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 editorlespickford@yahoo.co.uk

For further information on becoming an RICS Certified BIM Manager, visit www.rics.org/bim