Guide to Information Management in BIM Processes

When discussing BIM, it is easy to come across complex terminology and acronyms that can be difficult to remember.

In this article, I will briefly and clearly explain what the Information Management Manual is and what it is used for.

On the blog, you will also find a dedicated BIM glossary that brings together the main acronyms and their meanings, covering procedures, tools, and both operational and strategic documents.

If you work with BIM, you can also manage the entire process and related workflows using a free and easy-to-use platform: usBIM.

Organizing work correctly through the information management manual

What is an Information Management Handbook

The Information Management Handbook or OIB (Organization Information HandBook) is a document created out of the need to establish overall guidelines, not related to a single project, in order to optimally organize any BIM process.

In summary, it should be a document closely connected to tools like the Corporate Quality Manual (ISO 9000), which sets general rules of an organizational nature.

Indeed, with the development of BIM, a number of new issues regarding BIM document management have emerged.
It has therefore become necessary to adopt a discipline capable of structuring BIM processes and responding to the needs of the company as a whole, beyond the single project/intervention/contract.

The BEP (BIM Execution Plan) is no longer sufficient, as it was not designed to meet the complexity of the system, roles, and processes at the level of “organization”.

Currently, the definition of an Information Management Handbook is a proposal still being systematized, to which the following national and international regulations explicitly refer:

• ISO ISO 19650 at an international level
• PAS 1192 in Great Britain.

The declared objective of the regulations is precisely to propose a well-defined informational structure within the general framework of construction processes, which would complete the guidelines outlined by the current regulatory framework.

BIM Manual for Organizational Level Processes

The most common mistake is to consider BIM as software; the correct approach, structured within the organizational manual, frames it instead as a restructuring of workflows. Standardizing processes at the institutional or corporate level means ensuring that every collaborator, internal or external, speaks the same digital language. This approach drastically reduces the startup times for individual projects, as the rules of the game are already written, validated, and ready to be applied.

Standardization of Workflows and Data Governance

Data governance is the beating heart of corporate information management. Within the organizational manual, guidelines for the creation, management, and preservation of the entire information assets of the structure are outlined. It is not just about establishing “how” to model, but about determining who is responsible for each individual piece of data and at what moment. The manual defines the structure of the Data Sharing Environment (ACDat or CDE), the document approval flows, and the minimum requirements for cybersecurity.

Setting these boundaries upstream allows for the creation of a scalable digital ecosystem. Without solid corporate governance, every project would become a standalone island, making it impossible to capitalize on experience and create a structured historical record of energy, maintenance, or economic data.

Roles, Responsibilities, and Competencies in the Corporate BIM Team

A digitized process moves on the legs of people. The organizational manual is tasked with mapping the BIM organizational chart of the company, precisely defining competencies and areas of action in compliance with current regulations (such as UNI 11337-7 in Italy). From the BIM Manager, the strategist of corporate digitization, to BIM Specialists and BIM Coordinators, each figure must find their position and operational boundaries within the manual.

The goal is to create a clear matrix of responsibilities that eliminates overlaps and decision-making gaps. The document must also provide for ongoing training plans and criteria for assessing digital competencies, ensuring that the team is always aligned with the technological and regulatory evolution of the sector.

Roles, responsibilities, and competencies in the BIM team

How an Information Management Manual Supports ISO 19650 Workflows

An information management manual acts as an operational bridge between the theoretical guidelines of the ISO 19650 standard and the practical daily application within a project or organization.

The ISO 19650 defines what to do to manage information throughout the entire lifecycle of an asset, while the manual establishes how to concretely implement this, translating standardized requirements into applicable business procedures.

Below, we will see how the information management manual supports and realizes the workflows outlined by ISO 19650.

Translation of Information Requirements (from OIR/PIR to EIR)

ISO 19650-1 and 2 place a strong emphasis on defining information requirements from the earliest phases of the project lifecycle. The manual supports this flow by standardizing the structure of the various levels of requirements:

• OIR (Organizational Information Requirements) – the manual translates business strategic objectives into technical guidelines;
• PIR (Project Information Requirements) – provides templates to extract the specific information needs of the project;
• EIR (Exchange Information Requirements) – the manual contains preconfigured models and data matrices to enable the client to draft a clear, consistent, and internationally aligned information specification.

