ISO 19650 for Architectural Companies

VICTOR LIMA: Hello, everyone. So welcome to my session. Today we're going to be talking about the ISO19650, a little bit focusing on the architectural company side, but it does give a little bit of overview from a whole picture of the ISO19650. A little bit about myself. So I'm Victor Lima. I'm the Director of Digital Practice with Diamond Schmitt. I have been working on the BIM side for over 10 years.

I'm really into architecture and the BIM and how we use BIM within the architecture world. My background is bachelor engineering, civil engineering, and I also have an architectural technology diploma. I started with the architectural side, really got into a lot of the technology, how we actually use technology in our day to day, and how we can improve our processes and deliverables using technology and leveraging technology.

So I transitioned over into BIM, and that's what I've been for pretty much 10 years now. I am a member of the BuildingSmart Canada and also the tBIMc, and I've been working with the government of Canada on the implementation of ISO within our country and how we are actually using ISO on the overall projects that we have. I'm going to go a little bit over the agenda, then we're going to dive right in.

So I'll start with who we are on the Diamond Schmitt side, what we do, what type of projects we work on. Then I will jump right into the ISO19650 overview. So we're going to go into the possible concepts and how things are structured within the ISO, and then we'll move on to the benefits of the implementation of ISO. We're going to get into some challenges and solutions, and we're going to get, at the end, some Q&A time.

So we're starting with who we are. So Diamond Schmitt is a architecture firm. We have been around the market for 15 years. We go from every single typology around. So concert halls, libraries, community centers, university buildings, you count it. So we are very diverse, and that sometimes adds a little bit of a challenge when it comes to standardizing because different typologies have different requirements, different client needs, and so on and so forth.

We do have offices around North America. So pretty much Toronto is our head office, but we also have New York, Vancouver, and Calgary. And those are mainly to support our projects within North America. But we also have some projects that happens within Europe. We have been using BIM since 2008. So pretty much at this point in time, we are a fully BIM company.

All of our projects are completely created in BIM, and we support and use those deliverables on our client basis to make sure what you're asking is being achieved but also their deliverables are being mapped. So without further ado, we're going to dive right in into the ISO side. So before we get into the ISO itself, it's good to understand why ISO is becoming important. The world, it's really getting to a digital transformation era, and that's where pretty much all of our built environment is trying to get digitized.

And what that means is mainly it gives us a lot more opportunity to better understand what we build, what we use, and how we operate our buildings. And in order to do that, we actually need to include or to add a lot more technologies to what we currently do during construction. So we make sure the data is consistent and we keep using and updating as needed for our day to day needs and to get the digital transformation.

It actually requires a lot of collaboration, because this starts from the inception of the project, even before any consultants are involved. It's mainly the client defining their needs and how they're going to be moving forward and what their requirements they have, getting to the consultants, construction, and then facility management itself. So it requires a lot of collaboration between all the different phases and shareholders within the project.

And at the end of the day, with digital transformation, that creates a lot of data for us. And at the end of the day, all of their data is information that is needed to support the project. Sometimes that data is critical. Sometimes that data is not really important. Sometimes it's depending on specific shareholder needs. So information management is a key point when it comes to ISO, and this is mainly to ensure that we are capturing the right data, using the right technology, leveraging the right process.

So at the end of the day, if you're able to combine all those three parts, we're actually going to get a success on information management because we know who needs, we know the processes to achieve and the technology to use in order to deliver that information. And it's also defining how we actually-- when that data is being delivered. A lot of the time people think about data as, oh, it's just at the end of the project and it's one and done, but that's not necessarily actually how information should be delivered. Data, information.

That's very interchangeable words. They actually should be happening across different milestones, different project needs, and so on and so forth. And we're going to be hearing me actually saying data lot. But just be mindful that data, information is very interchangeable under the ISO perspective.

So ISO19650. What ISO is. ISO is pretty much an international standard that was defined in 2012. Pretty much it started as the BIM UK framework, and that, at the end of the day, got evolved into transitioning to ISO. So because it started as a framework, a lot of the language that you're going to see on the document are not a direct correlation to what I do. It's really providing some framework or some basis to how you want it to define the processes.

So that's a little different from ISO standards that you'd see around. Instead of being, you shall do this, the 19650 is going to be, you might do this. And that, at the end of the day, it creates a lot of open discussions and interpretations from which country you are, and that's where national annexes come in. So with national annex, there are many countries that are creating their own supporting documents to align with ISO so it aligns with their local market.

