BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING - 2021/2

Module Overview

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a multi-disciplinary collaborative model based approach in design, construction, commissioning, ownership, operation, maintenance and demolition of built assets. BIM is a very critical issue in Civil Engineering at the moment due to the decision made by the Government in 2011 for which all projects funded with public funds will have to incorporate BIM starting from 2016. The literature on BIM is very limited and often engineers and students can only find out about it on non-technical press which are poorly informed and only focus on one small aspect of BIM. This module will cover the main fundamentals of BIM as well as general guidance and standards. Practical examples from industry will be covered, including the challenges of the applicability of the use of BIM across the spectrum of scale and complexity of projects.

Module provider

Sustainability, Civil & Env Engineering

Module Leader

SAGASETA Juan (Civl Env Eng)

Number of Credits: 15

ECTS Credits: 7.5

Framework: FHEQ Level 7

Module cap (Maximum number of students): N/A

Module Availability

Semester 2

Prerequisites / Co-requisites

None

Module content

• Fundamentals of Building Information Modelling (BIM): context of construction industry and infrastructure engineering, product life management, asset life cycle data, federal models, digital plan of work, supply chain, levels of BIM.


• BIM standardisation: PAS 1192, current regulations, levels of definition.


• Challenges of BIM implementation into practice: digital engineering, collaborative environment, social aspects, commercial and legal aspects.


• Case studies: BIM applied to different types of projects (different size and applications of infrastructure projects).


• Industry impact: discussion on up-to-date topics and the future of BIM applied in infrastructure engineering.

Assessment pattern

Alternative Assessment

None

Assessment Strategy

The assessment strategy is designed to provide students with the opportunity to demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the fundamentals behind BIM and its impacts in the life cycle of building assets including design, construction, operation and demolition (LO 1 and 2) through a 2 hour examination. LO’s 3, 4, 5 and 6 are assessed through the coursework.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

• Unseen written examination (2 hours, 50%) – [LO assessed 1 and 2]


• Coursework assignment (50%) – [LOs assessed 3, 4, 5 and 6]; 75 estimated working hours; work can be carried out in groups or individually. Project report on case study showing implementation of BIM in a specific project including in depth analysis of the fundamentals, standards and challenges found in the project considered.

Formative assessment and feedback are through a range of self-assessment exercises.  These exercises will provide automatic feedback where necessary. Feedback is also given on SurreyLearn in forum discussions and through comments on coursework submissions.

Module aims

• The primary module aim is to provide an appreciation of the fundamentals of Building Information Modelling and its implementation into Infrastructure Engineering.
• The case studies presented in this module will illustrate the impact of BIM on Sustainability and Health & Safety in the construction sector since BIM involves all the stages during the life cycle of building assets including design, construction, commissioning, ownership, operation, maintenance and demolition.

Learning outcomes

Methods of Teaching / Learning

The learning and teaching strategy is designed to:

• Present students with accurate and rigorous information on BIM and its application into infrastructure engineering.


• Trigger engaging class discussions with experts from industry. Students will reflect on traditional and innovative methods used in infrastructure design in the civil engineering industry by bringing important aspects such as data management and digital information planning.


• Encourage self-learning by pointing students to the relevant literature. This is significant as this topic has a large amount of non-technical and non-rigorous literature associated to it.

The learning and teaching methods include

• Lectures (2 hours or 1 hour lectures per week x 11 weeks)


• Tutorial/discussion sessions (1 hour sessions to be combined with lectures)


• Video tutorials (video supported material)

Indicated Lecture Hours (which may also include seminars, tutorials, workshops and other contact time) are approximate and may include in-class tests where one or more of these are an assessment on the module. In-class tests are scheduled/organised separately to taught content and will be published on to student personal timetables, where they apply to taken modules, as soon as they are finalised by central administration. This will usually be after the initial publication of the teaching timetable for the relevant semester.

Reading list

https://readinglists.surrey.ac.uk
Upon accessing the reading list, please search for the module using the module code: ENGM281

Programmes this module appears in

Please note that the information detailed within this record is accurate at the time of publishing and may be subject to change. This record contains information for the most up to date version of the programme / module for the 2021/2 academic year.