Enabling Building Information Modelling Through Procurement and Contracts

David Mosey, Christopher Howard and Darya Bahram

September 2016

A paper based on a research project led by the Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution at King's College London

Although there is pressure from Government and construction employers generally to move towards the integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) (and higher levels of BIM) into UK projects, the procurement and contractual implications of doing so deserve careful analysis and have not yet all been resolved. The paper is co-authored by Professor David Mosey, Christopher Howard and Darya Bahram from King's College London, acting on behalf of a newly formed BIM Research Group. It summarises aspects of a project supported by SCL and the Association of Consultant Architects which investigated the use of BIM in UK projects and the opportunities and challenges it presents.It considers critically the provisions in standard forms which newly deal with BIM, as well as the available additional protocols (or equivalent) which attempt to set a framework for the use of BIM (in particular the CIC BIM Protocol); and it summarises the experience so far of parties and their advisers who have used BIM, with a look at how other common law jurisdictions are grappling with the same issues.

Introduction - How is BIM treated in standard form contracts? - Standard forms and collaborative working - How does the CIC BIM Protocol work? - The CIC BIM Protocol and standard forms - Treatment of deadlines and interfaces - Clash detection, early warning and risk management - Intellectual property licences - What is the contractual status of BIM documents? - A BIM protocol and/or amended contract terms - The Employer's Information Requirements - The BIM Execution Plan - What reliance can be placed on BIM software? - Reliance on data and communication - Exclusions of liability - What is the role of the BIM Information Manager? - BIM and long term asset management - Government soft landings - Future BIM procurement and contract options - Revised two-party protocols - A multi-party contract? - A multi-party BIM protocol? - Towards BIM Level 3.

The authors: Professor David Mosey is Director of the Centre of Construction Law & Dispute Resolution, King's College London, and UK Government Lead Project Mentor for Two Stage Open Book; Christopher Howard is Senior Lecturer at the Centre of Construction Law; Darya Bahram is an architect and project manager and lead researcher on the BIM research project for the Centre of Construction Law.

Text 22 pages.