How Laing O’Rourke implemented BIMcollab on the Everton Stadium project in Liverpool 

With BIMcollab, internationally renowned company Laing O’Rourke has moved from elaborate manual coordination to managing project communication more efficiently. However, introducing a new workflow presented a set of challenges when it came to the implementation, the development of a long-term strategy, and user adoption. 

Here is how Laing O’Rourke team approached the implementation of cloud-based BIM issue management in their projects, and how they overcame some of the challenges associated with adopting new workflows. 

About Laing O’Rourke 

Laing O’Rourke, an engineering and construction company,  was founded in 2001 by combining its two founders’ construction and concrete material experience. Over the past two decades, the company has grown into a company with international offices, delivering state-of-the-art infrastructure and building projects for clients in the UK, the Middle East, and Australia. 

Laing O’Rourke’s existing project coordination process relied on email communication and updating spreadsheets. This manual method had its usual shortcomings: no automated notifications, frequent human errors, issue duplication, lack of issue version control, etc. This workflow resulted in an overall complicated coordination, as Gareth Jacque, Project Director from Laing O’Rourke, explains: 

Information was getting lost and difficult to manage, and people were looking at the wrong things, so issues were being overlooked. We really needed change.

Laing O’Rourke’s team first tested issue management with BIMcollab back in 2015. Since then, as a result of better coordination and saving costs and time, BIMcollab workflow has been implemented across various projects and teams. 

Challenges of implementing new issue management workflows across projects 

With the use of BIMcollab, Laing O’Rourke’s goal was to move towards a trusted collaborative environment to ensure efficient project delivery. However, the challenges attached to the widespread implementation of a new BIM tool led some users to be reluctant to embrace technological change.

These were some of the challenges that Laing O’Rourke had to overcome when BIMcollab was implemented: 

• Change the cultural mindsets and convincing about added value 
• Reach an agreement on the choice of communication tool 
• Get internal and external teams engaged
• Need for software training 
• Some users were reluctant about communication transparency  

How Laing O’Rourke approached the implementation challenges 

The first full-scale project implementation of BIMcollab was the Everton Stadium project in Liverpool. Based on previous experience, the Everton project team leaders knew that before introducing a new tool, they needed to plan for smooth implementation and adoption.  

Key to the success of the project was mapping out the process, involving people throughout the process and developing the adoption plan.

-Estefania Alves, Everton Stadium project DE lead

Here are some of the actions Laing O’Rourke team took to achieve this: 

• Standards and protocols contractually agreed upon – Responsibilities and practical agreements, including that BIMcollab would be the communication tool for all design commentary, were defined in a contractual document and communicated to all users from the outset.
• Process map for guidance and comments – With a detailed process map in place and available to all, Laing O’Rourke project managers were able to streamline coordination, and support the integration and adoption of BIMcollab.
• RACI (Responsible, accountable, consulted, informed) matrix – The RACI matrix ensured that each team member was clear about their specific role and responsibilities at each stage of the project. The value of the RACI matrix is that it has simplified the process of transitions and handovers and encouraged good communication through BIMcollab at all levels. 
• Various training options – Offering different training formats, tailored for different disciplines using different BIM tools, was crucial for the success of the Everton project. In addition, a variety of learning preferences were available such as one-to-one, group sessions, remote, face-to-face, guided or self-paced, tutorials and videos.

We wanted to make sure that we could offer a variety of tailored training for different disciplines that spoke directly to them, with focused information and no time wasted.

Gareth Jacque, Everton project director

•  Constant support available – For the Everton team, BIMcollab technical support was provided both internally and externally. Internally, all questions and issues were escalated to the project champion, ensuring that the team always had a point of contact and that their questions did not fall through the cracks.

If you feel you are getting stuck, BIMcollab’s support team really goes a long way to help. They provide excellent support service, quick and effective responses via live chat, emails, or video calls for complex issues.

-Estefania Alves, Manager at Laing O’Rourke

• User feedback collection – Gathering and applying the end-user feedback, being flexible and continually improving the process was critical to the success of the Everton project. 

Project success in the long run 

As a result of Laing O’Rourke’s focused efforts, the Everton Project team achieved great success in applying the BIMcollab coordination process and established a consistent and standardized way of working for future projects. 

The notorious project review meetings, which used to last three hours, have now been reduced to just one hour. They make it a point to only discuss open items and priorities, leaving the comment section of each issue to discuss the resolution. 

Additionally, Laing O’Rourke’s team has taken full advantage of BIMcollab’s extended functionality. For example, building control review sessions are hosted in BIMcollab, where all actions are accessible via the web app. Another example is their use of BIMcollab’s PowerBI integration, which provides the team with live updates and project monitoring for various stakeholders.  

Laing O’Rourke’s example of implementing BIMcollab on a large-scale project like Everton provides an effective framework for collaboration between stakeholders in the design and construction process, and creates a reliable, efficient, and high-quality information exchange.

How can BIMcollab help your project

If you, like Laing O’Rourke’s team, are thinking of implementing issue management on your project, our best advice is to save yourself some time and start as soon as possible. Schedule a demo or sign up for a free cloud space, to test it for yourself. 

And if you are looking to optimize your model validation, share BIM requirements across the team, and ultimately create high quality models, then jump in and get started with a BIMcollab ZOOM free trial, our best-in-class model validation tool. 

Would you like to discuss your BIM challenges?