Description

AEC (UK) BIM Standard
A practical & pragmatic BIM standard for the Architectural,
Engineering and Construction industry in the UK.

Version 1.0 November 2009 First release

The AEC (UK) CAD Standards Initiative was formed in 2000 to improve the process of
design information production, management and exchange. Initially the initiative addressed
CAD layering conventions as the primary concern for users of design data. As design
needs and technology has developed, the initiative has expanded to cover other aspects of
design data production and information exchange.
The committee was re-formed in 2009, including new members from companies and
consultancies highly experienced in BIM software and implementation, to address the
growing need within the UK AEC industry for a unified, practical & pragmatic BIM standard
in a design environment.
The AEC (UK) CAD Standard Basic Layer Code was released in 2001, with an Advanced
Code released in 2002.

www.aec-uk.org.

The AEC (UK) BIM Standards builds on the guidelines defined by world-wide standards
initiatives, including BS1192:2007, the US National BIM Standard (NBIMS) and existing,
proven internal company procedures. It is aimed at providing a base starting point for a
unified BIM standard that can easily be adopted “as is” or developed and adapted for
implementation within projects that have specific requirements for the structuring of their
BIM data.
This document intends to provide platform-independent guidelines for BIM for
designers.
Wherever possible the standards in this document have been built upon the existing AEC
(UK) CAD Standards to provide a robust and achievable path from existing CAD
Standards to integrated BIM Standards.
There are areas that are not currently addressed in this version of the BIM Standards,
including Integrated Project Delivery (IPD), legal issues and risk mitigation. These areas,
while important to BIM, are covered in more detail by other committees and in other
documents. The AEC (UK) BIM Standard is intended as a BIM software production
standard and provides only basic guidance to these issues, noting cross-references
wherever required.
This document does not provide implementation advice as internal situations vary too
greatly to determine a conclusive approach. Instead we recommend analysing your own
internal requirements before adopting all or part of this standard, consulting with similar
companies, professional consultants, user groups or project teams.
All information contained in this document should be read in conjunction with the published
AEC (UK) Content Libraries. Refer to “Content Library” chapter.

Copyright Notice:
It is important to note that this standard will only become truly useful if as many companies
adopt it as possible. To that extent, it may be freely distributed and used in any format
necessary.