So US already did. Canada has a few parts. Europe, quite a few countries around Europe also have their own annexes. So at the end of the day, it's really trying to consolidate that information into what's needed from your own country. The ISO, it's actually comprised under six parts. We currently have five published. The last one is still under development. It will probably be rolled out mid 2025. But pretty much all five parts out. Creates and gives you a good understanding of how ISO's structure is defined.

So the first one, it starts with concepts and principles. Second one is the delivery phase. If you are within the construction industry, that's the part you're going to be focusing quite a bit of time because that's where it's going to give you the information related to design and construction of the project. Operation phase. That's more into the facilities management aspect.

And then we get into information exchange, how we are changing information between different parties, different team members. And then the last one is how we are applying security on all the data that we are producing. So we'll dive a little bit deeper into the different sections as we go along into the presentation, but those are the main five parts that we're going to be touching on today.

So starting to some concepts and principles. The ISO is including a lot of different acronyms that not everyone is really comfortable or knowledgeable about. So you might be hearing a lot OIR, and the OIR, it's Organization Information Requirements. And what that means is as an organization, your client or you, if you're the client, how you want it to-- or what information you want to actually achieve or retain from the project as it's being developed.

So it's pretty much not necessarily for one project specific, but for organization perspective. So what are you trying to cover into all your projects, not just that one specific. And out of the OIR, you actually have two new documents that gets created, which is the AIR and the PIR. So the AIR is your asset information requirement and the PIR is the project information requirement. So when it gets into the AIR, it's how you're actually managing your assets.

So are you using a specific software, are you tracking through COBie, are you using that as facility management software, per se. So this is a little bit on how we actually defining and managing. So the consultants, as they get awarded the contract, you understand how the client is leveraging that data. While the PIR is how or what are they specific OIR that are applicable to the project that it's about to start.

So at the end of the day, not necessarily all projects require to fulfill the OIR needs because necessarily all projects have the requirements that are specified on the OIR. So with the two AIR and the PIR, we actually create a new one, which is the EIR. So it's the Exchange Information Requirements. So if you know what information it's needed from your project and how you manage your assets, you define what are the requirements of changing information.

So what specific milestones those information are required to be delivered, when is that element required to be modeled to a certain level, and so on and so forth. So this gets into a lot more how we are exchanging information between all the different parties in the project. And out of the EIR, the consultant team or the appointed party wants to get awarded the project, so they develop the project information model.

So the project information model, which is the PIM, is pretty much the information that is required, been delivered to the client. So this can be a BIM model, this can be a combination of BIM, database, PDFs, documents, and so on and so forth. So it's not necessarily just BIM but just all the database that create the assets that are needed to be delivered based on the different organizations that were required previously.

And once the PIM is delivered, which is at the end of the delivery phase, it creates the asset information model. So the asset information model is how the company is going to be taking the BIM and keeping up with any changes, adjustments, or requirements based on the actual needs and operations of the building. So maintenance, if there are any equipment that crashes and needs to be replaced. So making sure that the information is keeping up to date.

So just getting a little bit into some more visuals into how all those aspects are encompassed. So the organization management is the overarching information, the asset, and the project management is from a project specific, information management is whoever is actually delivering the project.

And then you have the delivery phase, which is consultant and construction team, and the operation phase, which is whoever is going to be operating the building as is delivered at the end of construction. So just getting a little bit more information related to how that it's actually defined around the project. And some other key items related to the ISO is because of the international standard, you're not going to be seeing client or architect or designer.

It's actually going to be a more abstract language. And that's where it comes into appointing party, lead appointed party, and appointed party. So you will see a lot of this language as you go over the document. And that's nothing more than the appointing party is typically the client. So that's who is appointing the party that will be taking over or taking the process into development.

So the appointing party provides the lead appointed party. So the lead appointed party can be the architect for design, it can be the construction manager for construction. Those can actually be different depending on which phase of the project you have. And then the appointed party is, as architect, we generally have structural consultants, mechanical, electrical. So those are appointed parties because we are the ones who are appointing them to specific deliverables.

So at the end of the day, the image gives a better understanding of the client. The client might have multiple lead appointed parties depending on different projects, different phases. So you have one appointing party, multiple lead appointed parties per phase, and then you actually have the appointed party that supports the project deliverable.

One big change that comes with ISO is we are very well known or very used to using model element table, so LOD and model element author. So instead of actually leveraging those LOD 100, 200, and 300, the ISO gets into an LOIN. So what LOIN is level of information need. And instead of just being focused on the geometry, per se, it's also focusing on information and documentation that you are attaching to that element. Not necessarily all of that information is within the BIM model, but it's within the database that is cross-referenced to the BIM model itself.

