It has been 6 months since the Building Information Modelling mandate, or the BIM mandate was introduced. The BIM mandate dictates that, right now, the design team of all public projects must use BIM in all projects over 100 million euros. The reason behind the introduction of this mandate was to increase sustainability in the built environment. The next phase of the mandate, which will begin in January 2025, will require the rest of the stakeholders of the project like the contractors to also use BIM. The mandate will continue to be phased in over the next three and a half years until all public projects under 1 million euros will require the use of BIM by all project participants. If you want to find out more about the mandate and process of implementation click here.

If you are interested in learning skills in BIM, DASBE has several flexible, short and medium-term courses.

1. Fundamentals in BIM  ISO 19650 – TUS
2. Python for Construction Professionals-TUS
3. Building Information Modelling (BIM) Architecture-ATU
4. Certificate in BIM MEP-TUS
5. Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Digital Leadership-ATU
6. Building Information Modelling (BIM) For Sustainability-ATU

For a full list of available courses please see DASBE.ie/programmes or click here to see 30+ new micro-credential programmes.

What is BIM

Building Information Modelling is a process for creating and managing information on a construction project throughout its whole life cycle (www.gov.ie, 2023). BIM can be defined in 7 main stages or dimensions.

• 2D BIM-Two-dimensional designs of the buildings.
• 3D BIM-Three dimensional design of the building providing depth, width and height to the design. 3D models enable the other dimensions to be applied.
• 4D BIM-Time is applied to the 3D model to create a schedule across the design and construction stages
• 5D BIM- Potential costs can be applied to current and future activities by all project stakeholders to give an estimate for overall project expenditure.
• 6D BIM-BIM can be used to analyse energy consumption, carbon emissions and more thus improving sustainability.
• 7D BIM-Asset data, including technical specifications and status, is used for effective facility management.

One of the characteristics is that different teams (ie design team, mechanical and electrical teams, etc) can work together on the same project at the same time to integrate the information and designs. BIM can help visualise different design options, spot opportunities to use pre-fabricated components, and remedy any issues before they have even occurred. Once the deliverables are identified, timelines and costs of each activity can be applied. All this allows the project to stay on track, provides a means of open communication, increases efficiency and saves resources.

How does it contribute to Sustainability?

Using BIM, the design teams and contractors can specify product quantities and the related carbon emissions and perform a carbon assessment and global warming potential calculations. Since all asset data is readily available BIM can also be used to predict how the building will operate, the maintenance requirements of the building and when they are due to be repaired or replaced. Combining these two features allows us to create truly efficient buildings with low embodied and operational carbon as well as plan for repairs and disassembly.

The ability to plan, manage and predict for the entire life cycle of the building contributes to a better circular economy too. As mentioned before, the BIM methodology can be used to enable practices like reuse, disassembly and controlled end-of-life solutions. Having a full catalogue of the products used means that reuse or repurposing of these materials can also be planned.