Reimagining AEC

In an episode of Reimagining AEC, a podcast with no institutional backing, Dr Sepehr Abrishami tracks a plant room pump of his own invention from its first requirement to its handover record, to show how information about an asset can outlast the software that produced it. Open data in UK policy and in ISO 19650, six buildingSMART standards and where each stands now, their place in the delivery process of ISO 19650-2 including rule-based checking, and the right way to specify COBie on a UK project now that BS 1192-4 has been withdrawn make up the rest.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: a pump that outlives its software
• 2:30 Why open data matters, from policy to ISO 19650-1
• 5:10 Six buildingSMART standards and where they stand now
• 8:07 Open standards through the ISO 19650-2 process, and checking against rules
• 12:23 COBie in UK practice, then and now
• 15:30 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain the difference between open and proprietary data for the whole life of an asset.
• Describe the purpose of IFC, IDM, MVD, BCF, bSDD and IDS.
• Apply buildingSMART standards to activities in the ISO 19650-2 process.
• Evaluate how COBie should be specified on a UK project today.

References

• BIM Industry Working Group. (2011). BIM: Management for value, cost and carbon improvement. A report for the Government Construction Client Group. Building Information Modelling (BIM) working party strategy paper. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills. https://www.cdbb.cam.ac.uk/system/files/documents/BISBIMstrategyReport.pdf
• British Standards Institution. (n.d.). BS 1192-4:2014 Collaborative production of information. Part 4: Fulfilling employer's information exchange requirements using COBie. Code of practice [Catalogue record]. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://knowledge.bsigroup.com/products/collaborative-production-of-information-fulfilling-employer-s-information-exchange-requirements-using-cobie-code-of-practice
• British Standards Institution. (2014). BS 1192-4:2014 Collaborative production of information. Part 4: Fulfilling employer's information exchange requirements using COBie. Code of practice. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018a). BS EN ISO 19650-1:2018 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018b). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (incorporating corrigendum February 2021, UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2022a). BS EN ISO 19650-4:2022 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 4: Information exchange. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2022b, September 20). Harmonize, digitize, and rationalize: Exchange information confidently with BS EN ISO 19650-4. https://knowledge.bsigroup.com/articles/harmonize-digitize-and-rationalize-exchange-information-confidently-with-bs
• buildingSMART International. (n.d.-a). BIM Collaboration Format (BCF). Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://technical.buildingsmart.org/standards/bcf/
• buildingSMART International. (n.d.-b). BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) 3.0. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://www.buildingsmart.org/bim-collaboration-format-bcf-3-0/
• buildingSMART International. (n.d.-c). buildingSMART Data Dictionary (bSDD). Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://www.buildingsmart.org/users/services/buildingsmart-data-dictionary
• buildingSMART International. (2024a, April 2). IFC 4.3 formally approved and published as an ISO standard. https://www.buildingsmart.org/?p=29521
• buildingSMART International. (2024b, June 4). Information Delivery Specification (IDS) v1.0 is approved as a final standard. https://www.buildingsmart.org/?p=30065
• buildingSMART UK and Ireland. (2024, January 21). Construction-Operations Building information exchange (COBie). nima. https://wearenima.im/resources/construction-operations-building-information-exchange-cobie/
• Construction Management. (2014, October 4). Updated COBie guidance enshrined in British Standard. https://constructionmanagement.co.uk/updated-cobie-guidance-enshrined-british-standard/
• Hooper, E., & Rossiter, D. (2020). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part B: Open data, buildingSMART and COBie (Edition 1, D. Churcher, S. Davidson, & A. Kemp, Eds.). UK BIM Framework. https://imiframework.org/resources/
• IMI Framework. (n.d.). Resources. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://imiframework.org/resources/
• International Organization for Standardization. (2022). ISO 12006-3:2022 Building construction. Organization of information about construction works. Part 3: Framework for object-oriented information. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024). ISO 16739-1:2024 Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) for data sharing in the construction and facility management industries. Part 1: Data schema. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2025). ISO 29481-1:2025 Building information models. Information delivery manual. Part 1: Methodology and format. ISO.
• National Infrastructure Commission. (2017). Data for the public good. https://nic.org.uk/app/uploads/Data-for-the-Public-Good-NIC-Report.pdf
• NBS. (n.d.). Uniclass 2015 [Classification system]. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://www.thenbs.com/our-tools/uniclass-2015
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them delivering valuable data, the common data environment and the operational phase of an asset, and each can be heard in any order.

