Government 'will miss key 2016 BIM target’

The government will fail to hit its key target to have all centrally procured projects achieve Level 2 BIM by 2016, according to a survey by law firm Pinsent Masons.

Nearly two-thirds (64%) of construction experts surveyed by the law firm said the 2016 target – a key plank of the government’s construction strategy to cut building costs – was unachievable.

The survey canvassed the views of construction experts from 70 organisations across the industry.

The vast majority (94%) of respondents believe the use of BIM requires a more collaborative approach between the client and construction team, and over a quarter (27%) cite the absence of collaboration as the most significant barrier to achieving Level 2 BIM capability in their organisation.

Two-thirds (66%) of those surveyed believe that the existing forms of contract used in the industry, and the approaches taken to contracting are not fit for purpose in a BIM enabled world. 

Meanwhile 69% said existing construction contracts fail to adequately address the means by which collaborative contracting can be achieved. 

Chris Hallam, partner in Pinsent Masons’ Projects, Construction and Engineering team, said: “The overriding message from our survey points to greater collaboration if BIM is to be a success. 

“Collaboration is not, however, a new concept for the industry. For over a generation the government and industry stakeholders have strived to create a utopia of a more collaborative construction industry with some, albeit limited, success. 

“The problem is that the majority of construction contracts are not very collaborative. Risk tends to be allocated in a binary manner, with each party incentivised to look after its own interests – rather than the wider interests of a project. 

“Because the parties’ interests are rarely aligned, this tends not to create an environment where true collaboration is possible – at least not if things go wrong.  BIM, however, by its very nature requires a more collaborative environment.”

There was originally a poll attached to this story. We asked, do you think the government will fail to hit its key target of having all centrally procured projects achieve Level 2 BIM by 2016?

Here’s how you voted: