discussed some recent developments in my region but the interest in using DfMA on construction projects to drive benefits related to cost and programme, quality, productivity, health and safety and sustainability is growing worldwide.. As DfMA grows from a niche topic into a mainstream conversation in the construction industry, more and more government and private sector stakeholders are getting involved developing strategies and finding opportunities.
The Construction Innovation Hub’s ‘.Defining the Need.
’ report – which came hot on the heels of the Construction Playbook at the end of 2020 – does exactly what the policy says.It sets about harmonising, digitising and rationalising demand by aggregating the next five years’ pipeline data from the major government departments (health, education, justice,.and housing) to identify areas of commonality and difference..
When these documents were published, I commented that they would both be enablers of an ‘Amazon for construction’.Using ‘Amazon’ was meant as shorthand for some form of digital marketplace.
to advance construction procurement methods.
, not a suggestion of a perfect model to follow, but it prompted an interesting debate..Unlike the 2D plans and PDF documents currently in use, BIM and digital technology enable applicants to segment their designs, making this possible and less prone to mistakes.. Ricketts says that next steps will revolve around using the Gateway One process that’s come out of the Hackitt Report and the Building Safety Bill, and will involve extracting and digitising important fire safety information from architecture and engineering models.
The Building Safety Bill specifies that information must be held securely on a digital platform, and it’s much more sensible to start doing it now, rather than having to catch up later once it’s all gone through the paper-based planning system.The importance, value and scalability of digitising these building safety processes will be evident to everyone..
Sharing data for a better future.The possibility of digitising our built environment clearly holds the potential for a wide array of valuable benefits.
(Editor: Stackable Backpacks)