Dr Sepehr Abrishami, who makes Reimagining AEC separately from the programme he leads, poses the choice a task team faces when it lists a party wall detail in its plan, between predicting the drawings and naming the information alone, and uses the UK guidance's own door example to show how a delivery team decides which task team delivers a door schedule, by what date, and how a late delivery would be seen in time. Planning is placed within the delivery of information, the high-level and detailed responsibility matrices are distinguished from the information management assignment matrix, the six records every task information delivery plan must hold under clause 5.4.4 are listed, and the master information delivery plan is compiled, baselined and maintained before both plans become contractual obligations.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: two ways to plan a party wall detail
• 3:57 Where planning sits, and the four planning tools
• 7:33 The high-level and detailed responsibility matrices
• 14:31 The task information delivery plan
• 20:52 The master information delivery plan and the obligations it creates
• 23:45 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain where information delivery planning sits in the ISO 19650 delivery process.
• Distinguish the high-level and detailed responsibility matrices from the information management assignment matrix.
• Apply the clause 5.4.4 requirements of ISO 19650-2 to prepare a task information delivery plan.
• Explain how the lead appointed party compiles, baselines and maintains the master information delivery plan, and how both plans become contractual commitments.

References

• British Standards Institution. (2018a). BS EN ISO 19650-1:2018 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018b). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020). BS EN 17412-1:2020 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2020). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part F: About information delivery planning (Edition 1). UK BIM Framework. https://imiframework.org/resources/
• The Construction (Design and Management) Regulations 2015, SI 2015/51. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/uksi/2015/51/contents
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024a). ISO 7817-1:2024 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024b). ISO 16739-1:2024 Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) for data sharing in the construction and facility management industries. Part 1: Data schema. ISO.
• Latham, M. (1994). Constructing the team: Final report of the government/industry review of procurement and contractual arrangements in the UK construction industry. HMSO.
• NBS. (n.d.). Uniclass 2015 [Classification system]. https://www.thenbs.com/our-tools/uniclass-2015
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• UK BIM Alliance, Centre for Digital Built Britain, & British Standards Institution. (2019). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part 1: Concepts (2nd ed.). UK BIM Framework. https://imiframework.org/resources/

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them the information management assignment matrix, tendering and appointments and the common data environment, and each can be heard in any order.

Dr Sepehr Abrishami builds this episode of Reimagining AEC, his personal podcast, around the UK guidance's own example of a client, a main contractor and a steelwork sub-contractor two tiers below the client, which signs nothing with that client yet must produce information to its requirements. His account covers why ISO 19650-2 and ISO 19650-3 require an information protocol in every appointment, the Information Particulars and thirteen clauses of the two UK templates, the five activities and incorporation clause that make a protocol binding, and neutral terminology, multi-party working, trigger events and the points where a protocol can fail.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: a firm two tiers below the client
• 2:18 Why every appointment needs a protocol
• 6:08 The templates and their front page
• 10:00 Duties, rights and liability in the clauses
• 14:37 Making the protocol binding
• 17:59 Across tiers and phases, and where a protocol fails
• 22:27 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain what an information protocol is and why ISO 19650-2 and ISO 19650-3 require one.
• Describe how the two UK protocol templates are structured, clause by clause.
• Apply the five activities and an incorporation clause to appointments at any tier.
• Evaluate key considerations: terminology, live documents, trigger events and multi-party working.

