BIM and OHS - designer and design coordinator adoption in the UK and Australia

Occupational Health and Safety (OHS) in the construction industry has attracted considerable interest in many countries over the years. During this period, Building Information Modelling (BIM) has emerged as an innovative evolution in a way the construction industry designs buildings. Concurrently the opportunities BIM presents have been widely touted as having the potential to significantly improve the ways in which designers engage with each other and thereby improve overall project outcomes. In the context of OHS, such collaboration has the potential to improve safe working conditions on site because designers are able to consider the implications of their designs on OHS in conference with others. A survey of UK designers shows that few use BIM on projects and can accurately define BIM. This paper reviews OHS legislation in the UK and Australia and explores the potential for BIM-enabled rule-checking systems to help identify and mitigate OHS risks.