And that's the geometrical information. Instead of being just LOD 100, 200, 300, you get into more definitions on what the level of detail, is it 2D, 3D, where it's located, do we need to have volumetric behavior for some sort, and what is the appearance of it being used. The alphanumerical information. It's what data is being required from the client. And then the documentation. Sometimes the client doesn't need just data but also documents that are attached to the elements. So like manuals or replacement parts and all the information that comes from the supplier.

And when it gets into the information requirements, as I mentioned, sometimes it's not all in the BIM parts. You actually have to define that within databases that then is going to be cross-referenced with the model. And there are multiple tools that you can actually use to deliver that. Excel is a very rudimentary one, but it still can be defined as a database table. Finally, dRofus, COBie, and IDS. So at the end of the day, those are different tools that can be leveraged on capturing data or capturing information that should be delivered at the end of the day to the client.

Other important aspect of ISO is defining the status of your information. So is your information a work in progress, is your information shared, consumed, published, or recorded. And that's to define how reliable the information you're referring to is. So a work in progress, we know it's not finalized. It's still being worked on. But then the shared, it's actually when you as the provider or whoever is creating that information, it's ready to be shared, ready to be reviewed.

And the consume is pretty much you received the information, you took a look, and it's like, OK, so I don't have any major concerns, so I can actually consume that information and make sure that this is following any specific requirements that I'm looking for. And once I approve that consumed, it actually becomes published, and that publish is the actual issued when it comes to client issuance or project team issuance. So at the end of the day, it's what the official document that has been approved is out.

And the record is mainly at the end of the project, anything that is defined by authority, having jurisdiction, réglementations, and so forth, those have to be transferred over into record. And that's what's going to be saved or archived at the end of the project. And this is not to misconcept with the archive that is in orange.

The archive in orange is mainly information that you don't need to keep up on the work in progress or is not up to date anymore, and you just wanted to make sure as a reference for future, but it doesn't need to be a record-- or it doesn't need to be archived for specific reasons on where you live. So that can be deleted at the end of the closeout process of the project.

Another important concept is the common data environment. Right now, common data environment is seen as a location where the consultant team or the design team has one, the construction team has another, and the client has another. From ISO perspective, that's not really feasible. We should all be working within the same location. Sometimes you might have different CDEs just for the sake of document types. For instance, on this one, BIM360 or ACC now that it has been renamed.

We have Teams for communication, SharePoint for any Microsoft documents that needs to be shared around, but then all the different parties are connected to the same location. So at the end of the day, we remove the problem on, is this the latest one, where should I go, where do I find information that I'm looking for. An example here that we have is pretty much we develop our ACC template.

So every single project, as we try to get more and more aligned with ISO, we created a standard set of folders so that way we can make sure our projects are more and more aligned and people know where to find or look for information when they need. So similar to the different stages, ACC also supports that. So we have this 0W for information models, one shared for any models that are being shared. So the shared is pretty much when it gets into the document management, when you have the design collaboration set up.

So that's where, when you share a package, that's where it goes to. The archive. As I mentioned, anything that you need to reference. Sometimes the client does different design alterations and we wanted to archive previous designs in case they need to revert back. And then the publish is when it's actually ready to be submitted to the client. And the record, this is, at the end of the project, what needs to be retained and kept for our record.

So this is a little bit of the concept. If we move on into the delivery phase, the delivery phase, it's a lot where the construction team is going to be attached to. So if we get into the delivery phase, it's actually defined into a few phases. So we have the first part is assessment and need. I touched on this before. So this is even before the client does in the procurement. It's mainly the client defining, what do I need, what is the project that I'm looking for, what is the requirements that I need to fulfill a specific needs on my side.

So from a client perspective, that's all happening within assessment and need. But then we get into the procurement. So the procurement is when the client knows what they want, provide information out for tender, and really seek out who is really looking around for bidding on the project. So whoever decides to bid, they provide a tender response, and then the client chooses who it's going to be appointing. So that's the planning stage. We move into the production stage once the planning is complete. And then at the end of construction, we have the closeout.

So if we zoom in a little bit deeper into the different phases that we have under the delivery. So the procurement part is under information for tender-- invitation for tender, sorry. So we have all the different documents that we talked about before. So we actually had invitations to tender, AIR, EIR, and PIR. So the AIR is mainly how the client is going to be managing their assets, EIR in how the information is going to be exchanged, and PIR, what are the specific informations related to the project.