References

• British Standards Institution. (2018a). BS EN ISO 19650-1:2018 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018b). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020a). BS EN ISO 19650-3:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 3: Operational phase of the assets. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020b). BS EN ISO 19650-5:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 5: Security-minded approach to information management. BSI.
• Construction Industry Council. (2018). Building information model (BIM) protocol (2nd ed.). CIC.
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026a, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• nima. (2026b, May 18). Consultation on revisions to ISO 19650 Part 3 opens. https://wearenima.im/consultation-on-revisions-to-iso-19650-part-3-opens/
• UK BIM Framework. (2021). Information protocols supporting the delivery phase (BS EN ISO 19650-2) and the operational phase (BS EN ISO 19650-3) of assets: Guidance (Edition 3). https://imiframework.org/resources/
• UK BIM Framework, & Construction Industry Council. (2023a). Information protocol to support BS EN ISO 19650-2: The delivery phase of assets (Edition 6) [Template]. https://imiframework.org/resources/
• UK BIM Framework, & Construction Industry Council. (2023b). Information protocol to support BS EN ISO 19650-3: The operational phase of assets (Edition 2) [Template]. https://imiframework.org/resources/

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them tendering and appointments, information requirements and the operational phase of an asset, and each can be heard in any order.

Here on Reimagining AEC, the show he runs apart from any employer, Dr Sepehr Abrishami presents a constructed case of a client that picks a main contractor for the strength of its BIM execution plan, then finds that nothing in the appointment obliges the contractor to follow it. Using the guidance's own example of a client, a main contractor and a steelwork sub-contractor, he shows what the client issues and evaluates at tender, how clause 5.3.2 shapes the pre-appointment BIM execution plan, why additions to the project's information standard are easier to accept than amendments, and how confirming the plan and incorporating the information protocol turn these documents into obligations at every tier.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: a client discovers its winning plan binds nobody
• 3:27 From invitation to appointment, and how the client judges bidders
• 7:12 The pre-appointment BIM execution plan and the rest of the tender response
• 12:15 One information standard for every appointment
• 16:27 Confirming the plan and incorporating the information protocol
• 21:19 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain what the appointing party issues to tenderers for information management, and how it decides in advance to evaluate their responses.
• Apply clause 5.3.2 of ISO 19650-2 to structure a pre-appointment BIM execution plan.
• Distinguish an addition to the project's information standard from an amendment, and explain why the two carry different risks.
• Explain how the BIM execution plan and the information protocol become binding parts of an appointment, for the lead appointed party and for the appointed parties beneath it.

References

• British Standards Institution. (2013). PAS 1192-2:2013 Specification for information management for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building information modelling. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020a). BS EN 17412-1:2020 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020b). BS EN ISO 19650-5:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 5: Security-minded approach to information management. BSI.
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2020). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part 2: Parties, teams and processes for the delivery phase of the assets (Edition 5). UK BIM Framework. https://imiframework.org/resources/
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2021). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part E: Tendering and appointments (Edition 2). UK BIM Framework. https://imiframework.org/resources/
• International Organization for Standardization. (2004). ISO 7200:2004 Technical product documentation. Data fields in title blocks and document headers. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2012). ISO/TS 12911:2012 Framework for building information modelling (BIM) guidance. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2023). ISO 12911:2023 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Framework for specification of BIM implementation. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024). ISO 7817-1:2024 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. ISO.
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• UK BIM Framework. (2021). Information protocols supporting the delivery phase (BS EN ISO 19650-2) and the operational phase (BS EN ISO 19650-3) of assets: Guidance (Edition 3). https://imiframework.org/resources/
• UK BIM Framework, & Construction Industry Council. (2023a). Information protocol to support BS EN ISO 19650-2: The delivery phase of assets (Edition 6) [Template]. https://imiframework.org/resources/
• UK BIM Framework, & Construction Industry Council. (2023b). Information protocol to support BS EN ISO 19650-3: The operational phase of assets (Edition 2) [Template]. https://imiframework.org/resources/

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them information requirements, information protocols and information delivery planning, and each can be heard in any order.

