ISO 19650-2 represents the key BIM standard for the delivery phase of assets. This article covers all you need to know at a glance.
BIM standards and strategy
The full name of ISO 19650-2 is ‘BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 & Revised NA: Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) – Information management using building information modelling. Part 2: Delivery phase of the assets’.
As we can see, the latest BIM standards, and particularly the new ISO 19650 series, make an effort to clarify that information management not only applies to buildings, but also to all civil engineering works. However, it is still fairly common these days to find professionals who think that BIM means Revit. Subsequently, there is a growing industry movement, led by the UK BIM Framework, to change this mindset. Recently, information management and BIM have developed into complex processes that include a wide range of aspects. For example, the national strategy in the UK for BIM is very much aligned to the concept of Digital Twins, which is being led and developed by the Centre for Digital Built Britain.
The information management process in ISO 19650-2 and its sub-processes
ISO 19650 Part 2 was published in January 2019, together with Part 1. On the one hand, ISO 19650-1 focuses on the concepts and principles of the 19650 series. On the other, ISO 19650-2 concentrates on the delivery phase of assets. It does so by dividing the information management process into 8 sub-processes. The overall project includes all of these 8 sub-processes. Within the overall project, sub-processes 2 to 7 occur within the overall appointment. At the same time, the overall appointment is sub-divided into procurement, planning and production.
It is important to mention that the information management process in ISO 19650-2 assumes that the Appointing Party’s Organisational and Asset Information Requirements (OIR/AIR) are already defined. At the same time, the process focuses on information delivery, placing most of the responsibility upon the Appointing Party (the client or owner).
1. Assessment and need
The first sub-process in the information management process described in ISO 19650-2 is the assessment and need. This sub-process is fully led and undertaken by the Appointing Party itself, because this is previous to the procurement phase. There are also 8 core tasks that need to be performed during this sub-process:
- Appoint individuals to undertake IM functions
- Define Project’s Information Requirements
- Establish Project’s Information Delivery Milestones
- Establish Project’s Information Production Methods and Procedures
- Develop Project’s Information Standard
- Establish Project’s Reference Information and Shared Resources
- Select Project’s Common Data Environment
- Establish Project’s Information Protocol
2. Invitation to tender
After undertaking all those tasks, ISO 19650-2 establishes that it is possible to move to the invitation to tender sub-process. This is the first sub-process in the procurement stage, where the Appointing Party prepares all the necessary information for tender. The key activities are:
- Establish Appointing Party’s Exchange Information Requirements
- Assemble Reference Information and Shared Resources
- Establish Tender Response Requirements and Evaluation Criteria
- Compile invitation to tender information
- And finally, issue tenders
3. Tender response
The last sub-process in the procurement stage is the tender response. In this sub-process, it will be the Lead Appointed Party who undertakes the activities:
- Nominate individuals to undertake the IM function
- Establish Pre-Appointment BIM Execution Plan for the delivery team
- Assess task team(s) capability and capacity
- Establish delivery team(s) capability and capacity overall
- Establish proposed delivery team’s mobilisation plan
- Create delivery team’s risk register
- Compile delivery team’s tender response
- Submit tender
- Tender review (by the Appointing Party)
4. Appointment
After the tender response, ISO 19650-2 establishes the appointment sub-process. This is mostly led by the Lead Appointed Party, with some tasks undertaken by the Appointing Party and Appointed Party(s):
- Appointment made (by Appointing Party)
- Confirm delivery team’s BIM Execution Plan
- Develop delivery team’s detailed responsibility matrix
- Develop Lead Appointed Party’s Exchange Information Requirements
- Establish the Task Information Delivery Plan(s) (by Appointed Party(s))
- Establish the Master Information Delivery Plan
- Complete Lead Appointed Party’s appointment documents (by Appointing Party)
- Complete Appointed Party’s appointment documents
5. Mobilisation
Once the appointment is complete, the mobilisation sub-process includes the following tasks undertaken by the Lead Appointed Party:
- Mobilise resources
- Mobilise IT
- Test the project’s information production methods and procedures
6. Collaborative production
The next sub-process is the collaborative production. This is where the work gets done. The Lead Appointed Party and/or the Appointed Party(s) undertake the following activities:
- Check availability of shared resources
- Generate information
- Undertake quality assurance check
- Review information and approve for sharing
- Information Model Review
7. Information Model delivery
After the collaborative production, ISO 19650-2 sets out an iterative sub-process for the Information Model delivery, with a few decision points:
- Appointed Party submits Information Model for Lead Appointed Party authorisation
- Lead Appointing Party reviews and decides whether to authorise the information model
- If authorised, the Appointed Party submits the Information Model for Appointing Party acceptance
- Appointing Party reviews and decides whether to accept the Information Model
8. Project close-out
Once the final Information Model has been accepted by the Appointing Party, the project moves onto the final sub-process, known as project close-out in ISO 19650-2. Finally, the Appointing Party leads this end stage undertaking the following tasks:
- Archive the Project Information Model
- Extract relevant information for Asset Information Management
- Capture lessons learnt for future projects (by all Parties)
The end goal is to have an Asset Information Model so that the operations and maintenance parties can use it. This will ensure that up to 70% of the BIM benefits of the lifecycle of the project can be materialised, including cost and time savings.
Do you have any questions about ISO 19650-2 and the delivery phase of assets? Let us know in the comments below!
