Stage 8 – Project Close Out – BIM Academy: Learning and Development

Although individual information containers are added to the common data environment archive during information production, this particular requirement relates to archiving the whole project information model as part of project close-out.

This is to ensure that there is a definitive final version of the project information model available in case it needs to be referred to by the appointing party after the project has been completed.

The opportunity to capture, store and disseminate lessons learned from one project to the next (and from one appointment to the next), supports the continuous improvement of the briefing, delivery and operational outcomes of future projects. Although this is noted as a project close-out activity, capture of lessons learned might also improve processes within the duration of an appointment.

It is paramount that sufficient time and resources are allowed to identify, record and understand the implications of these lessons. A robust process will ensure information collected is appropriately structured and in a consistent format to enable analysis, storage and onward utilization.

The capture of lessons learned is also an activity referenced in the BS 8536 series (which remains within the UK BIM Framework), as part of soft landings. Soft landings provide a structured methodology whereby lessons can be captured.

BS 8536 1&1 aims to:

• Involve the operator, the operations team and their supply chain from the outset.
• Extend the involvement of the supply chain for the project’s delivery through to operations and defined periods of aftercare.
• The scope of the revised BS 8536-1 has been expanded to include briefing requirements for soft landings, building information modelling (BIM) and post-occupancy evaluation (POE).

The soft landings approach is supported by BIM workflows, BS8536 4.5 notes: the plan of work is a framework to ensure that the deliverables of all contributors are identified and appropriate to the decisions required at each work stage and should be adopted by the owner as of the basis for delivering and operating the asset/facility.

The key objective of capturing lessons learned is to support future projects from briefing through to the operational stages. Therefore, consideration should be made to engage with stakeholders across the project life cycle to best inform the lessons and in doing so future projects. Through a soft landings approach, the implementation of suitably developed Post Project Evaluations (PPE) and Post Occupancy Evaluations (POE) provides the platform upon which project lessons can be captured from a variety of project stakeholders (Design Team, FM Teams, Contractor, user etc).

It is equally important that the obligations to actively participate within the lessons learned process are clearly embedded within stakeholders appointments. The project stakeholders should be engaged and encouraged to contribute to the lessons learned, considering what was done well, what could have been done better and areas for further consideration. Both quantitative and qualitative information may be collected and suitable provisions for the analysis and dissemination of this information should also be considered within the organization.