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Information management: it’s time to focus on first principles
Emma Hooper Head of information management strategy, RLB Digital
To get to grips with information management, we must go back to first principles
To get to grips with information management, we must go back to first principles. So says RLB Digital head of information management strategy Emma Hooper in the first of a short series of articles that should spark discussion and feedback.
Poorly managed information and data has consequences within organisations and on projects. Therefore, information needs to be managed to reduce risk.
People can’t do their jobs without information, and when information is difficult to find or incorrect, it wastes time and money, and can even cause potential harm. In fact, most issues related to the lifecycle of a built asset stem from poor information or its inefficient exchange.
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Information management seeks to address these issues by applying information theory and concepts to real-world scenarios and real people across the entire lifecycle of a physical asset. It does this by treating information as an asset in its own right, on par with the physical asset. Like any asset, information needs to be specified, procured, delivered, governed and used.
“Most issues related to the lifecycle of a built asset stem from poor information or its inefficient exchange.”
Emma Hooper
It's basically the good old right information to the right person/machine at the right time in the right way to enable us to find, share, use and query information easily to enable us to do our jobs more efficiently.
Information management starts with those asking for information to identify purposes and defining what information is needed to fulfil those purposes. Those producing information must be aware that once passed on, information needs to be useful and meet the requirements.
In the UK especially, we’ve moved to using the term ‘information management’ instead of ‘BIM’ because the latter often makes people think solely of 3D models. What we really need is to manage all information – whether unstructured (for example, in drawings or reports) or structured (in databases or structured spreadsheets). For me, BIM represents a shift toward using more structured information within connected data models. This shift allows us to find, share, use and query information more effectively by integrating automation and connections, which brings much greater insight and value from data.
If you’ve seen my presentations, I use the following diagram to explain information management. Across an asset’s life, there is both a management (process) layer that contains appointment-based activities1 for projects/events: this is what people interact with. Underpinning this is an information (or data) layer that contains the rules for how information is ordered, its semantics and how it’s connected. This is the layer that technology interacts with.
The layers of information management
It’s really important that both layers are considered together for effective information management. Together, they form a consistent and common framework that both people and technology can connect to.
This information framework operates across three viewpoints: industry, organisation and project/event.
Different views of information management
Industry
When it comes to information, I always think of the industry as a single organisation, because information needs to flow across every part of it. To enable this, we need an industrywide, consistent approach to information management that connects the semantics, terminology, relationships and grouping of information across the industry. This is where institutions, specialist domains and special interest groups contribute their specific content.
When speaking with different parts of the industry, they all report similar issues with the quality, usability, retrieval and sharing of information. Although the content of the information will differ, the structure and methodology will be the same. This commonality needs to be captured across the industry. Without a standardised approach, we will always face challenges in sharing and connecting data across domains.
Organisations
The industry foundations form a basis for organisations to build from and create their own information frameworks tailored to their business needs. A key aspect of information management is that it starts with business needs. Organisations must prepare for it before any projects take place. Information management requires dedicated resources that span departments, integrating capital and operational expenditures to create a consistent information language across the organisation.
I have repeatedly seen organisations that have not considered information and data management, resulting in each department producing information in different ways, making it difficult to share across departments and impeding businesswide decision-making. Adding to this challenge, many software solutions are used that contain duplicated and contradictory data, forcing employees to spend time searching for, questioning and cleaning up information before they can use it. When information isn’t managed well, it’s people and the bottom line that suffer.
Projects
A project (or an event) encompasses more than just capital projects: it includes any activity that requires an information exchange, such as new construction, refurbishments, maintenance, inspections or replacements. The information follows a similar journey regardless of event type.
If you think about it, a project is where different parts of organisations come together to share information to accomplish something in the physical world. Therefore, if organisations share the same foundations, the sharing of information across projects would be so much easier and would form a stable base for the project.
It’s also important to note that there is no such thing as a ‘BIM project’ – information exists on projects regardless, and no project can exist without information. We should think of it more in terms of maturity, moving towards the use of more structured information.
The value of a common foundational approach
A common information framework
This upwards cascade of a common information framework that spans industry, organisations and projects not only lays the foundations to enable information to be shared, connected and understood, it also allows people to move across different projects, organisations and domains without needing to learn new information languages, structures and workflows.
It enables projects to start without reinventing the wheel each time, provides a foundation for deriving real value from technology, and allows flexibility in technology selection.
True collaboration needed
There is a need for a common and consistent approach to information management across the industry. It requires committed buy-in and true collaboration from all parts of the industry. We have many of the puzzle pieces, but we need a clearer, bigger picture to work towards, to start connecting what we have. For too long, this has been largely overlooked by the wider industry.
With recent developments, we’re now at a time when this can no longer be ignored. Digital product passports, the golden thread, approval gateways, decarbonisation and AI are all factors with potentially serious implications if we get them wrong.
These initiatives will only succeed if we dig deep and establish a solid foundation. Of all the industries, surely we know better than anyone how crucial strong foundations are in building something fit for purpose.
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