Standardization of the Common Data Environment (CDE)

The beating heart of ISO 19650 is the Common Data Environment (CDE or ACDat). The standard defines the four formal states of the data: Work in Progress (WIP), Shared, Published, and Archived.

The manual intervenes by regulating the practical application of these states:

• Defines the file naming rules (the unique identification string required by the standard).
• Establishes the mandatory metadata to be associated with each information container (state, revision, classification).
• Outlines the approval flows and the gatekeepers (the responsible parties) necessary for the transition of information from one state to another (e.g., from WIP to Shared).

Support for the Offering and Planning Phase (BEP)

During the bidding and pre-award phase, ISO 19650 requires the production of a pre-contractual BIM Execution Plan (BEP), followed by a definitive post-contractual BEP in the event of award.

The business manual supports suppliers by including:

• Structured BEP templates ready to be filled out, reducing response times to tenders;
• Pre-configured Responsibility Matrices (RACI) that map the roles defined by ISO 19650 (Client/Main Contractor/Subcontractor) with the actual operational functions;
• Procedures for assessing the capability and technological maturity of the project team (Task Capability Assessment).

Definition of the Level of Information Need (LOIN)

ISO 19650-1 introduces the concept of LOIN (Level of Information Need), overcoming the old rigid concepts of geometric or informational LOD. LOIN requires defining the minimum and necessary amount of information for each specific purpose.

The manual supports this workflow by integrating classification tables and matrices that specify, for each phase of the project and for each component (e.g., column, fixture, system), what the required geometric, alphanumeric, and document level is, avoiding the overproduction of unnecessary data that would burden the process.

Quality Control and Information Delivery Milestones

The international standard requires constant verification and validation of information before sharing or official publication.

The information management manual analytically describes the processes of Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC):

• the steps for Clash Detection checks (geometric interferences);
• the Code Checking controls (regulatory compliance);
• the checks for the consistency of alphanumeric data with respect to the EIR.

Information management manual and ISO 19650

Beyond the BIM Execution Plan: the macroscopic vision of the Information Management Manual

In the landscape of construction digitization, there is often a strong terminological confusion that leads to overlapping the BIM Execution Plan (the Information Management Plan or pGId/pGI) with the corporate Information Management Manual (the BIM Handbook). Although both are fundamental pillars for the successful execution of a digitized process, their operational, temporal, and strategic boundaries are profoundly different. The BEP is a tactical tool, while the manual is a constitutional tool. Understanding why the manual goes far beyond the single execution plan is the first step in building true digital maturity within the company.

While the BEP is created and concludes with a single project, shaping itself to the specific requests of a given client and the characteristics of a specific construction site, the information management manual represents the backbone of the organization. It defines the digital identity of the company, establishing rules that transcend the transience of individual projects to ensure continuity, scalability, and capitalization of know-how in the long term.

Temporal Horizon and Application Flexibility

The first significant difference lies in the temporal nature of the two documents. The BIM Execution Plan is by definition a dynamic and “living” document, but closely tied to the duration of the contract. It is drafted during the bidding phase (pre-contractual) and refined after the assignment (post-contractual), extinguishing its primary function with the delivery of the As-Built model and the work dossier.

On the other hand, the information management manual has a timeframe that extends beyond a decade. It is periodically updated by the organization only in response to regulatory evolutions (such as updates to ISO 19650) or radical changes in corporate technological paradigms. The Manual does not concern itself with knowing how many pillars or what type of hydraulic system will be included in project “X”; rather, it establishes universal criteria by which the company archives, protects, and validates the data of any project, serving as a mother guideline to which every single BEP must necessarily be inspired and comply with.

Scalability and Capitalization of Corporate Know-How

Another intrinsic limitation of the BEP is its fragmented nature: if a company relied solely on individual execution plans, it would find itself with dozens of different working methodologies, as many as there are active projects. This scenario would generate operational anarchy, where each project team moves according to its own rules, making it impossible to exchange human resources between projects and nullifying corporate efficiency.

The manual addresses this problem at its root by embedding scalability into the DNA of the organization. By standardizing authorized software, corporate BIM object libraries, clash detection workflows, and legal archiving procedures, the document allows for capitalizing on experience. Errors made on one construction site become a lesson learned that modifies the corporate Manual, automatically improving all future BEPs. In this way, efficiency is no longer tied to the skill of the individual designer or the BIM Coordinator of that specific project, but becomes a structural asset of the entire company.

