Sunday 28 May 2017

BILT ANZ Summary and Review

It was a privilege to attend and be a speaker at the BILT (Buildings, infrastructure, Lifecycle, technology) event this year in my home town of Adelaide, Australia. What a wonderful experience it was to have people I've know for years at the same event and in Adelaide. I do miss the interaction of the BIM community in the UK so therefore having so many international faces here was indeed a great experience. It was my first chance to reconnect with old faces, ignite existing relationships and put the face to a name (instead of their profile pictures on Twitter! ) within the context of the ANZ BIM community.


Over three full days the content was vast, it was a good mix of speakers with a variety of knowledge and expertise. Some speakers were very good and some were ok, but we are all learning so there's always room for improvement. Maybe a few more females next time (as I can certainly help with this the majority of the Women in BIM - www.womeninBIM.net - database members are willing to speak!). Having said this I connected with many smart female community members and committee folk who I'm certainly interested in keeping in touch with! 


I found it a little disheartening to not see too many students at this event. We need ensure that education for students is also addressed and as advocates for change we should certainly allow students to attend and contribute. Maybe this means we need to ensure Universities are encouring their students to attend. Something to encourage for next year! 


I also think we need to focus our attention within the built environment in Australia on the BIM process as much as technology and many of the committee agreed. This was something I felt we could improve on. As the events focus is the entire lifecycle I do believe that speakers and even organisers must encourage clients. Having size this any mention of the word technology to a client they would head to the next exit! This was discussed in the debrief but maybe it needs to an event  totally separate from the main one... almost a BILT for clients event? Something to think about for next time! 


Finally I would encourage the organisers to creat a BILT/ RTC speaker community portal on the website or somewhere for speakers to access past presentations etc. As leaders in change and technology it would be great for us all to have access to educational resources too! Also contact details for all speakers so we can all connect and work together potentially in future! 


Having said all this I do feel it was a wonderful event and many interesting discussions were had. I would definitely recommend attendance to those who would be interested to learn and understand more in regard to the four key themes that the event represents - Buildings, Infrastructure, Lifecycle and Technology.


Well done BILT - I can safely say I was impressed. 


Until next year... or maybe the US/ Europe / Asia. :-) 


Wednesday 24 May 2017

BILT ANZ - Adelaide May 2017 Day 01 Summary

I must say that I am quite impressed by the BILT ANZ event being hosted in Adelaide from today through to Saturday. I was sceptical as I have been involved in hundreds of events (both in attendance and speaking) over the years and being a local (originally form Adelaide) I was hesitant in attending but felt it would be a good opportunity to understand the changes from the RTC events to BILT. 

I can honestly say I am very impressed so far. 

This has been such a wonderful mix of speakers and informative sessions covering process, education and technologies supporting BIM. Connecting with the global BIM Community, both from the process and technical side, meeting with old friends, making new ones and then ultimately learning and understanding current conditions in industry has been hugely beneficial for me as a consultant. 

The planning, the facilities, the location and the overall orchestration of the event is brilliant and I would highly recommend attending if you have not in the past. My thoughts are to attend at least one BILT event annually either in ANZ, the US or Europe and ensure i support what is ultimately a great group of people trying to change an industry and move it toward digital methods. 

Well done to the organisers. I look forward to the next few days. 

#BILTANZ