Information is key and the activities relating to BIM, the collection, storage and utilisation of information are key parts of the development of a sustainable and maintained built environment.

Members of the National Housing Federation (NHF) and UK BIM Alliance are collaborating on a joint project to help housing associations implement digital asset management.

The two organisations have launched an introductory brochure, ‘BIM 4 Housing Associations: Asset Management in the 21st Century’.

The project team is led by Jack Ostrofsky, head of quality and design at Southern Housing Group, and funded by A2 Dominion, Notting Hill Genesis, Peabody, Optivo and Southern Housing Group – all members of G15, the group of London’s largest housing associations that own or manage more than 600,000 homes.

The two organisations stated that while housing associations are “well placed to benefit from integrating BIM processes into their development and asset management strategies, few hold sufficient information about their projects, and even fewer in digital form”.

BIM4 Housing Associations Project

The aim of this project is to facilitate the accelerated adoption of consistent BIM processes within the social housing sector. This will be done by producing a small suite of exemplar documents that are ready for housing associations to use, promoted with guidance and a business case for the sector in report form.

All our work is aligned with the UK BIM Framework and ISO 19650. We hope that through collaboration and promotion of a consistent approach, efficiencies will arise, and the adoption of digital practices will increase.