BIM improves post-construction operational performance at Wrightington Hospital

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is being applied to the £18m Phase 1 of the redevelopment of Wrightington Hospital by IHP. The provision of “collaborative BIM” will enable the launch of estate and asset management systems capable of handling the complexity of the hospital’s operational requirements.

The provision of BIM on the Wrightington Hospital scheme is part of IHP’s structured programme from design concept to post-completion, supported by Constructing Excellence – the construction industry organisation whose brief is to improve industry performance to produce a better built environment. The project is included in the four-year Cabinet Office programme to reduce capital cost and carbon burden from the construction and operation of the portfolio of Government building projects.

IHP will build upon Constructing Excellence’s Avanti process of collaborative working, and sharing and re-using building information models. In parallel with the design works at Wrightington, IHP analysed the capabilities of the design team and Trust, and established the documentation and protocols in the form of BIM Execution plans. These plans define the uses of BIM on the project, and provide a detailed methodology for executing BIM throughout the project lifecycle. A common documentation numbering convention and collaborative intranet has been established, and this will be adopted across the Trust’s estates, facilitating cross-site planned maintenance programmes.

The BIM plans include electronic project and asset information, documentation and data, and will assist the Trust in its operations for the Wrightington Hospital. IHP’s BIM team manager David Kerr said the Trust will see “improved delivery of the project against cost, time and quality metrics; a focus on value as well as cost efficiency; identification and recording of areas of good practice, and quantification of value for money benefits.” Benefits will be recorded by both IHP and Constructing Excellence with the aim of maximising the value added via BIM on future phases of the ProCure21+ scheme.