Building information modelling (BIM) has transformed Irish construction, providing digital 3D models to help manage project information across a building’s life cycle – from design and construction to operation.
But as the sector undergoes deeper digitisation, much of it driven by modern methods of construction (MMC), the term BIM is set to fade, even as the technology behind it becomes more embedded.
MMC refers to off-site manufacturing in which buildings are produced faster and more sustainably as pre-engineered components in factories, before being assembled on site. The approach reduces waste, lowers labour costs, avoids weather delays and increases the number of processes that can be automated.
It is something Alan Hore has long promoted as head of the Construction IT Alliance (CitA), a not-for-profit organisation founded 25 years ago to encourage the adoption of technology – particularly BIM and digital tools – across the architecture, engineering, construction and operations sectors.
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Ireland’s strong foreign direct investment base in technology, semiconductors and pharmaceuticals – all sectors demanding advanced systems – has helped ensure Irish firms remain at the forefront, says Hore.
Indigenous mechanical and electrical engineering firms such as Dornan, Mercury, Jones Engineering and Kirby Group, which deliver large data centre, pharmaceutical and other projects across Europe, also help embed advanced digital practices at home.
It is why Ireland is now among Europe’s more mature adopters of BIM and digital construction methods, behind Scandinavia but ahead of many others, Hore says.
However, while universities have integrated BIM into architecture and engineering programmes, uptake among other professions – including project managers and quantity surveyors – still lags.
CitA is helping. Through the CitA Skillnet it offers discounted training in digital tools and operates regional BIM hubs to encourage collaboration.
Last year it went further, launching the MMC Accelerate Skillnet, to support companies in adopting MMC. It signposts users to MMC-related education and upskilling courses nationwide, as well as highlighting career pathways and providing industry insights and resources.
It is a big support at a time when Ireland’s construction industry is becoming increasingly digitalised, driven largely by a government mandate that sits within the Capital Works Management Framework (CWMF), and dictates how public bodies spend money on construction.
Introduced in January 2024, the “BIM mandate” requires the use of certain standards, including ISO 19650, for public-sector projects.
Since January 2026, all public works projects exceeding €10 million require contractors and their supply chains to use BIM. By 2028, all public-sector construction projects must do so.
“As a result, BIM has gone from being something niche, with companies making their own decisions about whether or not they wanted to invest in it, to now having a mandate for BIM,” says Hore.
BIM provides a single source of truth through what are called common data environments. These allow architects, engineers and contractors to share consistent information, improving efficiency and reducing costs across a project’s life cycle.
Construction teams are now using 4D BIM, integrating 3D models with project schedules – a temporal dimension – to simulate construction sequences virtually, optimising logistics and enhancing safety management.
Digital tools are also improving sustainability. According to a survey by Build Digital – a government-backed collaborative industry project – more than 60 per cent of professionals use digital tools to project sustainability outcomes, including life-cycle assessment and circular construction processes.
As digital transformation accelerates, BIM’s role is expanding into post-completion building management too.
It is all part of the industry’s shift to becoming “leaner, greener, and more sustainable”, says Hore.
BIM also allows for the development of a building’s “digital twin”, a practice already common in sectors such as automotive and aerospace.
Construction – traditionally labour-intensive and difficult to co-ordinate – is ripe for such treatment and, thanks to MMC, off-site manufacturing and standardised processes will allow buildings to be treated more like a “kit of parts”, he says, improving predictability and quality.
Already Irish mechanical, electrical and plumbing contractors routinely pre-assemble modular components in controlled factory environments “before shipping them for just-in-time installation across Europe”, points out Hore.
John Sisk & Son is Ireland’s largest family-owned international construction and engineering company. It has helped pioneer MMC in Ireland and became ISO 19650 certified in 2016.
“Digital project delivery at Sisk brings together the tools, expertise, and processes that enable our teams to plan, deliver, and operate projects more efficiently, safely, and intelligently,” explains Cillian Kelly, its head of digital project delivery.
A forthcoming ISO 19650 update will “de-emphasise the term BIM”, focusing instead on information management, he says.
That’s good, because too often BIM is misunderstood as simply 3D modelling, Kelly points out, creating barriers to adoption. Its real purpose has always been structured information flow, governance and protocols across a project’s life cycle.
The Common Data Environment allows clients, designers, contractors and subcontractors to share documents and models in a controlled way, preventing outdated duplicate versions of plans, which can ultimately result in delays.
Digital twins, developed during design and construction, are now also used post-construction for better building management.
“Essentially it makes it a smart building, giving you real time information around energy usage and occupancy,” he says.
Today Sisk’s digital project delivery team has more than 100 people, working in everything from 3D design to information management, geospatial services and drone operations – many of which roles didn’t exist 15 years ago.
Thanks to increased digitisation, such changes will keep coming. Says Kelly, “Even now, when I’m strategy building, I’m looking at what new roles are coming down the tracks, where is the industry moving to, what’s next?”
