Leeds Beckett University - City Campus,
Woodhouse Lane,
LS1 3HE
Chairman of Government task group delivers guest lecture
Mark Bew MBE presented to a packed lecture theatre in the Rose Bowl and treated the audience to an engaging presentation on the future of the Built Environment in the information age.
As Chairman of Building Smart UK and Director of Engineering Construction Strategies, Mark was able to provide a most informed insight into the way in which data and digital information is already shaping Government strategy in terms of public procurement for capital schemes. Mark also showed how Government clients are preparing themselves to be smart and informed customers when it comes to buying the data embedded in the delivery of projects, not least what happens to all such information when this is handed over the client at the end of building production.
Mark explained how the five year Government project to deliver Level 2 BIM by 2016 is progressing and the way in which the demonstration projects are delivering between 15-18% savings on baseline costs. As more and more Government departments are driving the change necessary to secure such benefits on offer, the take up of BIM information and documentation is gathering pace. The recently published PAS1192.2 document recently broke all records for downloads on the BSI website.
Away from the detail of the processes involved Mark's presentation finished on some staggering statistics and projects from the world of data such as the way in which internet traffic is set to double in the next three years and how in some regions in the east this could well be 10 fold.
Finishing with an upbeat message for the future of the construction industry Mark suggested that competitive advantage for UK firms will exist through being:
- More competitive internationally
- More capable to deliver high end products and services
- At the forefront of Smart Cities/Grids
- Able to Leverage Advanced Engineering from industries such as automotive and aerospace
Speaking after the lecture one of the attendees said: "I am overwhelmed by how much has been achieved in such a short period of time and how well the information revolution is going."