ISO 19650-2, the international standard for Building Information Modelling (BIM) certification allows Arcadis to not only demonstrate to customers that they have processes in place that meet the highest standards, but also provide reassurance that they are committed to quality, mitigating risk, and improving safety.
Overview
Arcadis is a world leading business in design, engineering, and consultancy in the built and natural environment, which brings together its collective expertise and digital technologies to deliver sustainable and transformative solutions to the public and private sector. Established in 1888 and with over 33,000 employees worldwide, over 5,000 in the UK, Arcadis exists to find solutions to pressing challenges and aims to improve quality of life for people around the world. The team at Arcadis was keen to achieve the ISO 19650-2 certification to provide their customers with a level of excellence and greater reassurance that the processes they have in place meet the highest standards within the industry. Following a successful assessment process held in 2021/22, Arcadis became the first organisation to be awarded with UKAS accredited ISO 19650-2 certification from LRQA.
Exceeding the industry standard
UKAS-accredited ISO 19650-2 certification was important to Arcadis because it demonstrates their commitment to deliver their digital strategy through a robust approach to information management, focusing on excellence and digital innovation, which helps to improve efficiency.
Mac Alghita, Arcadis Mobility Business Area Director noted:“Certification to ISO 19650 offers our clients peace of mind and reassurance that they are getting the absolute best that the industry offers.”
The journey to certification
Having discussed the process internally and previously been certified by LRQA to ISO 9001, ISO 14001 and ISO 45001, Arcadis chose LRQA as a Certification Body for their ISO 19650-2 certification, because they felt that LRQA would offer them the level of support and structure that was required, working collaboratively with the team to deliver a robust audit as well as training for the organisation.
Identifying the gaps
Ahead of the audit, an LRQA Assessor carried out a gap analysis of Arcadis’ system. During the gap analysis, Arcadis identified some critical, high-risk areas alongside specific vulnerabilities. The process concluded with a full-length report, giving the organisation flexibility to focus on specific areas for improvement. One key finding from the gap analysis was that the refreshed digital engineering career framework for Arcadis in line with ISO 19650 standard was being trialled but wasn’t in place, although all the competency assessments and the job descriptions were largely completed. The other key element that Arcadis wanted to have in place before their full audit, was the BIM Maturity PowerApp, which was very important to be able to measure the maturity of BIM across all projects, establish growth targets and measure success.
Sarah Morris, the Arcadis UK Head of Quality and Assurance said: "LRQA has a very structured certification process which helped us prepare for the audit. They carried out a deep-dive gap analysis prior to our audit. We took the feedback on board which led to successful certification”.
Audit against requirements
Eight months after the completion of the gap analysis, LRQA returned to carry out an extensive full implementation audit. The audit took place over three days, during which Arcadis displayed the processes they have in place for client information requirements, BIM execution plans, and information delivery plans.
Elena Vrabie, Arcadis Senior Director - Country Digital and Automation Lead: “The assessors commended us for the design toolkits we developed to support the whole lifecycle assured and data-led approach to delivery and the projects that provided the evidence for the gap analysis and audit, the HS2, Guildford STW Relocation and A320, where we are the Lead Appointed Party. We demonstrated how effective decisions can be made based on a vast amount of data/information created.”
Upon successful completion of the audit against a live BIM project and no outstanding deficiencies, the organisation was awarded UKAS-accredited ISO 19650-2 certification.
Lessons learned
Reflecting on the certification journey, Elena Vrabie, Senior Director - Country Digital and Automation Lead at Arcadis said:“There is a lot we have learned from developing the processes and ISO 19650 practitioner training. We have learned not to assume that ISO 19650 is the new name for the old standard BS 1192 - the principles have evolved, and the terminology has changed. The training helped accelerate the understanding across our entire workforce.”
“We are now working with our clients, partners, and supply chain to make sure their awareness and understanding is at the right level to enable them to fulfil their ISO 19650 obligations. Finally, we found that transformation starts from the top, and without the full corporate support we could not have achieved the full certification.”
Karl Miller, LRQA Service Delivery Manager commented “From our first interaction with Arcadis it was clear that they had good business strategies in place and understood what they wanted to achieve with respect to ISO19650-2. At the Full Implementation assessment, the Arcadis team demonstrated that they had learned from the Gap analysis and had implemented several enhancements to their processes to ensure that they were compliant with the requirements. As a result of this, the final assessment became straightforward involving some fine tuning only.”
How LRQA can support your journey
For over 10 years, LRQA has been providing clients with BIM services. Having launched the first BIM level 2 certification scheme on the market in 2012, LRQA has now expanded its range with accredited ISO 19650-2:2018 certification services.
If you would like to find out more about undergoing a gap analysis, training or if you’re keen to understand how BIM certification can help your organisation, contact our team today.
