Digital component library launched by Highways England

A new Digital Component Library has been launched by Highways England allowing Building Information Modelling (BIM) to be stored and used on highway projects.

Highways England asked Faris Madher, a Graduate BIM Technician from Costain, to compile the Digital Component Library.

Over 80 digitally modelled components are housed in the library and span several design disciplines. They include things such as gantries, vehicle restraint barriers and MS4s. The library will continue to be updated as new components are brought online.

The Digital Construction Library will cut the time and cost when it comes to recreating digital content on every Highways England. It will also offer a more efficient communication tool for project team meetings; interaction with stakeholders and engagement with suppliers.

Other benefits include early clash detection giving project teams more say on design decisions, leading to greater efficiencies in the development of the project.

Following the BIM Level 2 mandate in April 2016, all public sector projects are required to use BIM, including those in the highway sector.

The Digital Component Library is a first for the UK highways sector although similar models has been used across various aspects of the construction industry as the digital way of working becomes more commonplace.

The Smart Motorways Programme will initially adopt and pilot the library, where it will be rolled out to enable their delivery partners to choose their preference of tools when creating digital content.

Mr Hadher commented: “The aim of the DCL is to reduce the extensive effort spent recreating content amongst project teams. The value for Highways England is in generating project information models more rapidly and at an earlier stage in a project lifecycle. The DCL will act as one version of truth, through the availability of digital contents from the highways supply chain.”

The government is investing heavily in the smart motorway scheme as part of a £15Bn programme, which will be delivered by 2021. 292 extra lane miles will be added to motorways with the hard shoulder being converted to a traffic lane. State of the aert signalling will alert drivers about information such speed limits, lance closures, etc.

Mr Hadher said: “In the Smart Motorways Programme, there is a huge drive towards standardisation of assets and features commissioned within all projects. The DCL reflects this drive but it doesn’t remove the responsibility of the designer to provide a safe, innovative and buildable solution.

“We are currently engaging with the supply chain responsible for delivery of the assets on the motorways and trunk roads managed by Highways England.”

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