Writing and presenting Reimagining AEC as personal work, Dr Sepehr Abrishami traces a fictional client from the UK guidance, Organisation X, as it turns a corporate commitment to halve its energy consumption by 2030 into deliverables with a provider, a format and a date. Why requirements start from the receiver's purpose, how organisational, asset and project information requirements cascade into exchange information requirements, and how purposes, structure, acceptance criteria and the level of information need make requirements precise enough to check are the ground covered.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: drawings nobody needed, and a client's energy target
• 3:18 Why requirements come first: direction, risk, waste and the four facets
• 6:54 Organisational, asset and project information requirements, dated back from decisions
• 15:19 Exchange information requirements: cascade, purposes, structure and acceptance
• 23:06 Level of information need, the preparation method and common faults
• 29:39 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain why information requirements start from the receiver's purpose.
• Distinguish OIR, AIR, PIR and EIR and trace the cascade between them.
• Apply the points in ISO 19650-2 clause 5.1.2 to set project information requirements.
• Specify EIR with purposes, structure, acceptance criteria and a level of information need.
• Evaluate a set of requirements for precision, waste and checkability.

References

• British Standards Institution. (2013). PAS 1192-2:2013 Specification for information management for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building information modelling. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2015). BS 8536-1:2015 Briefing for design and construction. Code of practice for facilities management (Buildings infrastructure). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2016). BS 8536-2:2016 Briefing for design and construction. Code of practice for asset management (Linear and geographical infrastructure). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018a). BS EN ISO 19650-1:2018 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018b). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020a). BS EN 17412-1:2020 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020b). BS EN ISO 19650-3:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 3: Operational phase of the assets. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2022). BS 8536:2022 Design, manufacture and construction for operability. Code of practice. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2024). BS EN ISO 7817-1:2024 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2020). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part B: Open data, buildingSMART and COBie (Edition 1). UK BIM Framework.
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2021). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part D: Developing information requirements (Edition 2). UK BIM Framework. https://www.ukbimframework.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/02/Guidance-Part-D_Developing-information-requirements_Edition-2.pdf
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024). ISO 16739-1:2024 Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) for data sharing in the construction and facility management industries. Part 1: Data schema. ISO.
• NBS. (n.d.). Uniclass 2015 [Classification system]. https://www.thenbs.com/our-tools/uniclass-2015
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• Royal Institute of British Architects. (2020). RIBA Plan of Work 2020 overview. RIBA.

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them information management concepts under ISO 19650, tendering and appointments and the operational phase of an asset, and each can be heard in any order.

In his independent podcast Reimagining AEC, Dr Sepehr Abrishami takes the UK template that expands ISO 19650-2 into one hundred and thirty information management tasks and asks how a project settles, for each one, who does it, who answers for it, who is consulted and who is informed. One task, the review of information before it is shared in the common data environment, serves as the test case for the four RACI allocations and the rule of a single accountable party, a reading of one row of the template, the split between what the standard fixes and what parties agree, and the cascade of the task into a building services subcontractor's own team.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: one hundred and thirty tasks and one review
• 2:40 Why the function is assigned, and the four letters
• 5:47 Reading a row, and where the template stops
• 8:49 What is fixed, what can change, and how the matrix is agreed
• 11:07 Task 6.4.1 across the project and inside a services subcontractor
• 14:02 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain why ISO 19650-2 requires the information management function to be assigned.
• Distinguish the four RACI allocations and the rule of one accountable party.
• Interpret the structure of the assignment matrix template.
• Apply the matrix to complete, agree and cascade allocations for a project.

