The Society of Digital Engineering (SDE) has been recently launched by CIBSE to support anyone involved in bringing digital elements to the built environment, be they a designer, manufacturer, or contractor – an approach welcomed by Pete Mills, commercial technical operations manager at Bosch Commercial and Industrial.

Mr Mills commented: “As building services engineering moves further into the digital world, engineers are increasingly being faced with conducting everyday tasks via a digital platform they may be unfamiliar with. Therefore, adopting digital engineering via platforms like this will be crucial to the future of the built environment, no matter your role in the building process.” 

With the uptake of Building Information Modelling (BIM) being relatively slow, despite its time in the spotlight, Mr Mills welcomes the SDE as a fresh take on the concept.

He added: “Given the hype around BIM, it’s time for industry to refocus and truly unearth what the initiative was about in the first place, which is ultimately to realise savings by encouraging information sharing and collaboration. 

“The SDE offers an incremental process whereby engineers and building services companies can adapt at a steady pace. The society should bring more structure to the BIM process, helping to gain the interest of those that would otherwise have given up due to the perceived pace of change.”

To encourage further understanding of digital engineering, education provision through the scheme is a key focus for CIBSE. Following a membership process, engineers will have the opportunity to join a community of like-minded professionals, with access to accreditation and training.

Mr Mills concluded: “There are real tangible benefits to the society, but industry must work together to push it through. The younger generation will be key to the success of platforms like this and, in turn, will carry what they learn forward, helping the progression of their companies as well as their own careers. 

“Having been officially launched in September, it will be interesting to see how the SDE supports the development and uptake of digital engineering. I believe the new platform offers a great foundation for the industry and have no doubt that it will help cut through the hype of BIM and provide a tangible first step for engineers to adopt what will become essential digital processes in the built environment.”