Driving Digital Delivery For Ireland’s Infrastructure
BIM industry stakeholders came together this week at the Digital Delivery for Ireland’s Infrastructure event jointly hosted by the National Standards Authority of Ireland (NSAI), Build Digital and the Infrastructure Division, Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation.
This industry-focused event brought together stakeholders from across Ireland’s infrastructure, construction and built environment sectors to raise awareness of digital delivery and the standards that support it, including the ISO 19650 series. This important event included an address by Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers TD.
A key focus of the event was ISO 19650, an international set of standards that provides a structured framework for managing information using Building Information Modelling (BIM) across the lifecycle of the built environment. By establishing a consistent approach to information management, ISO 19650 supports industry by enabling more effective collaboration and improved delivery across projects, bringing international best practice to underpin the digital delivery of Ireland’s infrastructure.
NSAI and Build Digital also highlighted the ongoing public consultation on proposed updates to ISO 19650, closing on May 5th. The consultation provides an opportunity for stakeholders to review draft revisions and contribute feedback, helping to ensure that the standards continue to reflect the needs of industry both in Ireland and internationally. The public consultation is live on the Your Standards, Your Say platform, hosted on the NSAI website. Ahead of the event, Minister for Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, Jack Chambers TD said:“The BIM mandate is a key element of the Government’s approach to digital delivery in public infrastructure. Engagement with standards such as ISO 19650, and participation in consultation processes, supports its effective implementation across the public sector.”
Welcoming the event, Geraldine Larkin, CEO of NSAI, said:“The ISO 19650 series provides an important foundation for consistent and effective information management in the built environment. Its adoption supports improved collaboration, greater efficiency and better project outcomes for industry, underpinning the digital delivery of Ireland’s infrastructure. This event was an opportunity to raise awareness of the standards and to encourage engagement with the public consultation process, ensuring that Irish stakeholders can contribute to their continued development.”
The event also supported awareness of the Irish BIM mandate, which promotes the use of BIM and aligned standards in the delivery of public works projects. This includes a focus on practical implementation, with a dedicated session on “Practical Pathways to ISO 19650 Certification” exploring how organisations can progress from awareness to implementation, underpinned by Build Digital’s comprehensive and industry-aligned supports, in particular its structured information management plan templates.
Dr. Clare Eriksson, Director of Build Digital said:“This event demonstrated how Build Digital, working with NSAI and the Infrastructure Division of the Department of Public Expenditure, Infrastructure, Public Service Reform and Digitalisation, our project funder, is supporting the practical implementation of digital delivery in Ireland. As part of the wider reform agenda, including the Accelerating Infrastructure Working Group, we are helping construction and built environment organisations adopt and implement structured information management and build towards certification.”
The event also marked the release of the results from Build Digital’s annual industry survey, The findings, which capture current adoption, challenges and trends in BIM and digital delivery across the industry sector, will be published shortly as an interactive dashboard on the Build Digital website, providing industry with accessible insights to support benchmarking and forward planning.
Through a focus on standards, consultation and implementation, the event aims to support greater industry awareness of digital delivery approaches and encourage engagement with both the ISO 19650 public consultation and the BIM mandate.
