Asset information requirements (AIR)
Quick definition: The information an appointing party needs about an asset to operate, maintain and manage it, specified so it can be delivered into the asset information model.
Explanation
Beginner explanation
AIR is the owner's shopping list for running the building: which equipment needs to be listed, what each item's manufacturer, model, serial number and warranty date are, and how spaces are named. If it is not in the AIR, the operations team should not expect to receive it.
Technical explanation
AIR are derived from the Organizational information requirements and define the managerial, commercial and technical aspects of information needed about assets in the operational phase. They feed two places: the Exchange information requirements for appointments that create or change the asset, and the structure of the Asset information model. Good AIR identify asset types, required attributes, classification, data format, acceptance criteria and the system that will receive the data (CAFM, CMMS, EAM).
Practical example
A municipality's AIR for pumping stations lists each pump, motor and valve, with attributes such as asset tag, manufacturer, rated flow, install date and maintenance interval, classified to the municipality's asset hierarchy and delivered in a spreadsheet template its maintenance system can import.
Why it matters
Operations costs typically outlast construction costs by many years. Specific AIR are what make handover data usable rather than a document dump.
Common confusion
AIR (requirements for the operational asset) and Project information requirements (requirements for decisions during delivery) are easily confused because both are owner-side. AIR describe the asset; PIR describe the project.
Standards and references
- 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. ISO, 2018. Clause 3 and Clause 5.Original VDC Stack.io wording, based on the standard
Supports: AIR definition and relationship to OIR, EIR and AIM · Status: Stage 90.92 (to be revised). Revision ISO/DIS 19650-1 at stage 40.93 on 2026-08-18 (decision for new DIS ballot). - Guidance Part 2: Processes for Project Delivery. UK BIM Framework (UK BIM Alliance, BSI, CDBB), 2020.Widely accepted professional interpretation
Supports: AIR feeding EIR in delivery appointments
VDC Stack.io writes its own explanations and does not reproduce copyrighted standards text. Consult the cited standard for normative wording.
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VDC Stack.io. (2026). Asset information requirements (AIR). In VDC Stack.io Knowledge Dictionary. Retrieved from https://vdcstack.io/dictionary/asset-information-requirements/