Introduction to BIM and information management

Follows the life of project information from the owner's first questions to handover: BIM → information requirements → CDE → execution planning → coordination → validation → handover.

By the end you will be able to

  • Explain what BIM and VDC are, and how they differ
  • Describe the ISO 19650 roles and the requirements hierarchy (OIR, AIR, PIR, EIR)
  • Explain how a common data environment controls information
  • Distinguish a BEP from an MIDP and TIDP
  • Explain why level of information need replaces vague "LOD" requests
  • Describe what happens to project information at handover

Prerequisites: none. Who it is for: Students, apprentices, new graduates and professionals moving into BIM or VDC roles. No prior knowledge assumed.

Your progress0 of 8 modules

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  1. Module 1What BIM is (and is not)

    Start with the idea of a shared digital representation of an asset, then see how VDC adds organization and process models with measurable objectives.

    • Building information modelling (BIM)
      Think of BIM as building the project twice: once on the computer, then for real. Instead of separate drawings that each have to be updated by hand, the team works from structured digital models in which a wall, a pipe or a door "knows" what it is, how big it is and what it is made of. Drawings, schedules and quantities can then be produced from that information, so they stay consistent with each other.
    • Virtual design and construction (VDC)
      BIM describes the building; VDC uses that description, along with a model of who is doing the work and a model of how and when it will happen, to run the project better. A VDC team sets clear goals — for example "reduce RFIs by 30%" — and measures progress toward them every week.
    • Information management
      Every project produces thousands of models, drawings, reports and data records. Information management is the discipline of deciding what information is needed, who produces it, when it is due, how it is named and checked, and where it lives — so nobody builds from an out-of-date drawing.

    Check your understanding

    Which statement best describes BIM in current international terminology?
    What does VDC add to BIM?

  2. Module 2Who is who

    ISO 19650 uses role names that work for any contract type.

    • Appointing party
      In everyday terms the appointing party is the client: the organization paying for the project and asking for the information.
    • Lead appointed party
      The lead appointed party is the main firm the owner hires — for example the design-builder, the prime design consultant or the general contractor — which then manages its own consultants and subcontractors.
    • Appointed party
      Appointed parties are the firms working under the main contractor or prime consultant: the mechanical engineer under the architect, the curtain-wall subcontractor under the general contractor.

    Check your understanding

    On a design-build project, the design-builder is usually the…

  3. Module 3Starting from the owner's needs

    Requirements flow from the organization to the asset and the project, and then into each appointment.

    • Organizational information requirements (OIR)
      Before asking for any model, an owner should know why it needs information. OIR answers that at the organization level: "To manage our portfolio we need to know every building's floor area, condition and energy use." Project and asset requirements are then derived from it.
    • Asset information requirements (AIR)
      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.
    • Project information requirements (PIR)
      During a project the owner has to make decisions — approve the concept, confirm the budget, accept the building. PIR list the information the owner needs at each of those decision points, written as plain questions such as "Does the design fit within the approved budget?"
    • Exchange information requirements (EIR)
      EIR are the part of a contract that says, in detail, what information the team must hand over. They turn the owner's broad needs into specific instructions: the file formats, naming rules, level of information need, delivery dates and the checks the information must pass.

    Check your understanding

    Which requirements describe the information needed to operate and maintain an asset?
    Which document sets requirements for a specific appointment and is issued with the tender?

  4. Module 4Where information lives

    Every model and document is an information container managed through the CDE workflow.

    • Common data environment (CDE)
      A CDE is where the project's official files live and the rules for moving them. Work starts as private "work in progress", is shared with the team for coordination, is published once approved, and is archived when superseded. Everyone knows which version is current because the CDE tracks it.
    • Information container
      In ISO 19650 language, any "thing" holding information that you can name, store and retrieve is an information container: a Revit or IFC model, a PDF drawing, a spreadsheet, a report. Using one word for all of them lets the same naming and approval rules apply to everything.

    Check your understanding

    What are the four CDE states in ISO 19650?

  5. Module 5Planning delivery

    The BEP explains how; the TIDPs and MIDP schedule what and when.

    • BIM execution plan (BEP)
      If the owner's requirements say what information is needed, the BEP says how the team will deliver it: who is responsible for what, which software and standards will be used, how models are named, shared and checked, and how the team will coordinate.
    • Task information delivery plan (TIDP)
      Each company on the team — the structural engineer, the mechanical subcontractor — writes a list of every model, drawing and data set it will deliver and when. That list is its TIDP. All the TIDPs together make the project's master plan.
    • Master information delivery plan (MIDP)
      The MIDP is the one master list of everything the whole delivery team will hand over to the owner, with dates. It is built by combining each company's own list (its TIDP).
    • Responsibility matrix
      A responsibility matrix answers "who does what?" in a grid: rows for tasks or deliverables, columns for companies or roles, and a mark showing who is responsible, who checks and who just needs to be informed.

    Check your understanding

    Who aggregates TIDPs into the MIDP?

  6. Module 6How much information is enough?

    Purpose-driven requirements replace vague detail labels.

    • Level of information need
      Instead of saying "model everything in high detail", the level of information need asks: what will this information be used for, and what is the minimum needed for that use? A cost estimate at concept stage needs very different information from a fabrication model.
    • Level of development (LOD)
      An LOD number tells you how "finished" and trustworthy a model element is. At LOD 100 a wall might just be a placeholder for area; at LOD 300 its size, location and type are specific enough to coordinate; at LOD 400 it is detailed enough to fabricate.
    • Level of detail
      Level of detail is about how something looks in the model — a simple box versus a fully modelled light fitting with every curve. More detail does not mean more reliable information.

    Check your understanding

    Why is "LOD 300" ambiguous without context?

  7. Module 7Coordinating and checking

    Federated models support coordination; open standards support exchange and automated checks.

    • Federated model
      Each discipline builds its own model. A federated model overlays them — architecture, structure, mechanical, electrical — so the team can see everything together and find conflicts, without merging the files into one.
    • Clash detection
      Software looks through the combined model for problems like a duct running through a beam. Finding them on screen is far cheaper than finding them on site.
    • BIM Collaboration Format (BCF)
      BCF is like a sticky note attached to a spot in the model. A reviewer marks a problem, takes a snapshot, and the designer opens the same note in their own software, which jumps straight to the right place.
    • Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)
      IFC is a common language for BIM software. A model saved as IFC can be opened by many different programs, so a structural engineer and a contractor do not need the same software to share information.
    • Information Delivery Specification (IDS)
      An IDS file is a checklist a computer can run. It might say "every door must have a fire rating", and software can then scan an IFC model and report which doors are missing it.

    Check your understanding

    Which standard lets software automatically check whether an IFC model contains required properties?

  8. Module 8Handover and beyond

    At handover, the relevant part of the project information model becomes the asset information model.

    • Project information model (PIM)
      The PIM is everything the project team creates while designing and building: models, drawings, specifications, reports and records. At handover, the parts the owner needs to run the building move into the asset information model.
    • Asset information model (AIM)
      The AIM is the owner's "operating manual" in data form: the list of equipment, spaces, warranties, maintenance information and key documents needed to run the asset, kept up to date over its life.
    • Digital twin
      A BIM model shows what was designed or built. A digital twin is meant to keep up with the real building after it opens — for example, by reading live sensor data — so operators can see how the building is actually performing and try out changes digitally first.

    Check your understanding

    What makes a digital twin different from an asset information model, in most definitions?