Budget 2016: Good news for BIM!

Government expresses commitment to BIM Level 3

The budget isn’t always a cause for celebration however when the Chancellor George Osborne delivered his 2016 Budget yesterday, there was a glimmer of hope for the construction industry with the UK government signaling it’s long-term commitment to developing Building Information Modelling further.

There is a digital vision for construction and here at bimstore we fully believe in a digital future.

In its official release, the HM Treasury stated that digital technology is transforming every sector of the UK economy and in the published Budget 2016 document stated the following:

The government will develop the next digital standard for the construction sector – Building Information Modelling 3 – to save owners of built assets billions of pounds a year in unnecessary costs, and maintain the UK’s global leadership in digital construction.”

The chairman of the BIM Task Group, Mark Bew told Construction News that there would be further details available after April and said “The story is continuing commitment and continuity to the programme and the sector, which is just what we asked for, for long-term sustainability and improvement.”

The news follows on from last year when Vince Cable announced Digital Built Britain - the UK’s program to get the nation ready for Level 3 BIM. A statement posted on the website at that time reads:

“This is an ambitious world class programme based on significant progress demonstrated through Level 2. To ensure we can enter the market with an equally successful Level 3 programme we must commence the detailed planning, research and develop significant cross industry partnerships.”

The construction industry is currently going through a digital revolution. BIM is the digital approach to building design that is acknowledged as the future framework for the industry. With BIM Level 2 becoming mandatory for centrally procured government contracts from 4 April 2016 it is great to see a continuing commitment to driving this change forward.

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