Information Management Documents – BIM Academy: Learning and Development

An information protocol is one of the resources that supports the implementation of information management using building information modelling (BIM)

Both ISO 19650-2 and ISO 19650-3 require that the appointing party produces an information protocol and that it forms part of tender and appointment documents. The UK BIM Framework Information Protocol Template is for use in compliance with ISO 19650-2 i.e. at delivery phase; and the Information Protocol template for use in compliance with ISO19650- 3 i.e. the maintenance and operational phase.

ISO 19650-2 refers to the information protocol as the project’s information protocol and ISO 19650-3 refers to it as the asset information protocol.

ISO 19650-5 does not refer to an information protocol, however, it does require that there is a provision in all appointment documentation for the requirements set out in ISO 19650-5 clause 9.2. These obligations, therefore, do need to be considered.

The UK BIM Framework Information Protocol Template provides an example of what could be included in an information protocol to be used when conforming to ISO 19650-2 and/ or ISO 19650-5 (as applicable) for projects and their appointments to which English law applies.

It is not prescriptive but it provides a useful starting point for an Information Protocol.

Neither the UK BIM Framework Information Protocol Template nor this guidance amount to legal advice and you should ensure you always take appropriate professional advice to assist all parties to work in a way that reflects ISO 19650-2 and ISO 19650-5 (as applicable).

An information protocol should be established by the appointing party at a project level (ISO 19650-2) or an asset/portfolio management level (for ISO 19650-3).

It should be included in an invitation to tender information and then in appointment documentation for every third party (where the third party is a separate legal entity) that will manage or produce information as part of their activities within that appointment.

The relevant ISO 19650 clauses requiring these actions are set out.

The Information Protocol Template published by the UK BIM Framework supports delivery phase contracts and appointments that use ISO 19650-2 and ISO 19650-5. However, for the Information Protocol Template to become an appointment specific Information Protocol a number of activities are required.

Before embarking on these activities it is critical to establish if the appointment is in respect of delivery phase activities (ISO 19650-2) in which case the Information Protocol Template can be used.

Once the Information Protocol Template has been accessed (Activity 1), its contents should be considered at a project level. Its Particulars should be populated with details originating with the appointor to identify project-specific requirements such as the identity of the associated information standard, the information production methods and procedures and the exchange information requirements (EIR) (Activity 2).

The Information Protocol can then be issued as part of a tender package (Activity 3).

During the process of confirming an appointment, the Information Protocol Particulars should be completed to identify details originating with the appointee (such as the identity of the BIM Execution Plan (BEP) or task information delivery plan (TIDP)) – Activity 4.

For the Information Protocol to have contractual effect, an “incorporation clause” has to be included in each contract/ appointment into which it is to be incorporated. The completed protocol should also be included as part of the appointment documents (e.g. in a schedule) – Activity 5.

Activities 1 and 2 are carried out at a project related level. Activities 3, 4 and 5 are then carried out for every tender and appointment supporting that project.

To satisfy the requirements of both ISO 19650-2 and ISO 19650-3 an information standard is established by an appointing party to outline the standards to be followed when managing information in relation to a project and/or asset/portfolio (see ISO 19650- 2 clause 5.1.4 and ISO 19650-3 clause 5.1.6 respectively).

While the information standard is established at the project and/or asset/portfolio level, it is important that it reflects, and is mutually consistent with, internal organizational standards, methods and procedures. This is to ensure that the delivered information is useable throughout the asset’s lifecycle and consistent with other information relating to an asset.

The information standard is one of several resources which are compiled together to form the appointing party’s tender information.

A unique characteristic of the information standard is the ability of a lead appointed party to suggest additions or amendments as part of their tender response. If applicable, these should be articulated as a contract negotiation so that any additions or amendments are made known to all bidders to ensure a fair and transparent tendering process.

Typically read in conjunction with the information production methods and procedures, the information standard is used during the production of information to support the generation, approval, authorization, and acceptance of information.

The purpose of an information standard is to provide the standards against which information shall be produced and subsequently maintained. Depending on the context, this may be at an organizational level, managing the information across its whole portfolio of assets, or it may be at a project level.

