capable and certified
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How do you show you are competent to work on a BIM project? Les Pickford introduces the RICS BIM Manager Certification schemeTRANSCRIPT
BIMRICS PROPERTY
JOURNAL
1 0 S E P T E M B E R / O C T O B E R 2 0 1 4
UPFRONTMANAGER CERTIFICATION
How do you show you are competent to work on a BIM project?
Les Pickford introduces the RICS BIM Manager Certification scheme
Capable and certified
Examples of knowledge/activities within
this statement would be:
b understanding the BIM maturity
model and government targets
b understanding the benefits and
use of BIM
b involvement in the development
of a BIM strategy.
EligibilityPractical BIM experience is essential to
achieving certification and candidates
need five years’ experience in a relevant
sector (e.g. construction, architecture
or engineering). They must also hold an
MRICS or AssocRICS, or any degree or
recognised professional qualification, and
have 12 months’ practical BIM experience
in cost estimating or construction.
How to applyThe application process is simple.
Submit an application containing
your career history, some short CPD
summaries, four competency statements
and a 2,000-word case study – all
demonstrating how your experience is
linked to each of your four competencies.
Your application will then be assessed.
Successful candidates will have to
complete a minimum of five hours a year
of CPD on BIM-related topics and will
also have to recertify every three years.
The RICS BIM Manager Certification
is already seeing encouraging take-up
from built environment professionals
working for clients, consultants and
contractors, says Muse. “It covers the
essential skills necessary to apply
BIM in practice. An RICS BIM Manager
will be able to show a recognised
enhancement to their professional skills
in the application of this increasingly
important technology.” b
W
“With the Level 2 UK government
mandate for building information
modelling less than two years away,
industry surveys are showing expanding
use of BIM,” says RICS Built Environment
Professional Groups Director Alan Muse.
“Encouraged by this momentum, private
sector clients are also increasingly drawn
to using it, particularly where they have
an interest in managing the subsequent
facility or asset.”
This activity is intensifying the demand
for salient skills, Muse adds. “There is
a growing number of standards and
guidance documents around best
practice. Hence, knowledge of these
tools and techniques, and training in
their application, are becoming an
essential professional requirement.
Legal, contractual, procurement and
process issues need to be understood
and applied in a BIM setting.”
To meet the growing demand for a
standard that demonstrates relevant
skills, RICS has developed a BIM
Manager Certification for construction
professionals already working with BIM.
BenefitsRICS BIM Certification means candidates
will be able to market themselves with
a recognised practitioner qualification
and demonstrate their knowledge and
experience to clients. Their details will
also be listed on the RICS website to
show they are competent to work as a
BIM Manager on construction projects.
Successful candidates have
welcomed these benefits. “I was pleased
when RICS o`ered its BIM Manager
certification because it seemed to be
a natural extension of my involvement
with the government’s ‘early adopter
BIM project’ at HMYOI Cookham Wood
[in Kent] and its BIM Task Group,” says
Jane Foulkes, Associate Director in
Project Management at Faithful+Gould.
“I felt I had the experience and skills
required for certification, which required
demonstration through the application
process. My employer supported
me because it was a way to further
develop our BIM capability alongside
sta` development.”
Having been involved with BIM on
many projects since 2008, EC Harris
Associate Ian Aldous was keen to gain
recognised accreditation to confirm his
expertise. “BIM has matured immensely
over the past five years, with the UK
taking a global lead, RICS accreditation
is therefore fundamental in starting
to legitimise expertise and experience.
The key benefit to me is global
recognition,” he says.
“RICS is a renowned organisation,
so accreditation is a big step in having
my work with BIM internationally
acknowledged. For EC Harris, the
accreditation further cements our role
in BIM leadership.”
Technical requirementsThe BIM technical competencies define
the skills required to achieve certification.
Applicants must fully demonstrate
their experience in four competencies
and assessors need to see the mutual
interaction of all the headings within their
statements and/or case studies.
Applicants must demonstrate the
following three core competencies:
1 BIM initiation
2 BIM process
3 BIM collaboration and integration.
They must also demonstrate one of the
optional competencies:
4 BIM technology
5 BIM commercial and contract.
For example, under ‘BIM initiation’,
a learning outcome would be: “To
understand the concept of BIM, within
the context of process and activity
aided by technology and ‘big data’ and
how this relates to the real estate and
construction industries.”
Les Pickford is a freelance writer and [email protected]
For further information on becoming an RICS Certified BIM Manager, visit www.rics.org/bim