NEWLY appointed Works Minister Encik Baru Bian recently visited the Building Information Modelling in Rail Academy (BIRAC) Training Centre.

The facility was inspected by Baru on 5 July 2018 during his visit to myBIM Centre located at Sunway Putra Tower Kuala Lumpur, his first stop in a series of visits to various government agencies.

The BIRAC Training Centre is a facility that is owned by Malaysia Rapid Transit Corporation Sdn Bhd (MRT Corp) and it is currently placed at the myBIM centre. It will act as the central depository for Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit Building Information Modelling (BIM) standards and processes.

Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB) Chairman Tan Sri Dr Ir Ahmad Tajuddin Ali, who accompanied Baru in the walkabout of the myBIM centre, explained to him on how the BIM technology will increase efficiency within and between organisations, allowing a more coordinated project delivery.

Guiding the entourage during the visit was CIDB eConstruct General Manager Encik Mohammad Farid A. Hamid, who explained that the BIM training offered at the myBIM Centre will produce BIM capable people in the industry to not just improve on the drawings and planning, but to also improve on the operations and maintenance side once the project is completed.

A number of MRT Corp employees were currently undergoing training at the BIRAC facility, as the BIM technology offers the advantage of time and budget savings for building and infrastructure projects.

As part of the Industrial Collaboration Training (ICP), MRT Corp and Technology Depository Agency (TDA) has mandated the requirement of BIM training for all Elevated work package contractors in Sungai Buloh-Serdang-Putrajaya (SSP) Line, with the aspiration to drive industry practices and standards, focusing on common processes to advance and improve information creation and project information flow.

The initiative also aims to advance project best practices and processes via awareness sessions, forums, targeted seminars and working groups.

At the end of the visit, Baru commended the effort by those in the industry who actively seek to improve on their knowledge and skills and wished the students in the training centre their best in their endeavours.