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The CIC BIM Protocol: Introducing the second

edition (2018)
We take a look at the new edition of the CIC BIM Protocol to see what's changed

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 BIM (Building Information Modelling)

02 May 2018
by Roland Finch (/authors/roland-finch)

Models are not new! Representations of buildings in model form have been
around for centuries. Come to think of it, BIM is not new either. It’s been
around ever since the technology was available to ‘simulate’ construction
projects using computers.
However, it soon became apparent that a set of ‘rules’ was required to govern, among other things,
the relationships between people providing information to feed into the model, the format and

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structure of that information, the outputs from the model, and crucially the terminology, language
and format in which the information is to be presented.
The result was the CIC BIM Protocol. First published in 2013, the introduction to the Protocol
declared:

“The primary objective of the Protocol is to enable the production of Building Information Models at
defined stages of a project. The Protocol is aligned with Government BIM Strategy, and incorporates
provisions which support the production of deliverables for ‘data drops’ at defined project stage”

NBS published a critical analysis at the time, and also hosted several discussions
(https://www.thenbs.com/knowledge/the-cic-bim-protocol-a-critical-analysis) on the topic.
After nearly five years of operation, it was felt necessary to review and revise the Protocol in the light
of experience. Some of this was pragmatic – the UK Government imposed deadline for adoption of
BIM in some projects had passed, so it makes sense to remove references to it. Some responses
were more tricky to deal with; for example, the Protocol contains a precedence clause that puts it in
conflict with some ‘standard form’ building contracts.

What’s new in the second edition?

Interestingly, one of the first changes in the 2018 edition is the removal of the definition of the word
“model” from the Protocol. The 2013 version defined this as ‘a digital representation of part of the
physical and/or functional characteristics of the Project’, although it then went on to discuss a
template ‘model letter’, ‘model information delivery table’ and ‘maturity model’, among other
things.
The introduction to the 2018 edition describes the Protocol as being closely aligned with PAS 1192–2
which makes a distinction between ‘information’ and ‘models’. It also acknowledges that some of
the other terminology has been changed to align more closely with the PAS. The protocol observes
that the PAS is concerned with ‘information’ rather than ‘models’ It should be noted, however, that
the PAS itself still contains inconsistencies in naming conventions.
With this in mind, clearer explanations are given for terms like Responsibility Matrix (rather than a
Model Production and Delivery Table). Information Particulars, Permitted Purpose (which determines
how information can be used); Level of Definition (rather than Level of Detail),
There was some criticism that the original wording saw the Protocol taking precedence over the
other agreements. However this has been reworded will now only take precedence over the
Agreement if there is a conflict in respect of Employer or Team Member’s obligations (clause 3 and
4) and the associated appendices. However, for this to work, the relevant consultancy agreements
or building contract will also need amendment. Guidance is included showing how this might be
applied to JCT or NEC documents.

Alignment with PAS 1192

There have been further changes to the processes surrounding coordination, standards, common
data environments (CDE) and programmes. The intention of these is to better align with PAS 1192.
The wording of those parts of the Protocol regarding copyright has been updated, with the aim of
making them more flexible. In the past, Users expressed concern that the rules covering things like
intellectual property rights might be in conflict with other contractual arrangements within the team.

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In addition, the authors claim to have rebalanced the provisions surrounding warranty on
interoperability of software.
Since the introduction of PAS 1192-5 (Specification for security-minded building information
modelling, digital built environments and smart asset management), Security of information has
been high on the agenda. References in the protocol have now been updated to reflect the roles
included in the PAS, together with some processes to control them.

Incorporation into Contracts

As with the previous version of the Protocol, the intention is that it should be incorporated into the
Construction Contract either as a contract document, or in the case of NEC contracts, as part of the
Works information (‘Scope’ in NEC4). The Protocol now contains guidance on how this might be
achieved, although it notes that amendment will probably be needed to the contracts themselves,
and highlights the issues of precedence, as well as the need to take specialist advice.
There is no specific advice on how the protocol may be incorporated or used alongside a
Professional Services agreement used to appoint the design team, but in principle, it is expected that
the procedure will be broadly similar.

Summary
The 2018 version of the CIC BIM protocol has generally been well received by the industry. It is now
better aligned with PAS 1192, and has taken on board many of the responses to its predecessor. It
seems to be acceptable to the major contract publishers too, and the CIC umbrella should give it
some credibility in the marketplace.
Now it is up to the industry to use it.

Roland Finch (/authors/roland-finch)

Technical Author at NBS.
© Copyright RIBA Enterprises Ltd

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