Insights

The benefits of interactive Building User Guides (BUGs).

We now have the ability to produce digital versions of our buildings, and with that comes a whole host of opportunities for learning, engagement, and management.

Think how confident you feel arriving somewhere unknown when you’ve already checked out the location on Google Street Map, or how you can plan better if you’ve done a virtual tour of holiday accommodation before your trip begins.

Interactive Building User Guides (BUGs) can be created using a project’s available 3D model (Revit or other).

Building information behind the scenes.

Behind these virtual spaces sits a world of information that people can access according to their needs. Relevant user guides and information for particular areas, as well as the building itself, are embedded within the immersive views. These could be in the form of online or downloadable documents, information labels, photos, video/animations or links to other web-hosted content.

There’s a world of benefits to BUGs – with only the surface being scratched at the moment. So what are we currently supporting our clients with by creating BUGs?

• Site inductions
  Whether it’s new starters, guests, or visiting maintenance staff, interactives BUGs help people familiarise themselves with spaces, routes and layouts.
• On-site guidance & navigation support
  Journeys through the key areas of a building can run on information screens at reception or around other shared/general circulation spaces to provide support.
• Achieving BREEAM credit (MAN04)
  To support BREEAM’s aim of creating sustainable and efficiently operated buildings, one of the credits includes: ‘A Building User Guide (BUG) developed prior to handover, for distribution to the building occupiers and premises managers’.
• Marketing tool
  Allowing people to tour a space via virtual walkthrough can set a development apart from competitors, and bring a project to life for the people it needs to attract.
• Health & safety training
  A BUG can support people undertaking health and safety training to familiarise themselves with exit routes, services and policies.
• Logging building faults
  Any issues users have with the building can be reported via the BUG (directly linking to any associated forms), allowing quick identification of the location of the issue.