References

• British Standards Institution. (2018). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020). BS EN ISO 19650-5:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 5: Security-minded approach to information management. BSI.
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2020). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part 2: Parties, teams and processes for the delivery phase of the assets (Edition 5). UK BIM Framework.
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2021). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part A: The information management function and resources (Edition 2). UK BIM Framework.
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• UK BIM Framework. (2023). Information protocol to support BS EN ISO 19650-2: The delivery phase of assets (Edition 6). UK BIM Framework and Construction Industry Council.
• UK BIM Framework. (2021). Information management assignment matrix [Template in Word, Excel and Airtable formats]. https://imiframework.org/resources/

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them the information management function, the parties and teams of ISO 19650-2 and information delivery planning, and each can be heard in any order.

Reimagining AEC host Dr Sepehr Abrishami, whose podcast is a personal project rather than a university production, uses a client weighing whether to let its architect review and accept the information model on its behalf to work out who does information management on a project with one client, an architect, a main contractor and a client's project manager. Drawing on the worked example in the UK guidance, he describes the information management function and why ISO 19650-2 embeds it in existing roles, the activities each party leads, the resources each lead appointed party prepares at tender and on appointment, the use of RACI matrices to assign tasks to competent individuals, and the rules for delegation, probity and third-party appointments.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: a client weighing whether to delegate its review
• 2:42 What the information management function is
• 6:45 Dividing the function between the parties, and the resources each prepares
• 12:52 From clause to named task owner, and the competence it needs
• 17:03 Delegation, probity and third parties
• 20:47 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain the information management function and why ISO 19650 embeds it in existing roles.
• Distinguish the activities led by the appointing party, lead appointed parties and appointed parties.
• Identify the resources a lead appointed party prepares at tender and on appointment.
• Apply a RACI approach to turn clause activities into tasks for competent individuals.
• Evaluate delegation, probity and third-party arrangements for the function.

References

• British Standards Institution. (2013). PAS 1192-2:2013 Specification for information management for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building information modelling. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020a). BS EN 17412-1:2020 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020b). BS EN ISO 19650-5:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 5: Security-minded approach to information management. BSI.
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2021). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part A: The information management function and resources (Edition 2). UK BIM Framework.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024). ISO 7817-1:2024 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. ISO.
• nima. (2024, June 5). UK BIM Framework revamped with new guidance and an 'AI capability'. https://wearenima.im/uk-bim-framework-revamped-with-new-guidance-and-an-ai-capability/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• UK BIM Framework. (2021). Information management assignment matrix [Tool in Word, Excel and database formats]. https://www.ukbimframework.org/

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them the parties and teams of ISO 19650-2, the information management assignment matrix and information requirements, and each can be heard in any order.

For this episode of Reimagining AEC, a podcast he produces independently, Dr Sepehr Abrishami begins at a delivery milestone, with a client deciding whether to accept part of an incomplete steel frame model, and asks who produces, checks, authorises and accepts information on a project. A chain of appointments from a client, through a design and build contractor, to a steelwork sub-contractor runs through the three parties and three teams of ISO 19650, the effect of procurement and novation, the eight activities of the ISO 19650-2 delivery process and who leads each one, and the rules for authorisation, acceptance and rejection at a milestone.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: a milestone model with two floors missing
• 3:18 Parties, teams, novation and appointment resources
• 8:28 The process at a glance and how involvement shifts
• 11:06 Before anyone is appointed: assessment and need, invitation to tender, tender response
• 17:34 From appointment to mobilisation
• 21:52 Producing, delivering and closing out
• 28:44 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Distinguish the appointing party, lead appointed party and appointed party, and the project, delivery and task teams.
• Explain how the procurement route and novation change the structure of appointments.
• Describe the eight activities of the ISO 19650-2 process and the party that leads each one.
• Apply the authorisation and acceptance sequence to an information model at a delivery milestone.

