As long-term owners and maintainers of public assets, government clients can reap great rewards from digital engineering. To do this, they need the expertise to produce intelligent briefs defining the BIM outputs required on different projects, and the industry needs to keep working towards better processes and common expectations.

The new Victorian Digital Asset Strategy articulates the benefits of BIM for government stakeholders, sets some general standards, and lays down a framework for developing more detailed guidance. In time, commercial projects may follow where the public sector has led.

Take this opportunity to see where digital engineering is heading. Tim Mumford, who was a co-author of the VDAS with the Office of Projects Victoria, will overview some of its key features. To bring a practical perspective, James Cheesewright, District Technical Leader at Honeywell, will demonstrate how models can be used for smart asset management, and Hassell’s Julia Allen will discuss lessons learned from using BIM on government projects.