NW BIM Hub event success

Eighty four delegates, from all over the northwest region and from all construction disciplines, signed up for the North West BIM Hub’s first seminar last week, which was held in Manchester, in partnership with the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. The organisers reported an almost full turn out at the early Monday morning breakfast session; a sure sign of the sector’s engagement with BIM.

Mark Stodgell of Pozzoni Architects and newly appointed NW BIM Champion, kicked things off with a talk about the very real opportunities and changes that BIM will bring to the property construction sector, its clients and its supply chain; this, in particular, following the publication of PAS1192:2 and the CIC BIM Protocols at the end of February.

Regional BIM thought-leaders then directed round table discussions. These mixed networking and discussion sessions helped to break down the barriers inherent between the various disciplines and sectors of the industry and gave people the opportunity to share experiences and to question their peers.

In accordance with the hubs’ brief to provide a mechanism to take questions and concerns, particularly from the SME community, back to the Government’s BIM Task Group, the attendees were encouraged to explore what they wanted from the BIM regional hubs (16 in total across the UK nations and regions); what they perceived to be the barriers to information/model sharing; the methods they thought would encourage organisational change; the best sources of BIM information; the barriers to BIM adoption; and finally the best advice they would give to BIM newbies.

Matthew Kershaw, Policy Manager at Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce “With our trusted brand and neutrality when it comes to solutions and products, Chambers of Commerce across the country can and should be playing a role in bringing together mixed discipline groups to events like this. We at Greater Manchester Chamber are committed to ensuring our members are well informed and have the skills to fully implement BIM and I look forward to working further with Mark and the NW BIM Hub”

Mark Stodgell, CIC’s NW Regional Hub Champion “The changes that BIM will bring to the construction sector are game-changing technological and cultural processes which will impact on all disciplines and throughout the entire supply chain. It is vital therefore that collaboration begins now in order for UK Construction plc to lead the world in this dynamic new way of working.”