WET News

we are more efficient at the end of it." Zero to hero Ross praised the culture at NM Group which he said had allowed the company to go from "zero to hero" on BIM in a relatively short space of time. One of the keys has been working with external part- ners – whether suppliers, subcon- tractors or customers – to educate them about the BIM level 2 process. It has held both one-on-one ses- sions and quarterly collective ses- sions to discuss the process and meeting the new expectations; the company is willing to spend time and money on 'hand holding' sup- pliers who need a greater level of support, Ross adds. Water company clients have become very enthusiastic about BIM in the last couple of years, but sometimes do not appreciate their own responsibilities in terms of maintaining the data created from the process, says Ross. Integral to the BIM approach is that asset owners will keep and maintain the BIM data so that it can be used when future work is required on that asset – which might involve a timespan of decades in the case of water companies. To correct the misconception people have that BIM is all about design and construction, Ross prefers the term 'Better Informa- tion Management' rather than 'Building Information Modelling' as an acronym for BIM. He believes this will help people move quickly into the mindset required for BIM wwtonline.co.uk | AUGUST 2018 WET NEWS 7 level 3, which concerns informa- tion relating to assets that are already in the ground, and how they can be maintained and/or modified. "This could be the future for the construction industry. After all there's only so much new ground we can build on, and so perhaps the industry needs to concentrate more on what's there, and how we can effectively manage it. Cer- tainly NM Group has taken the view that we want to be maintain- ing the projects on behalf of cli- ents – rather than waiting for the client to say that there's something wrong and asking us to fix it." NM Group is striving to bring about more offsite manufacture in water industry projects, which will be assisted by its emphasis on BIM. Ross stresses that achieving level 2 accreditation is only the first step in an ambitious ongoing journey for the company, and that BIM will soon become the industry standard. Those who are not already thinking ahead to the next stage will get left behind. "BIM is not an outcome, it's a process, it's a way of working, it's a culture. Everybody needs to sign up to that process of managing information better. If just one link in the chain doesn't buy into it, t h e n i t d o e s n' t w o r k , " h e concludes. � NM Group was named Water Industry Contractor of the Year in the Water Industry Awards 2018, held in May and organised by WET News and WWT. "BIM is nothing without the data to back it up. If you have unstructured or missing data, then it's an uphill struggle." RELEASE THE POWER of your treatment plant's sewage sludge! Maximum mixing for your AD/biogas with Landia's proven, venturi-based GasMix – without the need for a diffuser or bubbler system Cost benefits Externally-mounted chopper pumps for easy maintenance. No moving parts inside the digester. No downtime – no loss of biogas production during servicing. Process benefits University Research proves up to 11% higher biogas production. Greatly enhanced biosolids. Health & Safety benefits No need for hatches, platforms, ladders and structural support for mixers. No working at height - no restrictive harnesses required. No working in the gas zone - no restrictive breathing apparatus required. 01948 661 200 landia.co.uk IDEAL FOR ALL SLUDGE APPLICATIONS WINNER

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