References

• British Standards Institution. (2015). BS 8536-1:2015 Briefing for design and construction. Code of practice for facilities management (Buildings infrastructure). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2016). BS 8536-2:2016 Briefing for design and construction. Code of practice for asset management (Linear and geographical infrastructure). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018). BS EN ISO 19650-1:2018 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2022). BS 8536:2022 Design, manufacture and construction for operability. Code of practice. BSI.
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2020). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part 2: Parties, teams and processes for the delivery phase of the assets (Edition 5). UK BIM Framework.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2015). ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems. Requirements. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024). ISO 7817-1:2024 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. ISO.
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• Royal Institute of British Architects. (2020). RIBA Plan of Work 2020 overview. RIBA.

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them the information management function, the information management assignment matrix, tendering and appointments and information delivery planning, and each can be heard in any order.

On Reimagining AEC, his own podcast, Dr Sepehr Abrishami opens with a tender clause that asks only for BIM to ISO 19650 and works out what the client should have written instead. One structural steel specification from the worked example in the UK concepts guidance carries the argument through the case for information management and its history, the parties, teams and hierarchy of information requirements, the information delivery cycle and the two responsibility matrices, the common data environment, containers, level of information need and classification, and the contractual, security and UK National Annex rules that give a container its name and metadata.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: the clause that asks only for BIM
• 2:53 Why information management matters, and where ISO 19650 came from
• 8:33 Parties, teams and the hierarchy of information requirements
• 11:48 The delivery cycle, the appointment sequence and the two responsibility matrices
• 16:15 Producing and organising information: review, the common data environment, containers, level of information need and classification
• 23:10 Contracts, security and the UK National Annex: naming the steel specification
• 28:53 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain why information management matters and how the ISO 19650 series replaced the 1192 suite.
• Distinguish the parties, the teams and the hierarchy of information requirements.
• Describe the information delivery cycle and the two responsibility matrices.
• Explain the common data environment, information containers, level of information need and classification.
• Apply the UK National Annex convention to name and describe an information container.

References

• BIM Industry Working Group. (2011). A report for the Government Construction Client Group: Building information modelling (BIM) working party strategy paper. Department for Business, Innovation and Skills.
• British Standards Institution. (2013). PAS 1192-2:2013 Specification for information management for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building information modelling. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2015). PAS 1192-5:2015 Specification for security-minded building information modelling, digital built environments and smart asset management. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2007). BS 1192:2007 Collaborative production of architectural, engineering and construction information. Code of practice. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018). BS EN ISO 19650-1:2018 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2020). BS EN 17412-1:2020 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• Cabinet Office. (2011). Government construction strategy. Cabinet Office.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2015). ISO 9001:2015 Quality management systems. Requirements. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2015). ISO 12006-2:2015 Building construction. Organization of information about construction works. Part 2: Framework for classification. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2020). ISO 19650-3:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 3: Operational phase of the assets. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2020). ISO 19650-5:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 5: Security-minded approach to information management. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2021). ISO 21500:2021 Project, programme and portfolio management. Context and concepts. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2022). ISO 19650-4:2022 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 4: Information exchange. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024). ISO 55000:2024 Asset management. Vocabulary, overview and principles. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2024). ISO 7817-1:2024 Building information modelling. Level of information need. Part 1: Concepts and principles. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2025). ISO 19650-6:2025 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 6: Health and safety information. ISO.
• NBS. (n.d.). Uniclass 2015 [Classification system]. https://www.thenbs.com/our-tools/uniclass-2015
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors. (2021). NRM 1: Order of cost estimating and cost planning for capital building works (3rd ed.). RICS.
• Royal Institute of British Architects. (2020). RIBA plan of work 2020 overview. RIBA.
• SFG20. (n.d.). SFG20: The standard maintenance specification for building services [Online maintenance specification]. https://www.sfg20.co.uk
• Trant Engineering Ltd v Mott MacDonald Ltd [2017] EWHC 2061 (TCC).
• UK BIM Alliance, Centre for Digital Built Britain, & British Standards Institution. (2019). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part 1: Concepts (2nd ed.). UK BIM Alliance.
• UK BIM Framework. (2023). Information protocol to support BS EN ISO 19650-2: The delivery phase of assets (Edition 6). UK BIM Framework and Construction Industry Council.

