Build Magazine September 2015

Build Magazine 15 Inside the Industry Aggregate Industries selected more than 220 products to launch as BIM enabled at the beginning of 2015, according to the commercial popularity of each material and its sustainability credentials. This way, the team could be confident of meeting cus- tomer demand as they switched over to BIM technology. Whilst larger manufacturers have more products to convert, they also more often than not have extensive planning and personnel resources at their disposal than their smaller counterparts. This may reflect positively in how, why and when they make certain products in their portfolio BIM enabled. It could be said therefore, that for those specifiers who have been quick on the uptake of BIM tech- nology, working with larger manufacturers who have been more strategic rather than administrative in their BIM implementation, might be a strong choice for ongoing product purchasing decisions. Do they have a carefully considered ongoing expan- sion plan? As manufacturers continue to convert their existing portfolio over to BIM, alongside any new product launches or development changes, it is important for specifiers to feel confident that the materials they may need going forwards will be available to them in the right modelling format. Aggregate Industries, for example, is combining ongoing customer feedback with market research to identify which products should be next in line to receive the ‘BIM treatment’, ensuring that the most regularly used products are converted first, rather than the materials which would be easier or quicker to process. Do they have a flexible approach to meeting