Water and Effluent Treatment Magazine
Issue link: https://fhpublishing.uberflip.com/i/644820
8 WET NEWS MARCH 2016 INTERVIEW " We're moving towards a digital built Britain. That's where we're going, and we need the water sector to step up and play its part." If it does not, warns Andrew Cowell, engineering director at MWH, and chair of BIM4Water, then "it's going to • nd it's having to • t in with something that probably doesn't • t". Cowell continues: "As the water sector, we need to get involved in this so that we can help shape it rather than be presented with a fait accompli that we then turn round and say 'well why doesn't it • t?'. If you don't go to the party and help shape it, you can't complain when it's one you don't like," he laughs. This "digital revolution" includes Building Information Modelling (BIM), something that has been around a long time but has only really started to come to the fore in the past couple of years as the government strives to reduce capital cost and the carbon burden from the construction and operation of the built environment by 20%. WET News met with Cowell recently and heard that the water companies need to get asset information management savvy; can learn from the rail sector when it comes to creating a single framework that the supply chain can deliver into; and that adoption of BIM can drive collaboration and e‹ ciencies in the industry. Mandate BIM is not new. It has been around for years but its implementation has gathered pace recently mainly because of the government's Construction Strategy, which requires all central government departments, including the Environment Agency (EA), to adopt minimum, collaborative Level 2 BIM from next month. This mandate does not apply to the water sector, although it will for Scottish Water when the public sector in Scotland implements BIM from April 2017. BIM is very close to Cowell's heart, and is a subject he will be discussing at Utility Week Live this coming May as he continues his mission to encourage engagement with the water companies in particular. When WET News met him, Cowell was Andrew Cowell, chair, BIM4Water BIM can drive collaboration and e ciencies in the water industry