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them information requirements, tendering and appointments, information delivery planning and the common data environment, and each can be heard in any order.

On his self-produced podcast, Reimagining AEC, Dr Sepehr Abrishami puts two copies of one general arrangement drawing side by side, revision P02 and revision C01, and asks how a project lets anyone tell which version of an information container to rely on, and for what. From a task team's first saved model at RIBA Stage 3 to a published contractual drawing in UK guidance Part C, the worked example shows the CDE as a workflow served by technical solutions, the four information container states, the metadata every container carries, the revision and status codes of the 2021 UK National Annex to ISO 19650-2, and how metadata can be kept intact when containers move between CDE solutions.

Chapters

• 0:00 Opening: two copies of one drawing
• 3:29 A workflow first, and who provides the CDE
• 6:06 States, metadata, naming and classification
• 11:34 Revision and status codes
• 15:34 The drawing from first model to publication
• 18:32 Moving metadata between CDE solutions, and the checks before go-live
• 21:55 Close

After listening, you should be able to:

• Explain why the CDE is a workflow supported by one or more technical solutions.
• Distinguish the four information container states and the metadata every container carries.
• Apply the 2021 UK National Annex revision and status codes to an information container.
• Evaluate how metadata can be kept intact when containers move between CDE solutions.

References

• British Standards Institution. (2007). BS 1192:2007 Collaborative production of architectural, engineering and construction information. Code of practice. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2013). PAS 1192-2:2013 Specification for information management for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building information modelling. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018a). BS EN ISO 19650-1:2018 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 1: Concepts and principles. BSI.
• British Standards Institution. (2018b). BS EN ISO 19650-2:2018 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 (incorporating corrigendum February 2021, UK National Annex revised 2021). BSI.
• buildingSMART International. (2023, December 21). Documents API receives final standard approval. https://www.buildingsmart.org/documents-api-receives-final-standard-approval/
• Churcher, D., Davidson, S., & Kemp, A. (Eds.). (2020). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part 2: Parties, teams and processes for the delivery phase of the assets (Edition 5). UK BIM Framework. https://imiframework.org/resources/
• Ford, J. (2020). Information management according to BS EN ISO 19650: Guidance Part C: Facilitating the common data environment (workflow and technical solutions) (Edition 1, D. Churcher, S. Davidson, & A. Kemp, Eds.). UK BIM Framework. https://imiframework.org/resources/
• International Organization for Standardization. (2015). ISO 12006-2:2015 Building construction. Organization of information about construction works. Part 2: Framework for classification. ISO.
• International Organization for Standardization. (2020). ISO 19650-5:2020 Organization and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM). Information management using building information modelling. Part 5: Security-minded approach to information management. ISO.
• NBS. (n.d.). Uniclass 2015 [Classification system]. Retrieved November 1, 2026, from https://www.thenbs.com/our-tools/uniclass-2015
• nima. (2025, May 30). New IMI Framework to extend UK BIM Framework. https://wearenima.im/new-imi-framework/
• nima. (2026, March 12). Consultation opens on proposed changes to ISO 19650 Parts 1 and 2. https://wearenima.im/consultation-opens-on-proposed-changes-to-iso-19650-parts-1-and-2/
• Royal Institute of British Architects. (2020). RIBA Plan of Work 2020 overview. RIBA.

Reimagining AEC is Dr Sepehr Abrishami's own podcast. Related episodes take up neighbouring subjects one at a time, among them information management concepts under ISO 19650, information delivery planning and open data, buildingSMART and COBie, and each can be heard in any order.