Investing in Information Management delivers productivity boost

A recent report by KPMG and Atkins has revealed that every £1 invested in information management (IM) could save up to £6 in labour time savings as well as helping the Government in their efforts to reaching net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

The report, commissioned by the University of Cambridge’s Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB), found evidence of strong organisational benefits that could be enabled by IM.

Eleven case studies were analysed and found that the use of IM could potentially secure between £5.10-£6.00 of direct labour productivity gains for every £1 invested and £6.90 in total cost savings. The evidence also outlines how cost savings can be achieved across different stages of the asset lifecycle, ranging from 1.6 percent to 18 percent, depending on the lifecycle stage.

This study provides tangible evidence that IM is driving wider organisational improvements through digital transformation.

Implementing IM in the construction and infrastructure sector today could potentially unlock wider benefits across the whole economy in the future. The study’s analysis of hypothetical scenarios of sector-wide adoption of IM suggests that every £1 of direct productivity gain today (2021) in the design, construction and maintenance of built assets could potentially translate into £3.70 in annual UK GDP in 2051.

Productivity of the sector can be raised through IM as well as putting the UK in a better position to meet the Government’s long-term objectives for delivering significant public and private investment to Build Back Better and support the transition to Net Zero.

A significant driver of this wider impact is the role of the sector in supporting growth in the UK’s capital stock. The report estimates that a 1% productivity improvement in the design, construction and maintenance of newly built assets enabled by IM in 2021 (£2.3bn) could increase the UK’s capital stock by some 0.25% (£32bn) in 2051.

Marking 10 years since the BIM Mandate was announced, the report highlights 11 real-life case studies that demonstrate the benefits that organisations are realising across different parts of the sector, including transport, flood defence, water, defence, housing and non-residential buildings.

Alexandra Bolton, Executive Director at the Centre for Digital Built Britain, said: “This ground-breaking report sets out the benefits of IM to businesses through increased labour productivity; to the wider economy through driving GDP growth; and to society by improving the quality of outcomes for the end customer, the wider public and the environment. It provides compelling evidence that increasing investment in IM, and a greater focus on and analysis of the wider benefits that it delivers, could not only help to close the sector’s productivity gap, but could also unlock economic, environmental and social gains to create a better future for people and the planet.”

Keith Waller, Programme Director of the Construction Innovation Hub, said: “This report clearly underlines the true value information management can deliver as we emerge from a global pandemic and the economic damage it has wrought. This study provides tangible evidence that IM is driving wider organisational improvements through digital transformation. Analysis shows how organisations utilising IM to enable modern methods of construction have developed new, innovative services in the market, and also brought life into projects that were once simply too costly. The challenges the construction sector faces are increasingly complex and this report shows we have both the tools and the expertise to face these challenges, delivering innovative and joined-up solutions that will embed true value into the projects of today, which will meet the challenges of tomorrow.”

Read the full report View the infographic