Key facts

Funding Body/Client:  University College London Hospital
Project Partners:  UCLH
Total Project Value: £65,000 
UCL/IEDE Project Value Share £65,000/£65,000 
Duration: 2012-2016

BIM in its current form emerged as a consequence of published Government Construction Strategy which addressed the need for waste reduction within public sector construction projects by 2016. This strong pledge was a reaction to growing inefficiencies within the built environment industry such as duplicating work, unnecessary reworks, poorly structured contracts, lack of control mechanisms opinions, and inefficient work organisation. The recent economic crisis has caused hardship within the built environment industry. Therefore, to battle the domino effect the UK government decided to pursue the strategy, which would maximize market potential and add value (in form of savings or efficiencies) to the projects across the whole life-cycle. BIM implementation necessitates formation of a robust set of information management processes and, most of all, becoming an informed client. This will facilitate the delivery of intelligent buildings and as a consequence reduce waste, introduce more certainty, allow for more informed decision-making, and minimize project risk. Despite promised benefits and multiple success stories, BIM is struggling to break through to world of clients (hospitals) and facilities management as opposed to the supply chain (design team, contractors). This research therefore investigates the issues of process alignment and impact of BIM in healthcare.

People

PI: Michael Pitt 

Rs:  Paulina Zakrzewska and Tahir Ahmed (UCLH) 

Output

As part of this project both the DoH and Cabinet Office mandated the use of BIM on UCLH with the general assumption that it would enable more efficient design, construction as well as further facility management.  The research therefore aims to produce the following outputs:

1. Formulation of a conceptual framework for the BIM in NHS, and its further implementation and evaluation.

2. Identification of success factors and primary barriers for process alignment 

3. Examination of gap between CapEx and OpEx and BIM influence in bridging this gap 

4. Performance of 360 degrees analysis across the whole building life cycle to

investigate what industry players would benefit BIM implementation most

5. Examination whether the BIM benefits can be capitalized on major complex healthcare projects

Impact

It is envisaged that the research will result in a new and different understanding of new process/legislation implementation within the established corporate processes. However, the direct impact of this BIM focused research will be illustrated through the creation of a more informed client and viewing BIM as an operational and management tool as well as its effective delivery within the NHS built environment projects and its further operations ultimately allowing for maintenance of intelligent buildings. Finally, the research strives to influence the current body of knowledge and further explore the role of BIM process, process alignment and client vs supply chain engagement. 

Links

For further information please contact: Paulina Zakrzewska