It has been estimated that 43% of construction professionals have never used Building Information Modelling (BIM). However, few can argue that the presence of BIM does not represent a paradigm shift in the Construction Industry, and, with the inexorable creep towards technology-driven processes, lack of BIM compatibility may yet be the death knell for many.
If the choice of contractor is made based on BIM expertise, then it follows that choice of contract to govern BIM-driven works should also cater for BIM. In its NEC3 April 2013 editions, the NEC acknowledged that BIM-specific provisions should be included in the contract’s standard terms and not left to bespoke amendments.
Its guide How to use BIM with NEC3 contracts describes how the CIC BIM Protocol may be inserted into the contract’s Works Information and altered to reflect any revisions to the protocol by the Employer or Project Manager, whilst protecting the sanctity of rights and liabilities of contractual parties by requiring these to be included in the Conditions of Contract. The JCT Public Sector Supplement released in September 2011 suggests that the BIM protocol be added to the list of Contract Documents, but does not provide a main contract clause requiring the Employer to comply with these Documents.
It is perhaps unsurprising that the NEC suite is one of the first contractual families to embrace codified BIM provisions. The BIM process envisages efficient, multi-party cooperation and an environment where changes and delays are identified and dealt with early. With its emphasis on proactive management and ‘mutual trust and cooperation’, the NEC3 makes the ideal vehicle for the BIM process. Its early warning provisions (and associated sanctions for breach thereof) equally allow the Project Manager to detect impairments to the process and manage these before modelling is stalled.
Furthermore, its flexible cost mechanisms may favour the centrally-run multi-party environment. Where delays and faults have been caused by a common failure to execute Data Drops at the prescribed time, for example, the Employer may consider NEC options C and D which provide for the parties to agree a target price for the works. If the works cost more than the target price, when complete, they would share the cost overrun in pre-agreed proportions.
The CIOB Complex Projects Contract also allows for BIM use with suggested wording in the main contract and BIM protocol in their appendices – a sign that other contractual suites are alert to the shifting of the sands. The JCT has yet to issue its own suggested BIM wording for the main contract and will need to do so soon to remain the standard, if not, it is possible that, in a BIM world, the old guard may need to make way for the vanguard.
Previous blogs in our BIM series can be found here:
