Getting Started
This guide will walk you through who BIG is for, what it's about, why it was created, and most importantly, how to use it effectively.
If you are a member of an industry association, talk to your membership team about a subscription plan to allow full functionality and purchase of Australian Standards and our Best Practice Waterproofing Guides - Book 1-4.
If you are not an industry association member, you can go ahead and purchase a Subscription plan and a select the Australian Standards Sets for your team from our Subscriptions page. Contact us if you have any questions.
Who is BIG for?
BIG is the Building information Gateway, a comprehensive tool for reference materials in the Australian building and construction industry. It is designed for all industry participants who are concerned about quality outcomes.
How do I use BIG?
To see how to use BIG, refer to the information below. Read our FAQs, covering your Workspace, Annotations, and Bookmarks. Watch the tutorial videos below on subscribing, searching, filtering, saving, sharing, annotating and bookmarking documents and viewing Collections.
What is BIG about?
BIG features a large library of documents and reference materials, news articles and an online store. It provides an online collaborative Workspace where your team can save, share, and annotate documents. It is unique to the industry.
Getting Around
There are many ways of getting around BIG, navigating is easy! As a starting point, use the links below for more information.
Reference Cards
Reference cards are quick "cheat sheets" for how to use BIG. View the cards below to see quick tips on searching, reading, annotating and saving documents. View the reference cards to find out what you can do in each area of BIG.
The Supervisor
The building commissioner visits a site, and asks the site supervisor if he has access to the current NCC and Australian Standards. He opens BIG and shows he has all the information he needs. It's up-to-date, and right at his fingertips!
The Waterproofer
A waterproofing contractor has access to easy-to-read Waterproofing Guides to do the best possible job and avoid common defects. She opens BIG and refers to saved bookmarks with detailed notes and real-world examples for each job.
The Builder
A builder buys the Building Essentials set for the most commonly referenced Australian Standards. He saves a copy of the standards for each job, and his team collaborate with annotations and sharing to ensure it gets done properly.
Tutorial Videos
Learn how to master the key concepts and get the most out of your subscription through this series of tutorial videos
How to invite users to a subscription
How to annotate resources
How to search and filter resources
How to purchase add on packs and assign to users
How to use the workspace and folders
How to purchase add on packs and assign to users
How to bookmark resources
Frequently Asked Questions
BIG has a detailed FAQ
What does a subscription plan give me?
How do I navigate to related items?
How do I add a document to Workspace?
Alternatively, if you can't find something you are after, or are unable to use one of our features, please contact us.
Because we listened to what you said.
Because we listened to what you said.
Here are some comments from the industry before we launched BIG:
"The cost to contractors currently for NCC & more so Australian Standards is outrageous. If Builders & subcontractors could have access at a reasonable cost this would encourage all to utilise & update on a more regular basis."
"We are professional engineers. We use the NCC and Standards to train builders/contractors to improve their work and lift their skills. Some contractors have never seen a standard or NCC in their life. Yet they are required to comply."
"Standard are very expensive and most stubbies won't pay the cost therefore, remain ignorant. This is a major reason why waterproofing failures are so high."
"Access to the Standards would be great given they are quite often referenced however, given the cost they are rarely accessed. The availability of this material would significantly improve the standard of our projects and ensure they are being built to the correct standards."
"Access to Australian Standards should not be as expensive as it is."