BUILDING INFORMATION MODELLING - 2025/6

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 (Sust & CEE)

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: ISO 19650, 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

N/A

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 an examination. LO’s 3, 4, 5 and 6 are assessed through the coursework.

Thus, the summative assessment for this module consists of:

 

• 
  Coursework assignment – [LOs assessed 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 and 8]; work must be carried out in groups. 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. The report includes a personal reflection on the team work and an evaluation of own and team performance.
  


• 
  Unseen written examination – [LO assessed 1 and 2]
  


• 
  Additionally each student is required to complete training in the area of Equality, Diversity and Inclusion and successfully complete the associated online quiz. The quiz is marked as pass/fail and a pass is required but does not contribute to the overall mark of the module. 
  

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.

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

Other information

The Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering is committed to developing graduates with strengths in Employability, Digital Capabilities, Global and Cultural Capabilities, Sustainability and Resourcefulness and Resilience. This module is designed to allow students to develop knowledge, skills and capabilities in the following areas:

Digital capabilities: The module covers fundamentals of Information Management in infrastructure projects within a digital engineering and collaborative work environment context defined by BIM standards. In the module, students have the opportunity to explore new technologies (e.g. photogrammetry for 3D meshing) to develop digital twins as part of applying BIM principles.

Employability: Infrastructure developers and owners, as well as governmental bodies, are pushing towards digitalization of infrastructure delivery. Hence the skills developed in this module are relevant to industry. Other professional skills developed include the understanding of current standards of BIM.

Sustainability: The module reflects on the sustainability implications of BIM practice in industry and the potential benefits and challenges in terms of implementation. This is explored through different examples and case studies of real infrastructure projects with significant economic, environmental and social impact.

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 2025/6 academic year.