Construction Industry productivity and efficiency towards Construction 4.0.
An archive version of this information article has been created if the original is no longer accessible (Archive information from January 2024)
The Danish Building and Property Agency is a part of the Ministry of Transport, Building and Housing. The agency is the state’s largest property enterprise, contractor and supplier of government work spaces. The agency is divided into three core business areas; Construction, Facility Management, and Rent. As the government’s property enterprise for universities and office workplaces they have a mission that they must deliver more efficiently and professionally, than if the customers themselves were responsible. The Danish Building and Property Agency has evidently found that BIM models enables better coordination in projects, especially when combined with an efficient digital quality assurance. Better data for operations and maintenance is both an opportunity and a challenge, and the Agency will focus on these data for the years to come.
Denmark has had ICT regulations for larger public sector construction projects since 2007. The Danish Building and Property Agency has been the responsible authority for those ICT regulations since 2011. These regulations state requirements for the use of BIM and the open source IFC standard. This document titled the ‘Regulation concerning the use of information and communication technology (ICT) in public construction’ explains the use of ICT, including BIM for projects in Denmark. The regulation covers some of the legal aspects of BIM implementation including procurement and use or exchange of data.
This freely accessible document was published under the ‘Building Trust in Digital’ workstream of the Digital Building Transition Plan (PTNB). It was developed by digital construction specialists and uses an automated form to support the preparation of BIM agreements.
Published in Word or Excel, it covers all the sections to be developed in a BIM agreement and offers a questionnaire to help draft the sections, so they are appropriate to the project. Processes common to all BIM projects are also included. To create a bespoke agreement, the BIM management team only has to complete the fields indicated with the characteristics of their project.
The Public Procurement Office (Urzad ZamówieÅ„ Publicznych – UZP), headed by the President, is the central body of government administration. Supervision over the President of the Office is exercised by the Minister for the Economy. The advisory and opinion-giving body of the President is the Public Procurement Council, whose members are appointed and dismissed by the Minister for the Economy.
This website outlines useful information and knowledge sharing for BIM in four main sections:
- Regulations, including both national Polish law, as well as EU law related to BIM
- BIM Standard EN, looking at the international standards for BIM (ISO 19650) and the BIM Standard PL
- Links to other ministries / groups
- Publications, including links to documents from the EU BIM Task Group.
This Decree establishes the National Strategy for the Dissemination of Building Information Modelling in Brazil РBIM BR Strategy (Estrat̩gia BIM BR), with the purpose of promoting an adequate environment for investment in BIM and its dissemination in the country. The document gives terms of reference for the Strategy, details its objectives, its actions, and the Management Committee representatives (from various Ministerial departments), among other information. The Management Committee will be advised in the execution of their powers by the Technical Group.
The Swedish Transport Administration (Trafikverket), in collaboration with industry players, has developed guidelines for the law regarding digital deliveries in design’ and created contracts for multiple construction project types. Two conditional appendices can be attached to existing assignment contracts to help establish the legal landscape for the adoption of BIM.
This website contains several PDF documents that can be downloaded and used to apply BIM into the contractual requirements of a project. In the terms and conditions annexes, the parties can regulate, among other things, the right of use of and responsibility for the digital information and can also give it a legal status to be equated with descriptions according to the contract documents.