So all the information should be provided on the tender phase, and then the design team or the project team will be reviewing that information and defining different documents to respond to those requirements. So that's where a BEP, BIM execution plan, is needed, so we can define the processes, the workflows that the team is going to be leveraging to ensure those requirements are being met. The team qualifications. So ensuring that we have the correct knowledge that is required to deliver the project.

And how we are delivering. So defining milestones, the schedules, and so forth. So all of those documents becomes the tender response that is then given to the client for a review. So this is just from different projects that we have been working on that have the process. Right now it's a little bit sometimes received during the tender, sometimes received before the tender, and sometimes we only receive after we have awarded. So there are a little bit of misalignment right now on this part, but it's mainly documents that the client provided to us.

We define how we are meeting those requirements and provide them for review and acceptance. So moving to the information planning. So this gets a little bit more in depth. So once the client reviews the responses, they actually offer the project and we sign the contract. So all of the pre-BP, all the information becomes part of the contract so they are aware of how we are delivering and we are accountable for the information that we put in into our tender responses.

So once we have that, we have the second round of discussions to ensure if there are any needs or any adjustments required on the BP so that we make the changes to establish the IDM. So the IDM is the information delivery manual. So the information delivery is how we actually define the processes to deliver the information, which is the model element table. So the MET is how we define the LOIN, to what stages we are delivering so the client can make sure we are fulfilling our requirements.

And the PIP, which is the project implementation plan, is getting to reviewing the schedules, reviewing our delivery plan itself. So all of that comes together with kickoff. So the kickoff, we present all the documents to the different appointed parties within the project so everyone can review, provide feedback, and at the end of the day, that becomes our master information. So anyone that needs to deliver information, they will refer to those documents and can understand where to look for or what to look for related to the project.

And with that, we can then set up how we are strategizing our CDE. So are we using ACC? If yes, so we can set up the ACC with the correct folder structure, correct nomenclatures, and access to the proper folders. And also we set up SharePoint for all of our projects just for the sake of specific elements that needs to be collaborated within the project with the different parties. And then with that, we are pretty much ready to start our production.

So if we move on into the production side, that's where we have actual development of the project. So we have the models, we have the CDE, we have all the information agreed so we can now produce information based on the client needs. So that's where we model. We provide specs, we create elements, and how we are fulfilling that element based on the information exchange need. And at the end of the day, we get into the model review.

So the model review is making sure, before we have delivery or milestones, that our models are fulfilling their requirements before we send it out. If there aren't fulfilling, then we have to send back on the generating the information so they make sure it's following the proper needs of the client as we are ready to deliver. So some aspects or some examples of things that we do. We leverage quite a bit the Autodesk model health. The model health are we get all the data, we connect to Power BI so we can better visualize things are working, things that aren't working, are we behind, are we on track.

So that's a little bit of how elements get put together and we easily just convey the information back to the project team on what needs to be capped or needs to be adjusted before the submission. And then we're getting to the end of the project. On the project close out, a lot of the time right now clients has been asking for pretty much every different file types or file extensions that are available. They sometimes are just not aware of what it is or what they actually need.

But at the end of the day, we really want to make sure that from an ISO perspective, we are going on open data or open BIM perspective. Which then, instead of getting everything, is just IFC. So the IFC is pretty much all design authoring platforms right now are able to export to IFC. Right now there isn't any modeling or any tools that you're able to alter in IFC, so you always have that probability of not really being able to accommodate or you lose information.

IFC has been improving quite a bit lately, but we just need to be aware on the review process. So as I mentioned before, on the delivery phase, we have a lot of elements that goes from design, but we also have a lot of information that goes to the construction site, and we need to make sure that those are enacted. They're talking to each other. And at the end of the day, we need to make sure they all enact into the project information model.

So this can be a database that a client provided to us as a location or software that they gave us access to. So we are able to input all the information to one location and they're all cross-referenced and able to be leveraged as the project moves over to the operations phase. I'm not going to be touching much on the operations phase, as we don't have much experience on the operations, so we're just going to move into the security minded approach.

So when it gets into the security minded approach, the ISO, it's really trying to define all the different clouds. So more and more we are working in the cloud. All of our softwares are-- data is stored somewhere, and we don't know where it is. Sometimes that data can be leaked, sometimes it can have cyber attacks. So we need to make sure how secure we are, where our data is located, and how we are leveraging the requirements or user access to those elements.

So it's pretty much defining a table where you know what are the security standards they have, what software is where the data is residing, and how we are actually providing access to people. So this is pretty much an example of what we've done before. So how we are actually leveraging our softwares and where data is being located.

