Planning and Building Control Today (PBC Today) notes that the above judgment is the first to feature BIM in a substantive way and raises some questions going forward about who should host and manage the common data environment (CDE) on BIM-enabled projects.
PBC Today writes:
The Trant case highlights the vital role of the host of the CDE within a BIM design and construction project, as the host holds the keys to the data room for the entire project. By removing access to the CDE that had been permitted previously, the host not only withdraws access to its own designs (which a contract may well allow, for non-payment or suspension) but potentially also denies access to all other designs held in the CDE, as well as access to the programme, schedules, contracts etc. The host is therefore the gatekeeper to the entirety of the project information held digitally, meaning that the role is crucial to progress and, therefore, the successful completion of the project….
The judgment provides guidance going forward for CDE hosting and management. Clear drafting in the BIM Protocol can dictate how the CDE is set up and who is required to host what and when. The case suggests that CDE access cannot be revoked once a design has passed through the gateway into the public folders. This seems sensible. If this dispute had arisen 20 years ago, one party would not be able to go into the office of another and retrieve a paper drawing that had been provided to them prior to the dispute arising. It will be interesting to see if consultants, contractors and employers now take a different approach to CDE hosting on future projects.
Trant Engineering Ltd v Mott MacDonald Ltd: The first steer on BIM from the courts