Structure of the BIM Manual for Information Requirements and Workflows

We have stated that, at the current state, the drafting of the Information Management Manual remains a proposal.

However, a preliminary hypothesis for the future structure that the Manual should have and the attachments it should include is already quite clear.

Below, I am providing the list of the attachments of the Information Management Manual:

1. OIR – Organization Information Requirement
   • OIM – Organization Information Maps
2. AIB – Asset Information HandBook
   • AIR – Asset Information Requirements
   • AIM – Asset Information Model
3. PIB – Project Information HandBook
   • PIR – Project Information Requirements
   • PIM – Project Information Model
4. EIR – Exchange Information Requirement
5. IDP – Information Delivery Planning
   • BEP – BIM Execution Plan
6. PDM – Platform Data Management
   • CDE – Common Data Environment
   • DR – Data Room.

The ones mentioned are all “strategic” guidance documents that go beyond the individual intervention and are essential for constructing an organic organizational system.

Such documents should accompany the far more well-known “operational” documents:

• CI – Information Specification
• oGI – Information Management Offer
• pGI – Information Management Plan.

BIM procedures, tools and documents

After the birth of BIM, in the early stages, increasing attention was given to processes related to the management of individual projects, namely those that we have just defined as “operational” in nature.

On one hand, documents like the Information Specification, related to the information management request, and on the other hand documents like the Information Management Plan and the BIM Execution Plan, for the information management offer, and finally the information management tools (the Common Data Environment software or Data Sharing Environment).

Only recently, an attempt has been made to scale up, aiming at the structuring of BIM rules, roles, and processes at the corporate level.

FAQ Manual

What is an information management manual?

The Information Management Manual or OIB (Organization Information HandBook) is a document that arises from the need to establish overall guidelines not related to the individual project, in order to optimally organize any BIM process. In summary, it should be a document closely connected to tools such as the Company Quality Manual (ISO 9000), which sets general organizational rules. With the development of BIM and the emergence of issues related to BIM document management, it has become necessary to focus on structuring BIM processes and addressing the company’s needs as a whole, beyond the individual project, intervention, or contract. Thus, the BEP (BIM Execution Plan) is no longer sufficient because it was not designed to meet the complexity of the system, roles, and processes at the ‘organization’ level. Currently, it is a proposal still in the process of being systematized, explicitly referenced by the ISO 19650 standards at the international level and PAS 1192 in Great Britain.

How does the manual organize processes at the organizational level?

The correct approach frames BIM as a restructuring of workflows rather than just a software. Standardizing processes at an institutional or corporate level ensures that every collaborator, internal or external, speaks the same IT language. This approach drastically reduces the start-up times of individual projects, as the rules of the game are already written, validated, and ready to be applied.

What does the manual provide for the standardization of workflows and data governance?

Data governance is the beating heart of corporate information management. Within the organizational manual, guidelines are outlined for the creation, management, and preservation of the information assets of the entire structure. The manual dictates who is responsible for each individual piece of data and at what moment, defines the structure of the Common Data Environment (CDE), the document approval flows, and the minimum cybersecurity requirements. Setting these parameters upstream allows for the creation of a scalable digital ecosystem, preventing each project from becoming a standalone island and making it possible to capitalize on experience and create a structured historical record of energy, maintenance, or economic data.

What is the role of the manual in defining roles, responsibilities, and competencies of the BIM team?

The manual at the organizational level serves to map the BIM organizational chart of the company, precisely defining competencies and areas of action in accordance with current regulations (such as UNI 11337-7 in Italy) for figures like BIM Manager, BIM Specialists, and BIM Coordinators. The aim is to create a clear responsibility matrix that eliminates overlaps and decision-making gaps. The document must also include plans for continuous training and criteria for evaluating digital competencies, ensuring that the team is always aligned with the technological and regulatory evolution of the sector.

How does the information management manual support ISO 19650 workflows?

It acts as an operational bridge between the theoretical guidelines of the ISO 19650 standard (which defines what to do to manage information throughout the entire life cycle of an asset) and daily practical application (establishing how to do it concretely, translating standardized requirements into applicable company procedures).

How does it support the translation of information requirements from OIR/PIR to EIR according to ISO 19650?

