Australian Smart ICT Report

The Australian Federal Government’s Smart ICT Report and recommendations is one of the single most significant advances for the Spatial Industry in Australia. It will promote the use of and collaboration between so many disciplines in our industry and create new opportunities for data capture, data management, data analysis and data visualisation; in which the role of the IMIA is paramount

The Smart ICT Report is the outcome of an Australian Federal Government inquiry into the role of smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure. Included in the report’s recommendations is the mandating of BIM for all Government projects greater than $50 million. BIM is a comprehensive process involving the generation and management of digital representations (virtualisation) of physical, spatial and functional characteristics of places. The wide spread adoption of BIM will bring the construction industry deeply into the information age and deliver significant productivity gains with more sustainable outcomes.

Australia’s House of Representatives Standing Committee on Infrastructure, Transport and Cities has tabled the inquiry into the role of smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure. The report calls for a more coordinated and integrated approach to the development and application of smart ICT to infrastructure. Smart ICT embraces many spatial industry innovations, including Building Information Modelling/Management (BIM), geospatial information technology, Internet of Things (IoT), spatial gamification, machine vision, 3D visualisation and spatial data capture methods such as mobile laser scanning,

Committee Chair, Mr John Alexander MP, said the report on the role of Smart ICT in the design and planning of infrastructure revealed Smart ICT has the capacity to transform the design, construction and management of infrastructure assets, the management and use of existing assets, and the operation of transport, communications, energy and utility systems.

“These technologies are transformational with the capacity to dramatically increase the productivity of the Australian economy,” Mr Alexander said. “In order to achieve this, however, governments and industry must be aware of the potential of smart ICT, and must invest in the technologies, skills and systems to make the transformation a reality.”

The central recommendation of the report is the formation of a Smart Infrastructure Task Force (based on the UK model) to provide national coordination between governments, industry and researchers.  The report also recommends the mandating of BIM at its highest level of detail on all major Government infrastructure projects exceeding $50 million in cost. BIM is a comprehensive process involving the generation and management of virtualised representations of physical, spatial and functional characteristics of places.

A relevant event for the report above is the SIBA (Spatial Industry Business Association) Networking Breakfast in Brisbane on 19th April 2016. Details are here.

This breakfast follows the Federal Government’s Smart ICT report and recommendations that the use of Smart ICT and BIM be mandatory on all federal infrastructure projects over $50mil. More info on that topic: http://www.siba.com.au/News/News-Articles/SIBA-applauds-Government’s-Smart-ICT-report-recomm