Plan BIM 2022: What role will big construction companies play?

In November 2018, the French government unveiled Plan BIM 2022. This system takes over from the PTNB (France’s plan for digital transition in construction) with one simple, functional aim: to speed up the implementation and widespread application of BIM processes by project managers. The purpose of the plan is to digitalise information in an inclusive way: such a transition not only creates wealth but also makes that wealth accessible to the entire chain of industry players across the country, and shares it among them. There are a number of considerable challenges to address alongside, in terms of economics, lifestyle and energy transition. Funding of ten million euros has been released to launch the required initiatives.

Plan BIM 2022 is structured around two main themes. The first is the matter of extending the BIM application to all construction projects,across the whole industry.  More specifically, this entails making common practices more reliable and to provide clear, balanced definitions of the expectations and obligations of all those involved, thereby improving overall security. And secondly, the plan aims to launch BIM processes in every region while providing training support to all workers in the sector. To this end, the plan aims to set up an innovative ecosystem of accessible digital tools so that each and every building operation can be done in an entirely digital manner.   What role will the big construction companies play? “We’re convinced about the value of the BIM, and we’re implementing it on 60 % of our projects in France and abroad,” says Christophe Moreau, BIM project manager at Bouygues Construction. “And this percentage is on the increase. The BIM is an essential tool for construction. As a big company in the construction sector, our role in Plan BIM 2022 is twofold. Firstly, it is to put the various BIM uses into action on each of our projects, thus demonstrating its benefits to our customers and partners. Then, it is to train people up on the BIM processes, developing their skills so they can contribute to a genuinely collaborative BIM. Our customers are making real headway on the subject of BIM. Some have now acquired a BIM Charter, and they detail their requirements in a BIM specification brief. As to those who haven’t reached that point yet, it’s also part of our job to engage in dialogue with them, so as to understand their concerns and offer them BIM uses that would help them achieve their projects. Our second role is a broader one: we aim to participate in the governance of the Plan and the initiatives being put into action. That’s what we’re currently doing with our professional organisation, EGF.BTP, which gives us a presence in the Plan’s Steering Committee as well as in the Board of Directors and the office of ADN Construction, the association assisting the government with the Plan’s implementation. Alongside all this, we also have another, more general mission: to keep on innovating, since we have the means to do it. And to pull the construction industry forwards as we go. With our faithful partners by our side, we’re making progress every day and taking the process of data sharing, analysis and structuring ever further. We’re involved in a number of general interest initiatives, either directly or through EGF.BTP, with other companies or professional bodies. All of these initiatives contribute to the advance of the industry as a whole”.