Bridging safety and technology: The role of BS EN ISO 19650-6:2025 in the built environment
The built environment sector has long faced challenges in ensuring health and safety (H&S) compliance across project and asset life cycles.
According to a report by the Health & Safety Executive (HSE), in the UK the annual cost of accidents and ill health attributable to work in construction is estimated to be around £1.3 billion, with around 2.6 million working days lost each year.
In addition to the financial costs, health and safety issues in the built environment can have a profound impact on employees, often resulting in physical injuries, long-term health conditions, emotional stress, and reduced quality of life for workers and their families.
To help address this critical issue, a new standard has published: BS EN 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, which focuses on the organization and digitization of H&S information in building and civil engineering projects.
As the sixth part of the BS EN ISO 19650 series on information management using Building Information Modelling (BIM), this standard supersedes PAS 1192-6:2018 as the key standard for managing H&S information throughout the project and asset life cycles.
By specifying how H&S information is managed and shared, BS EN ISO 19650-6:2025 offers an opportunity to enhance worker safety, reduce costs and ensure projects run more smoothly, with fewer incidents.
What does BS EN ISO 19650-6 cover?
The core objective of BS EN ISO 19650-6:2025 is to provide a robust framework for identifying, recording, using and sharing H&S information digitally and collaboratively throughout the project lifecycle.
This includes the classification, sharing, and delivery of H&S information, ensuring it reaches the right stakeholders at the right time, with clear and actionable insights.
The standard outlines how H&S information can be used to:
Create safer environments for workers, users, and end-users of buildings and infrastructure.
Mitigate inherent risks by identifying and managing hazards throughout the entire asset life cycle, from procurement to end-of-life.
Enhance H&S performance by reducing incidents and their associated impacts.
Optimize project value, improving both construction processes and operational outcomes.
By ensuring that H&S risks are identified early and integrated into project planning via BIM tools, BS EN ISO 19650-6 improves the visibility and communication of risks throughout all project stages.
Who should use this standard?
This standard is essential for all professionals involved in managing H&S information during the lifecycle of a building or infrastructure project.
Whether you're a designer, contractor, project manager, or asset owner, the principles and practices outlined in BS EN ISO 19650-6 will help streamline your H&S risk information management processes.
Applicable to:
Design and construction professionals working to embed H&S information from the planning stages.
Facility managers and operators, who need to ensure that maintenance work is carried out safely and efficiently throughout the operational phase of the asset.
Procurement teams responsible for ensuring compliance with H&S standards across their supply chain.
Notably, the standard applies to all phases of the project lifecycle, whether you're working in the design, construction, or operational stage of an asset. It is also relevant to projects that aren't currently using BIM, as it emphasizes the collaborative sharing of structured H&S information across all project stakeholders.
What are the key benefits of implementing BS EN ISO 19650-6?
Increased safety: By embedding H&S information early in the design process and throughout the project lifecycle, this standard helps create a safer environment for all stakeholders.
Risk mitigation: The clear framework for identifying, classifying, and sharing H&S risks leads to better risk management and fewer incidents on-site.
Enhanced project outcomes: Clear and timely communication of H&S information minimizes rework, waste, and delays, boosting the overall value of construction projects.
Global applicability: With its basis in BS 1192-6:2018, now elevated to international status, this standard facilitates global collaboration and harmonizes H&S practices across borders.
Support for BIM integration: As the construction industry increasingly adopts digital tools and practices, the standard leverages BIM to make H&S risk management more visual, comprehensive, and actionable.
The wider context: BIM and the BS EN ISO 19650 series of standards
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a digital process that involves creating and managing detailed 3D models of buildings and infrastructure throughout their lifecycle. It integrates data about a structure’s design, construction, and operation into a centralized model, enabling better collaboration between all project stakeholders, including architects, engineers, contractors, and facility managers.
By providing accurate, up-to-date information, BIM enhances decision-making, reduces errors, and improves project efficiency, ultimately leading to safer, more sustainable, and cost-effective buildings.
BS EN ISO 19650-6 is part of the broader BS EN ISO 19650 series, which sets the international framework for information management in the construction industry using BIM.
The series includes the following parts:
Part 6 adds to this by focusing specifically on health and safety information, providing vital links between traditional risk management tools and the new digital processes enabled by BIM.
By integrating H&S information into BIM, projects can harness the full potential of digital modelling, improving risk visibility and control.
To implement best practices in health and safety information management and align your projects with the latest international standards, purchase BS EN ISO 19650-6:2025 today.