And also we have to define security guidelines to define if we actually have hacked or attacked and our information is leaked, how we proceed, how we actually define our game plan to let the involved parties know, the client know, and how we are actually going to be blocking access so we reduce or minimize the exposure when the data is leaked. So this is a little bit comprises the ISO side of things, but on the ISO side, there are-- what I can say, it's very heavy. It's a lot of data, it's a lot of information.

But at the end of the day, there are many benefits on having this more structured. So data structure. This is something that we've been talking quite a bit. Why is data structure important? And the main part is ISO is trying to define a structure. It's trying to create a consistency across different projects so you're able to leverage that information concurrently, or that information is really being able to be read accurately by the client or by the new hire they're going to be doing for another project.

The main importancy of the data is really to make sure it's being capable of interacting with the different systems that's available. So as having the data structure, many of those things are accomplished with streamlined workflows. So on the ISO side, because we are always defining how we are achieving the client requirements, how are we delivering our information, this is really ensuring that we are fulfilling and everyone is aware of the step by step or the needs of the project as we are delivering our project.

And we also minimizes a lot of the errors, because instead of being guessing where it is, that is all documented and accessible by everyone. So instead of, oh, I think this is the PIP or this is the data format that I wanted to provide, no, we also specify all of that information within the guideline document so we have consistency and, at the end of the day, structure data to be leveraged as we deliver the project. It also supports a lot of the sustainable initiatives because sustainability is all about knowing your data.

So if you know how much concrete you have or how much electricity your HVAC system is using, you know maybe it's time to replace for a new product or a newer, more efficient equipment. So at the end of the day, this creates a lot of the definition. Or because you have data, you have the power to understand if things are not meeting your needs.

But it also creates a lot of transparency because as we have all the workflow, all the processes, all the elements specify to not only a design team or construction team, everyone is aware on the project delivery. We know what to expect, we know when to expect, and what format to expect. So it creates a lot more transparency around those deliverables as well. But all of that doesn't come with just benefits. We also have a lot of challenges that comes with ISO.

And one of the things is this is coming from the Canadian index, so this is defining or trying to define a data structure that works countrywide. But a lot of times people will read that and it's like, what is this? I don't know. What is volume? What is role? What is type? So as it comes to a countrywide-- not necessarily using just Canada example, but in general, countries are very diverse. Sometimes it's really hard to create one solution that works with everything. It's a lot of trial and error.

There are things that we are still figuring it out. But the idea is really to find a solution that is going to work for everyone. Maybe it's an estate slash provincial basis, or if you're really able to get into a countrywide, that will be also very good to achieve. Another part is open BIM. Open BIM isn't as advanced yet. A lot of the time we are very close into the design applications that we work on and we don't really know much how it interacts with different design applications. Or when it comes to the BuildingSmart parts, we have the IDS, we have the BCFs, IFCs.

So there are many different file types that not everyone is really aware what they are or how they interact with each other. And this is a challenge on bringing knowledge or bringing awareness to everyone on what those elements are. And at the end of the day, every digital delivery is bespoke. Every client right now is requiring, and that's where it comes into the data requirements, because if we have a countrywide, that would be awesome. But then we have different contracts delivered, we have different client needs.

At the end of the day, creating a one size fits all, it's even more challenging at the end of the day. So as we're starting to wrap up the discussion today, we're just going to get back into the ISO structure. So the ISO is comprised of six parts. So we pretty much touched into part one, two, four, and five. We didn't talk too much about the operations, as that's mainly as the project is delivered and we have a facilities management team jumping in and keeping that information moving.

As designers, we don't really have too much visibility on that, so we didn't really touch too much. And we also have part six, which is life-- I'm sorry. Part six is LCA, so lifecycle assessment on how our projects are being delivered. So at the end of the day, how we are tracking health, how we're tracking safety around the project. So this is the one that is currently under development. And then the benefits itself. Just a quick reminder.

So it really improves collaboration. We have multiple projects that are currently using ISO, and we see the difference in the collaboration because it's more transparent. It's really open for everyone to discuss and know what to expect. So it creates a lot more collaboration or better collaboration within the team.

And because we all know what to expect, when to expect, we don't keep checking for things that are not supposed to be checked at the time. So we enhance our efficiency and our time savings as well because we just are able to focus on specific areas and we increase quality because we know what to do, when to do so we can focus more our time on the times needed. And also provide as a better risk management because we then know how to deliver.

So when to deliver and the specific elements that are needed to fulfill the client needs or the project needs at that specific time. So with that, pretty much we get into the final of the presentation. We do have a Q&A. So at the end of the day, feel free to reach out. If you have any questions, I'm available. And yeah, I hope you enjoyed the session today and we'll see each other around.