FutureFit Built Assets

Oxford Brookes University is part of the FutureFit Built Assets knowledge exchange and research project that is being delivered in collaboration with SECBE (South East Centre for the Built Environment). The project (worth £140,000) is part financed by the South East European Regional Development Fund Programme (2007 - 2013). The project started in September 2013 and will run for 30 months.

So, what is it all about? I asked Christos Vadilakis (Department of Real Estate and Construction), who is leading the part of the project which is based at Oxford Brookes:

Christos Vadilakis, Project Lead at Oxford Brookes

'This project brings together key industry partners to pool expertise and resources to augment the value for money of support that can be provided to SMEs (small and medium enterprises). The project aims to improve the process and change the behaviour of SMEs towards the adoption of BIM (Building Information Modelling) and SL (Soft Landings). The project also provides a platform for knowledge sharing and connects companies with BIM and SL capabilities into supply chains. The University’s main role is to act as a ‘knowledge base provider' developing proposals and establishing knowledge collaborations with SMEs'.

The project will result in further engagement with construction companies and service providers to address current challenges facing the construction industry. More specifically FutureFit focuses on the:

• Sustainable construction and operation of built assets
• Information technology adoption in the construction sector
• Involvement of small and medium enterprises (SMEs)

FutureFit is about creating capable teams with a better understanding of how a project will be built and operate. It’s about reducing cost through waste and re-working, risk and time to market.

For more information about the project, take a look at the FutureFit website.