Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Sustainability by
building SMARTER
Strategic changes to reshape bSI
Structure, membership and certifcation
to be enhanced
In May 2013, bSI chair Patrick MacLeamy put the case for
strategic change in his paper, The Way Forward. BuildingSmart
International is at a turning point for to realise our dream of
global adoption of openBIM standards, we must evolve, he said.
One year on, the International Council, at its meeting in Beijing,
voted in changes that are already transforming bSI into a more
effective organisation.
Structured for progress
The transformation provides a more
rational structure, a consistent
approach to new projects and the
creation of a Strategic Advisory
Council. The frst change is the new
structure of bSI. The International
Council and ExCom remain as
before, but ExCom is now advised
by a Strategic Advisory Council,
drawn from large multinationals
and clients (see box). Three core
programmes form the grass-roots
work of buildingSMART: Standards,
Compliance (including certifcation)
and Chapters (with a strengthened
and more infuential role).
Standards and rooms
A Standards Committee will be set
up to oversee the creation of new
standards. Proposals for standards
will come from three sources: the
chapters, the buildingSMART rooms
and third parties.
The earliest of the bS rooms
were the Product Room and the
Process Room covering the
data dictionary and guidance on
processes, respectively whose work
is complemented by the Technical
Room. The Infra Room more
recently established is tackling
specifc projects to extend IFC to
infrastructure. A new room, the
Regulators Room, is in formation.
As standards are initiated,
developed and approved, expert
review panels will provide continuous
appraisal, while the Standards
Committee builds consensus for
approval at the two major gates of
the project management process.
Membership
The strategic changes include new
categories of membership. Until now,
bSI membership was open only to
the local chapters. Now membership
has been extended to three new
categories, open to organisations:
Strategic Advisory Council members,
international members and standard
members. Membership details will be
available shortly. Wider membership
is expected to provide expertise
and valuable additional resources
for projects that beneft the whole
community.
Compliance and certifcation
Certifcation has become increasingly
important as more software
developers desire to comply with
bSI standards, wrote Patrick in The
Way Forward. The buildingSMART
Certifcation 2.0 system, launched
in 2010, has been recognised as
stringent and quality-enhancing. But
with the use of BIM more widespread
than before, bSI is rethinking its certif
cation offer, with plans to extend it to
individual people and organisations
and set up further centres of
certifcation in the UK and France.
Chapters
A further strand of the strategic
changes is the chapter strategy,
launched in July 2014. The role of
chapters is more clearly defned.
On the one hand, chapters are well
placed to identify local needs for
standards and feed them into
the standards funnel. On the
other, chapters can help speed
industry adoption, working
with government to shape and
infuence industry practices.
Another aspect of chapter activity is
user training and certifcation. We
need to harness the strengths of
local chapters, says Chris Groome,
bSI business manager.
Fit for the future
We are the only global standards
body in a position to support open
BIM, concludes Patrick. With the
changes already made and those to
come, we are organised for success.
Strategic Advisory Council
The bSI Strategic Advisory Council was
launched in July, as part of the strategic
and structural changes underway. The
frst companies to sign up as SAC
members were international software
companies Autodesk, Nemetschek and
Trimble, and the global architectural
practice, HOK.
SAC members will advise bSI on
its Standards and Compliance
programmes. When fully established,
the SAC is expected to comprise
1215 members representing owners,
contractors, manufacturers, software
vendors, operators and consultants
operating in the Americas, Europe and
Asia.
With the launch of the SAC, we will for
the frst time have direct involvement
from leading strategic stakeholders at
the highest bSI level, says Richard
Petrie, bSI CEO. Their participation will
help us select the most-needed projects
and secure the additional resources
needed to fuel our programmes.
BuildingSMART responds to market demand
The digital economy is gathering pace and all the parties involved in the design, construction
and operation of the built environment are already experiencing the benefts it brings,
especially in areas like open BIM. But to get the full positive impact, the industry will need to
make further changes, as new tools and processes become available.
At buildingSMART, we are adapting too. Changes to transform bSI into a more effective
organisation are happening, making it a partner of choice for entrepreneurial frms in
research and user projects.
This news extra outlines the changes underway at bSI during 2014 and beyond.
buildingSM
ART
International home of openBIM