NHSScotland owns physical assets worth circa £7.2bn, the majority of which relate to buildings and land. With its Boards, it is an active user of Building Information Modelling (BIM) for its estate. It has been using BIM on new capital projects since 2017, as a mandate for projects valued above £2m (as per SPPN Policy) and recommended on all other projects where appropriate.

Despite using BIM since 2017, only around 10% of NHSScotland's existing estate is fully digitised. For the remaining 90% of buildings, NHSS relies on unintegrated digital data, paper-based records or, in some instances, no records at all. This makes it challenging to have an accurate view of the entire estate and refer to historical information about how it was built. It also means it's harder to draw learnings from across projects or identify responsibility for elements of builds.

NHSScotland recognises that improved management of digital information about its estate would allow it to understand its current buildings better, how they were built and how they need to be maintained. A BIM-based information management tool would connect the estate together and provide robust levels of searchable, reliable, digitally-housed data. Estate teams could manage assets with ease, potential risks to users could be spotted and rectified more easily, and improvements could be identified to ensure existing assets best support the health, safety and comfort of the people who use the buildings. 

The wall collapse at Oxgangs Primary School in Edinburgh was just one of many high profile cases that have highlighted the lack of digital records available around the existing estate, where BIM hasn't been used in construction. Had there been centrally-housed digital data, the causes of the wall collapse - and the chain of responsibility - could have been more easily identified. Instead, a further 17 schools built using the same approach were forced to close until the source of the problem was identified. The Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) saw the need to help large estate owners like NHSScotland digitise its records in a way that could not only support better management of existing assets, but actually improve their life span and their whole-life value to current users of the buildings.

The Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) developed Digital Estates - an information management tool to help NHSScotland digitise its existing asset records. Knowing that digital transformation at this scale would be a complex and time-consuming task, the team first applied the Digital Estates Configurator tool to prioritise assets by helping NHSScotland make more informed decisions around which records to digitise first. It then recommends digital solutions at a level that is proportionate to the need and objectives.

A lack of joined-up, digitally-housed data for a large estate like NHSScotland makes it incredibly difficult to access historical information on buildings. These information gaps make it harder, and therefore more costly, to maintain, improve or repair existing buildings.

The Digital Estates Configurator is an assessment tool that asks questions around the critical factors of existing estate, such as the purpose of the building, the needs of its users, and the impact of building failure. By better understanding these factors, an estate owner like NHSScotland can then make value-based decisions on digitising its records, and appropriately capture processes.  Specifically, the Digital Estates Configurator tool asks questions on organisational digital estate maturity, value requirements, historic reference, technical complexity, availability factors, location and the critical impact of system failure. The digitisation solution recommended by the CDBB is then most proportionate to the need. For example, NHSScotland might choose not to move straight to BIM-enabled Asset Information Management tool for an asset, but instead start with a simpler and less time-consuming option of digitally tagging records using QR codes. Another solution could be the use of 360 degree cameras to capture an accurate digital model of an asset to improve facilities management.

This proportionate and needs-based approach means the CDBB can help NHSScotland build a strategic framework for change, one that has a clear long-term commitment to a Common Data Environment (CDE) as a single source of information. By creating centrally-housed digital records for its estate, NHSScotland will be able to monitor and analyse its existing buildings, track their performance, and improve the quality and life-span of its estate so they continue to support the needs of the people that use them. Essentially, it offers a source of searchable reliable information about the Health Boards assets supporting joined-up decision making, dynamic insights and ultimately supporting better healthcare outcomes. 

The Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) developed a strategic framework approach and tools that can help clients understand the value of digitisation, and supports them through the steps to change. The CDBB is one of three organisations comprising the Construction Innovation Hub.

• Centre for Digital Built Britain

Support from Innovate UK's Transforming Construction Challenge has allowed the Centre for Digital Built Britain to develop the Digital Estates Configurator tool and enable this digital transformation.

Improved, digitised asset management can help large estate owners, like NHSScotland, better understand its current buildings, how they were built and how they need to be maintained. A long-term commitment to a Common Data Environment (CDE) as a single source of information will mean estate owners can monitor and analyse existing buildings, track their performance, keep an intact chain of accountability and ultimately improve the quality and life-span of existing buildings so they best support the needs of the people that use them.

By creating centrally-housed digital records for its assets, estate owners like NHSScotland will be able to monitor and analyse its existing buildings, track their performance, and improve the life-span of its estate so they continue to support the needs of the people that use them. The hope is that it will better ensure the health and safety of building users and avoid incidents like the Oxgangs Primary School wall collapse.

As digital transformation at this scale can be complex, the CDBB and the Construction Innovation Hub understood the need for scalable solutions that are proportionate to the need. That's why the Digital Estates tool first applies a Configurator to assess critical factors around existing assets, such as the purpose of the building, the needs of its users, and the impact of building failure. This helps an estate owner like NHSScotland make value-based decisions on the digitisation of its records, and then agree a proportionate and appropriate digitally-enabled capture processes such as QR codes or 360 image capture. It is the first step towards a fully BIM-enabled information management tool which can connect assets across an estate together and provide robust levels of searchable, reliable, digitally-housed data.

NHSScotland has mandated the use of BIM on new capital projects since 2017 over £2m and is recommended on all others. However, this means only 10% of its estate has BIM-based digital records, meaning that 90% of its assets only have unintegrated digital data, paper-based records or, in some cases, no records at all.

Assurance
Digitisation will enable NHS Scotland to have a more accurate, connected and centrally-housed record of its estate, creating a golden thread of information to better manage and maintain its assets securely.

Regional Balance
The project is being rolled out across all of Scotland.

Uptake
Digital Estates has been rapidly picked up by public sector clients like NHSScotland. The Construction Innovation Hub is now working with the Defence Infrastructure Organisation on its estate rationalisation.