To achieve this, the information standard is established at the project and/ or asset/portfolio level so that all appointed delivery teams deliver project or asset information consistently with each other, regardless of their contractual relationships.

This is because while the information standard is produced once, it will not only form part of the appointment documentation for each lead appointed party and their respective sub-consultants and sub-contractors, but will also be the basis for rigorous and consistent maintenance of information throughout the whole life of the asset/portfolio in question.

Regardless as to whether it is being produced to support the delivery of a project or the servicing of an asset, an information standard is developed in the same manner.

As a technical resource, an information standard should include information relating to the information standard in the form of a document header or a title block. BS EN ISO 7200 provides a schedule of fields to be included when producing technical documentation such as Title, Author and Approver.

While ISO 19650-2 and ISO 19650-3 do not specify a set structure for an information standard, PD ISO/TS 12911 (Framework for building information modelling (BIM) guidance) provides a formalized structure that could be adopted.

As a minimum, a clause-based structure should be adopted to enable anyone from the delivery team to reference specific elements of the information standard with ease.

The information standard should include the standards to be considered when structuring, classifying, and exchanging information. In determining these standards, the appointing party should consider any asset-related, or organizational-related activities that information may be required for throughout the asset’s lifecycle.

For example, An information standard relating to the delivery phase of an asset should consider relevant standards relating to the use of the information during an asset’s operational phase.

In addition, any standards identified during the establishment of the security management plan should also be considered for inclusion within the information standard (refer to ISO 19650-5 clause 7 and 9.2).

The content within the information standard may be the standard itself or in the form of references to an external source, such as a British Standard or an online tool.

For example: The national annex to ISO 19650-2 recommends that the permitted values for information container ID convention, status codes and revision codes are recorded within the information standard. The information standard should therefore set out a project identifier, record originator codes and other specific codes needed to generate an information container unique ID. Examples of other content that might be included in an information standard include:

• The level of information need framework
• Which classification system(s) should be adopted and where
• Requirements for the designation of internal and external spaces.

While additions may be welcomed without issue, amendments will need to be considered carefully. This is because these amendments may impact on other delivery teams who are producing and managing information concurrently as well as potentially conflicting with information produced based on the pre-amended information standard, resulting in inconsistent asset information.

When responding to an invitation to tender, a prospective lead appointed party (such as a consultant or a contractor) is able to suggest amendments and additions to the information standard.

While the original resource may capture the standards that support an appointing party and any previously appointed lead appointed parties, it is vital that any standards that are clearly justified and needed to support any incoming lead appointed parties are also captured so that they are considered and enacted during the generation, approval, authorization, and acceptance of information (see ISO 19650-2, 5.6 and ISO 19650-3, 5.6).

The benefits of a well-defined project information standard is that it enables information to be:

• Searched and retrieved – To ensure that information is discoverable, secure and retrievable
• Used and Re-used – The information that is used can be reused or repurposed
• Spatial Coordination – The information is spatially is coordinated
• Presentational Consistency – Presented in a format that all parties can access and view

To satisfy the requirements of ISO 19650-2, a BIM execution plan (BEP) must be provided by a prospective lead appointed party in their tender response.

In accordance with ISO 19650-2, the BEP is one of several resources developed by the lead appointed party on behalf of the delivery team to convey the information management approach.

Delivery team capability and capacity, mobilization planning, risk assessment and information delivery planning are dealt with as separate resources.

How all this information is presented to the appointing party is up to the lead appointed party, unless the appointing party has given any firm instructions.

The resulting BEP is a succinct resource that is supplemented by additional resources to be used by the prospective delivery team if appointed.

The BEP has two different purposes in supporting the tender, appointment and information delivery activities:

1. To provide evidence to the appointing party that the prospective delivery team can manage project information in line with any information requirements provided to them. This is referred to in ISO 19650-2 as the ‘‘(pre-appointment) BEP”
2. To provide a delivery tool that the appointed delivery team will use to produce, manage and exchange project information during the appointment alongside other resources.

Consequently, although there is only one BEP for each delivery team there may be two early versions of it. The first version is the (pre-appointment) BEP and the second version offers an update so that it can fulfil its purposes as an appointment resource and one of the delivery team’s tools for information management.