The manual supports this flow by standardizing the structure of the various levels of requirements: the OIR (Organizational Information Requirements) translates corporate strategic objectives into technical guidelines; the PIR (Project Information Requirements) provides templates to extract the specific information needs of the specific project; the EIR (Exchange Information Requirements) contains pre-configured models and data matrices to allow the client to draft a clear, coherent information specification aligned with international standards.

How does it intervene in the standardization of the Common Data Environment (CDE)?

The manual regulates the practical application of the four formal states of data defined by ISO 19650: Work in Progress (WIP), Shared, Published, and Archived. Specifically, it defines the file naming rules (the unique identification string required by the standard), establishes the mandatory metadata to associate with each information container (status, revision, classification), and outlines the approval flows and gatekeepers necessary for the transfer of information from one state to another.

What support does it offer to the offering and planning phase (BEP)?

The company manual supports suppliers by incorporating structured BEP templates ready to be filled out, reducing response times to tenders; pre-configured responsibility matrices (RACI) that map the roles provided by ISO 19650 (Client/Main Contractor/Subcontractor) with actual operational functions; procedures for assessing the capability and technological maturity of the project team (Task Capability Assessment).

How is the Level of Information Need (LOIN) managed?

The manual supports the LOIN workflow by integrating classification tables and matrices that specify, for each phase of the project and for each component (e.g., column, fixture, system), what the required geometric, alphanumeric, and documentary level is, avoiding the overproduction of unnecessary data that would burden the process.

How are quality control and Information Delivery Milestones treated?

The information management manual analytically describes the processes of Quality Assurance (QA) and Quality Control (QC): the steps for Clash Detection checks (geometric interferences); Code Checking checks (regulatory compliance); checks for the informational consistency of alphanumeric data with the EIR.

Why does the Information Management Manual go beyond the BIM Execution Plan (BEP)?

The BEP is a tactical tool, while the manual is a constitutional tool. The BEP comes to life and dies with the individual project, shaping itself according to the specific requests of a given client and the characteristics of a specific construction site. In contrast, the information management manual represents the backbone of the organization, defining the digital identity of the company and establishing rules that transcend the transience of individual projects to ensure continuity, scalability, and long-term capitalization of know-how.

What are the differences in terms of time horizon and flexibility of application?

The BIM Execution Plan is tied to the duration of the contract: it is drafted during the bidding phase (pre-contractual) and refined after assignment (post-contractual), extinguishing its function with the delivery of the As-Built model and the project dossier. The information management manual, on the other hand, has a multi-decade breath, is periodically updated by the organization only in response to regulatory evolutions or changes in technological paradigms. The Manual does not concern itself with the specifics of the individual project but establishes the universal criteria with which the company archives, protects, and validates data from any project, serving as the mother guideline to which every single BEP must conform.

How does the manual ensure scalability and the capitalization of company know-how?

If a company relied solely on individual BEPs, it would end up with dozens of different working methodologies, generating operational chaos and nullifying efficiency. The manual solves this problem by embedding scalability in the DNA of the organization: it standardizes authorized software, corporate BIM object libraries, clash detection workflows, and legal archiving procedures. Errors made on a construction site become lessons learned that modify the company Manual, automatically improving all future BEPs, turning efficiency into a structural asset of the entire company.

What is the proposed structure for the BIM manual and what attachments does it include?

The future structure and attachments include ‘strategic’ guidance documents essential for an organic organizational system: OIR (Organization Information Requirement), OIM (Organization Information Maps), AIB (Asset Information HandBook), AIR (Asset Information Requirements), AIM (Asset Information Model), PIB (Project Information HandBook), PIR (Project Information Requirements), PIM (Project Information Model), EIR (Exchange Information Requirement), IDP (Information Delivery Planning), BEP (BIM Execution Plan), PDM (Platform Data Management), CDE (Common Data Environment), DR (Data Room). These are accompanied by ‘operational’ documents related to the specific project: CI (Informative Specification), oGI (Information Management Offer), pGI (Information Management Plan).

What is the difference between operational processes and the recent scaling of BIM?

In the early phases of BIM, greater attention was given to processes related to the management of the individual project (operational nature), such as the Informative Specification (demand), the Information Management Plan, the BIM Execution Plan (offer), and tools like the Common Data Environment software. Only recently has the attempt been made to scale up, focusing on the structuring of BIM rules, roles, and processes at the corporate level through ‘strategic’ guidance documents.