Article published on 30 October 2026
We chat with one of our newest team members, Alex, Principal Technician and BIM Manager in Manchester, about his background, experience and proudest achievements, as well as the BIM myths he’d like to dispel.
Welcome to Clancy, Alex! To kick things off, can you tell us about your background and what led you to become a Principal Technician and BIM Manager?
I remember wanting to do something in the construction industry while I was at school and, somehow, I fell into being a structural technician. I discovered BIM during the mid to late 00s and used BIM tools for several years. Later, in 2012, I took a job as ‘Revit Expert’ (yes, it was actually in the job title!) where they had several projects starting that required its use, but the team was still getting to grips with Revit. That role developed into me becoming their BIM Manager, where I looked after, created and developed everything BIM for the company.
Which projects have shaped your experience so far?
I’ve worked across all kinds of sectors, from commercial to residential, education and leisure and on a huge variety of projects, from high-rise apartments, schools and markets to cinemas and stadiums.
For anyone unfamiliar with the role, what does a Principal Technician and BIM Manager do, and where do you add the most value to a project?
My greatest impact as a BIM Manager comes before a project starts, especially as I oversee the Revit template and have the skills to develop an excellent one. Revit templates can make users much more efficient, while also maintaining and even improving drawing standards.
Can you share a project that best demonstrates your approach to solving a complex engineering challenge?
The cinema element of Warrington Times Square, which is now a Cineworld, was a very complex Revit model, which I practically lived in for a summer. It’s a cinema built over retail units, so there were two separate structural grids, one on top of the other (a nightmare for the engineer!). Considering the amount of steelwork used in the seating for each screen, the difficulty lay in precisely modelling each part and ensuring it was clearly represented in the drawings.
What are you most looking forward to achieving at Clancy?
I see a really good opportunity to improve efficiency in building Revit models and producing drawings from them, whilst raising the standard of our deliverables.
What’s the one tool, technique, or habit you couldn’t do your job without?
Definitely Revit. I’ve used it daily in my job since I first started working with it back in 2008.
Looking back, which achievement are you most proud of, and why?
A few! Becoming the youngest person to gain my IStructE, EngTech, and then following that up by becoming a technician member of the ICE felt like a real achievement.
Another achievement I’m extremely proud of is guiding a firm I worked for to become the first civil and structural organisation to obtain BSI’s BIM Level 2 accreditation. We followed that by obtaining BSI’s ISO19650 BIM accreditation and, subsequently, its Kitemark, which required considerable hard work.
What’s one common misconception about BIM that you’d like to clear up?
BIM isn’t just about overly complicated drawing numbers. BIM is a process that runs throughout a project, from the conception of an asset through to its handover and can in fact still be used during the asset’s life. Revit, like other software, is a BIM tool used to facilitate that process.
Now that you’re a month into the role, what have been your first impressions of the people and culture at Clancy?
My first month has absolutely flown by, and I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to getting to know everyone. I can see that the people are very close knit and, although it’s a hard-working company, everyone is friendly and helpful.
What is one thing that might surprise people to discover about you?
I coach my son’s football team, the Whittle Hall Warriors. It’s only an under-8s team, so nothing too exciting yet, but I also coached the under-12s team that one of my sons played for last season, which was in a competitive league.