A TIPping point as we work to transform construction and the built environment

The publication of the Transforming Infrastructure Performance (TIP) and its Roadmap to 2030 underlines the importance of the collaborative work being undertaken by the Hub, as it is well aligned with ‘Our Vision for the built environment’ published in April by a consortium of more than 75 industry leaders and endorsed by more than 35 cross-industry bodies spanning the UK built environment sector, including the Construction Innovation Hub.

At the Hub, we are delighted to see the inclusion of the new Information Management Mandate (IMM) within the TIP Roadmap. We will work with BSI and the UK BIM Alliance to coordinate and embed awareness of the requirements of the UK BIM Framework.

The Hub programme, its digital tools and guidance, will support the TIP’s Roadmap to 2030, where we leverage innovative modern digital approaches, consistent data and technologies to achieve better and more sustainable outcomes aligned with strategic priorities such as net-zero targets. This also opens up the opportunity for a Digital Twin mandate, which we will work to support, along with the development of the IPA benchmarking hub, which could provide the baseline for continuous improvement, cost modelling and carbon accounting. Linked to this, monitoring whole-life carbon and expanding this  into the decarbonisation of existing buildings would be an important step forward.

The implementation of BIM across Government projects, from delivery through operational handover, facilitated by the adoption of Government Soft Landings (GSL), has resulted in greater collaboration, productivity and efficiency in the design and delivery of construction projects delivering both social and economic infrastructure. This is another area where the Hub has been supporting many departments across the home nations with the provision of bespoke GSL toolkits and guidance.

The Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB), as a partner in the Construction Innovation Hub, has provided the foundation on which the refreshed Information Management Mandate is built through the UK BIM programme – a precursor to the IMM.

Together with the BSI and UK BIM Alliance, CDBB is a partner in the UK BIM Framework, which offers guidance and support to businesses of all sizes and at all levels of digital maturity.

The TIP action plan also encourages Platform delivery models and the Hub’s platform construction system (PCS) is developing a common ruleset and interface promoted in the TIP through which the repeatable elements of the built environment can be coordinated and will set the framework  for, and inform the development of, platforms and the configuration of different ‘kits of parts’.

A range of other standards, guidance and tools are  also being produced through BSI, the  Hub and others to support building safety reforms, such as the new BSI Quality Management Standard for Built Environment, Product Templates, Lexicon and a range of Construction Product Quality Processes.

As we modernise our approaches, we also need to reconsider value and how it can be best defined and measured.  Each project or programme will have its own unique Value Profile – a shape that sets out the Value Drivers for that client, for that project, in that location.

The Hub’s Value Toolkit recognises the interconnectedness of capitals such as the natural built environment highlighted in the TIP Roadmap and provides a practical method of defining a project outcome value profile for calculating and comparatively assessing the value of the potential improved outcomes from an investment. This place-based focus will, ultimately,  enable more inclusive design and operation of social and economic infrastructure.

The TIP roadmap to 2030 can be a real trigger for change in our built environment. Not only does it support a platform-based marketplace and prioritise the societal outcomes we need, but it also establishes a practical roadmap and call to action aligned to and supported by the Hub and its key projects.

Embracing these new ways of working being developed by the Hub  will transform the built environment sector, giving it the tools to tackle the challenges of tomorrow today as we work to build back better and nurture a better future for us all.

Blog post written by Neil Thompson, Information Management Integrated Project Lead for the Construction Innovation Hub.