BIMHarambee 2026 is an in-person industry and community event organised by BIMcommUNITYAfrica, scheduled for 23 and 24 July 2026 at the University of Pretoria. It brings together students, professionals, companies, and public-sector stakeholders involved in Building Information Modelling (BIM) to learn, collaborate, and advance digital construction practices.
At its core, “Harambee” means “all pull together” - which reflects the event’s purpose: building shared capability, aligning industry practices, and expanding what’s possible with BIM across Africa.
Why the focus on skills, culture, and information in this year's BIMHarambee?
Relevant skills, responsive culture, and intelligent information come directly from the real challenges of delivering successful digital (BIM-driven) projects.
1) Relevant skills → because BIM is people-driven
BIM isn’t just software, it depends heavily on what people can actually do.
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Events like BIMHarambee explicitly ask: “Do people have the relevant skills to add value?”
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Students are taught what skills employers expect, while professionals focus on applying BIM in real projects.
Without the right skills:
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Teams misuse tools.
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Data becomes unreliable.
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Projects fail to realise BIM benefits.
So the event emphasizes practical, job-ready capabilities, not just theory.
2) Responsive culture → because organisations must change, not just tools
A major barrier to BIM success is company culture and workflows.
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Successful BIM requires changes in how teams collaborate, make decisions, and share information.
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Organisations must rethink hiring, processes, and coordination - not just adopt software.
Without a responsive culture:
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Teams work in silos.
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BIM becomes a checkbox exercise.
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Digital transformation stalls.
That’s why BIMHarambee pushes discussions on organizational readiness and collaboration culture.
3) Intelligent information → because BIM is really about data, not just models
Modern BIM is increasingly understood as Better Information Management, not just 3D modelling.
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It involves accurate, structured, and usable data across a project’s lifecycle
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It enables better decisions, risk management, and long-term asset performance
Without intelligent information:
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Models look good but lack usable data.
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Decisions are based on poor insights.
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Lifecycle value (maintenance, operations) is lost.
So the focus is on data quality, interoperability, and meaningful information flow.
The bigger idea: making digital projects actually work.
BIMHarambee’s theme reflects a simple reality: Digital transformation fails when you focus only on technology. Instead, successful digital projects require a balanced system:
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People (skills) → can do the work
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Organizations (culture) → support the work
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Data (information) → drives the work
This aligns with BIM’s broader goal: improving how infrastructure is designed, built, and managed collaboratively across its lifecycle.
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Presentations - Thursday 25 July
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09:00 - Welcome and perspective
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Set the scene for a collaborative BIM Project for Boukunde, Dept of Architecture building.
Calayde Davey
09:20 - BIM in the RIBA Stages
How do teams collaborate across the 9 workstages? Who does what, how, when and what is the role of information?
TAG TEAM PRESENTATION Richard Matchett, Calayde Davey, Machiel Odendaal, Wiam Labuschagne, Louis de Klerk, Claudio Duarte, Willem Viviers, Nathan York, Jaco Barnard, Suvaniya Pillay
11:15 - Career paths in BIM
Introduction to BIM careers, roles and responsibilities.
Calayde Davey
11:30 - Unlocking potential: the power of instructor-led training
Intructor-led training, unlike its self-paced counterparts, offers a more high-touch approach to learning. Learning is more than the dissemination of information, it’s about an interactive environment that engages participants who would benefit from seasoned certified instructors with real world insights.
PRESENTATION Jo-Ann Steyn, Xavier Modena
12:00 - BIM Team Organogram
The responsibilities of each role, and the hard and soft skills required. How do these roles integrate into the larger BIM Team? What is the BIM Career Path?
PANEL DISCUSSION Richard Matchett, Elna van der Merwe, Gary Mansfield, Anien Nauta, Thabelo Netshivhungululu, Nathan York, Augustine Schenk. Facilitator: Amanda Filtane
13:20 - How do we get our people BIM Fit?
The BIM revolution in the construction industry has not created a shortage of jobs, but a shortage of skills. What does upskilling and training look like in the short, medium and long term?
