This evening, at the Embassy of Ireland, Enterprise Ireland hosted the opening reception of Digital Construction Week.
Mr Kevin Rudden, President of the Association of Consulting Engineers of Ireland (ACEI) announced the Construction Industry Council (CIC)’s vision for the industry, which brings together 6 Irish major industry bodies to lead and accelerate Ireland’s transition to digital for the sector. These include The Royal Institute of the Architects of Ireland (RIAI), Association of Consulting Engineers Ireland (ACEI), Engineers Ireland, Construction Industry Federation (CIF), Society of Chartered Surveyors Ireland (SCSI) Engineers Ireland and the Building Materials Federation (BMF) in Ireland.
Kevin Rudden made the following statement on the future of the Irish construction sector: “The Construction Industry Council (CIC) embraces a BIM enabled world. CIC actively encourages the Irish Construction and Built Environment Sector to continue to take full advantage of current and emerging information and communication technologies to remain at the forefront of the industry in Europe. The CIC views BS1192, PAS1192 and BS8536 as important routes towards standardised BIM implementation.”
The announcement was made in tandem with the launch of the first Irish national survey to benchmark the level of Building Information Modelling (BIM) adoption in Ireland. The report reveals that of the industry representatives sampled there is a 75% increase in demand for BIM in Ireland, with 67% indicating a confidence in the industry to deliver BIM effectively (Full report attached).
Following the recommendations of the Construction Strategy 2020 and the UK Industrial Strategy ‘Construction 2025’ that the increased adoption of digital technology will lead to improved outcomes in terms of cost, programme, carbon reduction and global exports, Enterprise Ireland has announced that they will place a bigger emphasize on this growing opportunity. Enterprise Ireland view the digitisation of the construction process as an essential tool for improving the quality and reliability in the built environment. To accelerate the growth of the BIM industry in Ireland Enterprise Ireland have announced a new two year BIM partnership with Construction IT Alliance (CITA).
Stephen Hughes, Construction Manager at Enterprise Ireland commented: “With this strategic partnership, in support of a National BIM Implementation Steering Committee, we hope to further encourage the wider Irish construction industry to realise the benefits that can be enabled through the adoption of BIM processes and technology. It is a key deliverable of this partnership that through research and consultation both domestically and internationally, through discussion with industry and the third level that we will deliver a strategy for the wider and deeper implementation of BIM in Ireland.”
Alan Hore, Founding Director, CITA commented: “Our success in securing the BICP funding is a significant milestone in the maturing of CITA as a go to place for leading international research and consultation capability in the pursuit of excellence in the specialist area of Building Information Modelling and its applicability for the Irish AEC sector. We look forward to partnering with Enterprise Ireland to deliver a quality service for to the Irish Construction industry”
Enterprise Ireland are industry partners for Digital Construction Week and in addition to hosting the opening reception are supporting a BIM Ireland pavilion at the Digital Construction Show. Over the two days, the BIM Ireland pavilion will showcase Ireland’s transition, alongside the international capability and innovative technology from a portfolio of leading companies.
The complete results of the survey will be available soon on BIMIreland.ie
