Do you know that construction companies are sitting on a goldmine of data that can help them improve their efficiency, reduce costs, and make better decisions? Every second, they generate data on bids, issues, and change orders, which, if analysed correctly, can bring significant benefits.
According to a recent survey by Deloitte and Autodesk, companies classified as data leaders can expect a whopping 50% increase in average profit growth rate each year compared to beginners. However, many construction firms are still struggling to make the most of their data. With an estimated 2.5 quintillion bytes of data produced daily, analysing and making sense of all that information is a massive challenge.
But here's the good news: adhering to ISO19650 standards can not only transform project management from inception to completion but it can ensure all stakeholders are talking the same language on projects.
Here’s four steps to improving ISO 19650 workflows within your organisation:
To begin your journey towards ISO 19650 compliance, it's important to adopt a structured approach to document management. A standardised naming convention serves as the foundation of this effort by bringing together different elements into a cohesive framework. Implementing a standardised naming convention simplifies document retrieval, minimises duplication, and simplifies audit trails across your project or portfolio of projects.
Andy Boutle, who serves as the Head of Digital Construction at ALEC, discussed their method for embarking on this path; “At ALEC we started realigning to the ISO 19650 process by firstly mapping out the information management process in the context of internal workflows, with agreement across departments of where they need to input and take some form of responsibility / accountability.”
Standardised naming conventions and embedded metadata in documents make collaboration easier by streamlining workflows. Purpose of Issue (POI) codes help guide documents to their intended recipients. Uploading a document to a Common Data Environment (CDE) triggers an automated process that sends it to the right stakeholders, eliminating the need for mass emails and ensuring alignment.
From ALEC, Andy Boutle continues to share, “We also decided to scrap the Word and Excel based approach to template documentation, and rebuilt all lead appointed party documentation in a cloud-based database called Morta. As a result we have dynamic, permission controlled documents that connect where appropriate, with integrations to CDE solutions for information delivery planning and tracking.”
Cloud-based model management is a must when it comes to ISO 19650 compliance. 3D models within your CDE should be viewed, managed and coordinated within a CDE.
This involves bringing all the varying 3D models together by combining individual discipline-specific models to create a single project model. This enables model coordination – and using a cloud-based viewer to do this democratises the models. Gone are the days of only specific team members being able to view and interpret models – it’s now open to all stakeholders.
The next step is to introduce an Information Delivery Plan (IDP): a proactive approach to managing information. On any given project, a Task Information Delivery Plan (TIDP) is a structured schedule outlining the information deliverables and associated deadlines for a specific Task Team within a project.
With each Task Team responsible for developing its own TIDP, comprised of the services or products aligned with their responsibilities – an IDP brings all of this information together in a singular project delivery plan.
Micheline Nader, Senior Manager of BIM & Digital Design at Khatib & Alami, detailed how this process is vital, “Implementing ISO 19650 in large projects has proven effective collaboration and coordination in aligning practices across international stakeholders. International stakeholders collaborate in a unified language, adhering to international standards and significantly boosting project management efficiency. For organizations considering the implementation of ISO 19650, it is crucial to develop a clear roadmap and monitor the process of implementation.”
