Public projects worth RM100m and more must use BIM system from 2019

KUALA LUMPUR: Beginning 2019, public projects worth RM100 million and above would be required to use the Building Information Modelling (BIM) system, said Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof.
He said the use of BIM would improve the efficiency, productivity and quality of the construction process as well as reduce costs and avoid problems in design at the planning stage.
"BIM will enable all parties involved in a project to visualise, coordinate and analyse the physical aspects and main functions of every element before construction begins.
"It will also help the developer to achieve the target of completing the building with the quality which has been set and avoid any changes in the contract," he said in his speech at the launch of the myBIM Centre, here, today.
He said the government was considering using the BIM system to build four public hospitals which required detailed planning and involved high costs.
"Constructing a hospital is not like other buildings, as there must be coordination to install detailed medical and safety equipment and the BIM is needed to fulfil the requirements of hospital buildings," he said.
"Among the government projects where the BIM was successfully used is the National Cancer Institute, Putrajaya which was supervised by the Public Works Department, and completed within the set time and cost," he said.
On the myBIM Centre, Fadillah said it would act as a referral centre for the BIM system, as well as a training venue for developers, contractors, consultants and suppliers of BIM.
"myBIM Centre will also provide industry players access to BIM software and hardware based on the principle of 'pay-per-use' at a reasonable cost," he said.
He added that the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) had invested almost RM3 million to set up the myBIM Centre which included the hardware and software for the system, thus allowing industry players more access to the service.
CIDB chief executive Datuk Ahmad Asri Abdul Hamid said since 2016, the board had trained 1,300 members of the industry to use the BIM system.
"We have also allocated RM1 million for 2018 for construction companies and contractors to buy the BIM software to train more people," he said. – Bernama