World-class BIM expert to lead Scottish Construction’s Digital Development

The Scottish Futures Trust (SFT) has appointed renowned industry leader David Philp as Chair of the newly created Building Information Modelling (BIM) Delivery Group for Scotland.

David brings a wealth of experience from his role as Head of BIM Implementation at the UK Cabinet Office and existing roles as Head of BIM at the UK BIM Task Group and BIM Director Europe, Middle East, Africa and India at AECOM.

In September 2014, SFT was invited to collaborate with Scottish Government in implementing recommendations from the Review of Scottish Public Sector Procurement in Construction. SFT is leading on the implementation of 26 of the recommendations including on BIM.

A key recommendation made by the review was, where appropriate, public sector projects within Scotland should adopt BIM level 2 by April 2017. As Scotland moves towards a digital built environment, BIM is seen as a key part for the future of the Scottish construction industry. BIM uses digital technology to improve the sharing and analysis of data within a construction project. Through improving data management and collaboration within projects, this will support the industry in delivering greater efficiencies through the design, construction and operational stages of a project. 

David Philp said, “I am delighted to be part of this journey towards a digitised Scottish construction sector and look forward to help implement what I believe will be a game changing strategy to better create and  care for Scotland’s built environment.”

Martin Blencowe, SFT’s director leading the procurement review work, explained, “Having such a respected expert resident in Scotland and available to lead this work is a marvellous opportunity to develop a deeper capability in the public sector in embracing this emerging technology.”