There’s no doubt that Building Information Modelling (BIM) has revolutionised the way building information is managed, providing building owners with the tools and resources to ensure building safety standards are met effectively and efficiently.  

The Building Safety Act aims to improve building safety standards, particularly in residential high-rise buildings. Housing associations in the UK must develop and maintain a golden thread of information for all buildings within their portfolios that are over 18 meters tall or contain seven storeys or more (whichever is arrived at first).  

Here are just a few ways BIM can help with Building Safety Act compliance:  

Better visibility and accessibility of building information

One of the obvious benefits of using BIM is that it allows building information to be a lot more accessible. 

BIM is a central location for all relevant data regarding the building’s design, construction and maintenance. This centralised approach allows building owners, designers, surveyors, contractors and more to access critical building information quickly and efficiently. 

This transparency makes it a lot easier to ensure compliance with the Building Safety Act.   

Increased data accuracy and consistency 

The digital and centralised nature of BIM significantly reduces the risk of errors and discrepancies that frequently crop up when it comes to manually collecting information from different stakeholders.  

“Having ISO 19650 as a consistent BIM data format or set of standards to work to is the key foundation to complying with building safety legislation,” Dave Peacock, Head of Digital Services at Operance 

Streamlined processes for ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements 

The Building Safety Act requires building owners to have detailed documentation regarding their building’s safety. This information is typically provided by a number of different stakeholders, including designers, surveyors and contractors and the responsibility for providing and maintaining this information changes throughout the building’s lifecycle. 

Collecting this information can be a challenging process for building owners. BIM simplifies these processes and helps building owners streamline their approach to regulatory compliance.