The UK BIM Alliance has been rebranded as ‘nima’ as it shifts from BIM-centricity to a more holistic information management (IM) focus.
Nima is also the Greek word for ‘thread’ – in a nod to Dame Judith’s Hackitt’s emphasis on creating a golden thread of information to improve building safety.
UK BIM Alliance said it selected the new name to help give the organisation “an identity, sense of purpose and a set of behaviours that are better aligned with current and anticipated future UK thinking about digital working in the built and managed environment.”
The rebrand will be announced at the UK Construction Week trade show in Birmingham tomorrow(4 October 2022).
Explaining the change, Dr Anne Kemp OBE, chair of nima, said: “The UK has been hugely influential in the international adoption of BIM adoption since the launch of the UK government’s drive for change in 2011.
“Setting a ‘BIM Mandate’ in April 2016 did much to stimulate people, process and technology change and to help build a standards-driven movement.
“And since 2016, the Alliance has also helped maintain momentum, by, for example, supporting development of the UK BIM Framework.
“However, the debate has started to shift. It is no longer just about BIM – often seen as a technological change – but about wider industry information management challenges, including building safety, climate change, and delivering value across the life cycle of our built and managed assets.”
From BIM to IM
The organisation has been debating its identity and purpose since the publication of the international ISO 19650 standards in January 2019, mindful that industry discussions were also embracing emerging concepts such as digital twins.
BIM was becoming ‘business as usual’ for significant parts of the construction sector.
However, it was often misconstrued as a 3D design technology rather than a process supporting purposeful use of information across the whole landscape of the built environment, from the inception stages of projects, through construction, and then to support efficient operation, maintenance and use of assets through to their end of life.
Continuing, Anne explained: “Our new name, nima, reflects evolution of our industry and our organisation.
“We are keeping an international perspective, continuing to support digital transformation across the sector, and aiming in our behaviours to be as inclusive as possible.
“We are not the ‘BIM police’ – we are a self-help community that anyone can tap into if they want to improve their information management.”
The organisation says that existing content, local and sectoral group resources, and relationships with industry organisations (including UK government, professional and trade association affiliates, technology providers, and buildingSMART International) will be maintained and expanded.
Nima will also continue to support clients and industry practitioners with case studies, plain language guides, national and local events, and exemplar information management implementation projects.
Image: adike/Shutterstock
Read next: Building Safety Act: Data portability and ground-up access key to business survival
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