Ryder becomes first firm to use the new flagship platform from NBS

International design practice Ryder Architecture’s Newcastle and Vancouver teams have become one of the first practices to produce a specification in the cloud using NBS Chorus, the new flagship platform from NBS.

The specification platform has not only provided Ryder with a new level of collaboration across its global business, but the cloud-technology has enabled the team to develop their specifications in the office, on-site, and even mid-flight from the UK to Canada.

The two-year project is a heritage restoration site in Vancouver, St. Andrew’s Wesley United Church, so the choice to use NBS Chorus with its UK and Canadian content libraries was another benefit to the whole team.

Adam James, principal of Ryder’s Vancouver team, said: “NBS Chorus is a welcome addition to Ryder’s digital toolkit of collaborative design tools. The data driven framework of Chorus allows us to rapidly specify building components and materials in manner that integrates with our existing building information modelling tools, while working in geographically distributed teams.”

Aimed at those professionals who need to produce high quality specifications efficiently, NBS Chorus is a pioneering collaborative specification platform, which supports global design and construction.

The use of cloud technology, ensures that those using the new platform have the latest software and global content at all times – including the latest standards and regulations.

This offers an invaluable improvement in collaboration and efficiencies across whole teams, allowing the different players in a construction project to work in a single place, on the same data. The platform also enables users to integrate the model and the specification, which saves time and reduces the risk of information becoming out of sync.

NBS CEO, Richard Waterhouse, said: “It’s not overstating it to say that the launch of NBS Chorus heralds a revolution in our business.

“As we’ve seen from the results of our recent NBS Construction Technology Report, 63% of over 500 respondents are already using cloud technologies, and we want to ensure our customers are part of this digital disruption that’s happening across the industry.

“It was a perfect fit for Ryder to be one of the first to use and complete a specification in NBS Chorus as they were involved in informing and developing the platform to ensure it provided the solution they needed – and I think it’s done exactly that.”

NBS Chorus has also been developed with Uniclass 2015 as its native classification structure, and as set by BS EN ISO19650 and the UK National Annex, should be used as the classification structure on all BIM projects.

With access to 24 hour support, NBS is reinforcing its message that it is ready to support global construction projects. Since announcing expansion across two continents in 2017, acquiring Canada-based Digicon and setting up in Australia, NBS has updated the NBS National BIM Library and BIM Object standard tools to include Canadian and Australian content.

NBS, who provide technical information, specification and BIM tools to construction industry professionals as well as services for building product manufacturers recently announced a £31.8m investment from LDC, the private equity arm of Lloyds Banking Group.