Practical applications of digital technologies for conservation & asset management of historic sites
Channel: Recording Archaeology
Date: 18/12/2018

Historic Environment Scotland is the lead public body set up in 2015 to investigate, care for and promote Scotland’s historic environment. HES is responsible for the conservation and operational management of 336 historic sites across Scotland (Properties in Care) on behalf of Scottish Ministers under the Scheme of Delegation. 

In the absence of a commercially available heritage asset management system that is not based on asset obsolescence or asset renewal, Historic Environment Scotland is developing a bespoke digital asset management system to manage operations, inform decisions and prioritise investment. 

This Properties in Care Asset Management System (PICAMS) is a programme of digital transformation, which will link and provide access to a wide range of disparate data sets relating to the Properties in Care, including information relating to designation, significance, condition, facilities management, archaeology, climate change, digital image and drawing archives, as well as a growing collection of 3D spatial datasets. 

The Rae Project is a long-term ambitious programme to digitally document in 3D all of the Properties in Care and objects from their associated collections. The resulting data constitutes a baseline record of the estate and is being used to inform conservation, asset management, interpretation and research projects, as well as improve (virtual) access to the properties.

In parallel with digital documentation projects, HES is developing the use of visualisation, 3D modelling, 3D printing and gaming technologies for conservation applications. 

Other key digital systems feeding into PICAMS are Building Information Modelling and HES-SIGMA. HES is currently leading the heritage application of BIM in Scotland, exploring and developing BIM as a holistic tool to manage and access relevant inter-related digital datasets both for project delivery and asset management.

HES-SIGMA is an innovative condition-monitoring tool developed by the British Geological Survey and HES, which facilitates condition surveys for the Properties in Care through a mobile GIS-based application. The data can be used to monitor the condition of the sites, quantify the effect of conservation works and prioritise investment across the Estate.

This presentation will outline each of these digital technology applications within HES, in relation to a series of case studies on Stirling Castle.

Joann Russell, Sofia Antonopoulou, Lyn Wilson, Al Rawlinson, James Hepher