PANEL DISCUSSION Richard Matchett, Elna van der Merwe, Gary Mansfield, Anien Nauta, Marius Bierman, Calayde Davey, Ambrose Chikukwa. Facilitator: Amanda Filtane
14:05 - Brics BIM Challenge and the role of the CIDB
This session will focus on CIDB-related planned activities, including the entity’s involvement in the Brics Future Skills Challenge.
PANEL PRESENTATION Pranveer Harriparsadh, Lubabalo Xoko, Mkcubeko Madikazi, Ronaldo Phuriwa. Facilitator: Amanda Filtane
15:00 - What to expect on Day 2 and close
Calayde Davey
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Presentations - Friday 26 July
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09:00 - The BIM Organisation and Implementation - Project Readiness
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Start on the right foot. People, process and technology – how it lands in your organisation. Are you ready to deliver? Are you organised, have key roles in place, and understand how to deliver in a structured manner? Do you have both the capabilities and the capacity to produce the information that will be asked for? Have you mapped out your “game plan” in workflows, and is your team aligned? Do you have the tools to deliver?
PRESENTATION Richard Matchett
09:45 - Practical User Guide to Building a Digital Future for BIM
Gain a deeper understanding of the challenges and opportunities that come with embracing digital transformation in the built environment. Whether you're an architect, engineer, contractor, or industry professional you will learn how to create a meaningful digital strategy.
PRESENTATION Machiel Odendaal
10:15 - The BIM Project - information/value workflow
A BIM workflow leverages Building Information Modeling (BIM) to enhance the design, construction, and operation of projects. This process integrates various software tools to develop a cohesive model that enables team collaboration across all project phases. BIM aids stakeholders in visualizing budgets, schedules, and resources, tracking changes, and automating administrative tasks. By simulating building components, maintenance activities, and energy efficiency, BIM facilitates lifecycle management, supporting informed decision-making throughout a project's lifespan. BIM boosts the performance and productivity of operations from pre-construction through post-occupancy.
PRESENTATION Rob Thane
11:15 - Scan to BIM Workflows
What are the critical steps to creating a reliable dataset, that is both great to look at and useful for the planning, design and verification of your design and construction work. Find out about the skills, processes and tech involved in capturing and modelling existing buildings.
PRESENTATION Richard Matchett
11:40 - Organisational Requirements
Explore how a proactive organizational culture is vital for successful digital transformation in the built environment. This talk highlights the importance of embracing innovation, fostering digital literacy, and encouraging collaboration to integrate new technologies seamlessly. Learn key strategies to cultivate a culture that supports and accelerates your digital journey.
PRESENTATION Calayde Davey, Laetitia van der Merwe
11:50 - How do you build a BIM Fit Organisation?
Discover firsthand insights from leading South African digital built environment businesses on their transformative journey with BIM. Uncover the pivotal skills they acquired and strategic investments they made to successfully integrate BIM into their operations. And becoming BIM Fit.
PANEL DISCUSSION Thomas Fuller, Richard Matchett, Elna van der Merwe, Gary Mansfield, Anien Nauta, Rob Thane, Marius Bierman. Facilitator: Amanda Filtane
13:20 - Achieving net zero with BIM
“That’s the way we have always done it” doesn't work anymore. How can we make a building operate better? By looking at project data generated from existing buildings, understanding the dataset and comparing it to other buildings. These outcomes then guide Proper Prior Planning to drive down the time of construction, improve the quality of work at the lowest possible cost and create operational efficiencies in the proposed building that meets tenant demands.
CASE STUDY Thomas Fuller
14:05 - City of Cape Town's evolution towards BIM Integration
BIM had limited initial adoption across the City of Cape Town (CCT) due to high costs and a lack of trained professionals. The compilation of the National Development Plan (NDP), the Integrated Development Plan (IDP) and the drafting of a CIDB BIM Mandate represented a significant shift with government support for public infrastructure projects, driving broader acceptance. As part of the CCT evolution towards BIM, BIM workshops were held with international partners around defining the CCT BIM Roadmap and Implementation Framework. BIM is integral to CCT's urban development, aligned with smart city initiatives and sustainable practices and this session highlights the CCT's BIM progress to date and the next steps on the BIM programme.
CASE STUDY Melvern Govender
15:10 - Evolving traditional BIM practices in bridge modelling
We explore how the theme of Information Modelling is evolving beyond traditional Building Information Modelling (BIM). The integration of Computational Design (CoDe) practices with BIM allows for more efficient and scalable data-driven design practices. Zutari’s CoDe team adopted this philosophy to develop customized tools and integrated data-pipelines to deliver value-added services across various large-scale projects. Using a multi-bridge modelling project as a case study, we demonstrate how structured processes accelerated project deliverables and improved the overall efficiency and accuracy during its execution.
CASE STUDY Andre Broekman, Astrid van der Laan, James Abrey
15:40 - Case Studies Q&A
PANEL DISCUSSION Thomas Fuller, Melvern Govender, Andre Broekman, Astrid van der Laan, James Abrey. Facilitator: Amanda Filtane
16:10 - Close and Thanks
#BIMHarambee2024
Being BIM Fit requires that your people AND organisation are fit for purpose:
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Do they understand their roles and responsibilities as BIM practitioners?
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Do they have the relevant skills required to add value?
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What are the organisational changes required to ensure that your entire company is BIM Fit? How do you hire? How do you manage and share information? Is BIM a strategic imperative?
"The global building information modelling market size is valued at USD 7.9 billion in 2023 and is projected to reach USD 15 billion by 2028. Growing government initiatives for the adoption of BIM are among the factors driving the growth of BIM market share." Marketsandmarkets.com
What is BIM?
BIM (Building Information Modelling or Building Information Management) is a process for creating and managing information on a construction project throughout its whole life cycle. As part of this process, a coordinated digital description of every aspect of the built asset is developed, using a set of appropriate technology. This digital description includes a combination of information-rich 3D models and associated structured data such as product, execution and handover information.
If you are involved in procuring, designing, building or managing ANY built asset, you can't afford to not implement BIM in your company and your projects. The CIDB is currently working on a BIM Mandate as well as the National Annex to SANS/ISO19650 for South Africa. You will soon need to be BIM and SANS19650 compliant if you are serious about actively participating in building a better future.
It's not a case of IF, but WHEN. And that time is now.
Who should attend?
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Senior executives and decision-makers.
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All BIM - and aspiring BIM - professionals.
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Government and private business.
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If you are responsible for procuring, designing, building or managing any built asset.
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Educators, passionate about preparing students for a digital built environment.
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Any person entering, or currently working, in any industry related to the built environment and serious about sustainability and how we should be designing and building for a changing world.
Meet our Speakers
Click on their pic for their LI profile.
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BRONZE SPONSOR
The leader in integrated civil infrastructure design, Civil Designer is a specialist software company, started in 1989, with the aim of developing quality software for the engineering and design industries. Based on years of experience in the design office and on site, continually refined to suit our clients’ requirements.
EXHIBITORS
CPD PARTNER
Our Constitutional Objectives
• To maintain and uphold high standards, ethical conduct and the integrity of quantity surveying.
• To promote and advance the common interests of our members.
• To represent quantity surveying and the quantity surveying profession at government, industry and any other forum.
CPD PARTNER
Promoting Supporting and Enabling Pretoria’s Architecture.
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The PIA is based in the capital city and strives to assist the professional needs of all of its members.
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The PIA’s region include Gauteng and the North West Province and has members in Botswana, Namibia, Swaziland and even abroad.
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The PIA was created to serve the interest of architects and to further its regions’ unique architectural heritage.
Receive CPD points from ASAQS and PIA
ASAQS are offering 10 CPD hours in Category 2 for the 2 day event OR 5 CPD hours in Category 2 if you are only attending 1 day.
PIA are offering 0.1 CPD Points in Category 1 per session.
All details will be communicated to everyone who has registered to attend.