Bidding documents, contractor agreements, scopes of work, schedules, bill of quantities: these are just some of the documents required to manage and successfully deliver a construction project. 

Keeping tabs on paperwork, noting changes, and communicating updates to the right people can quickly spiral out of control without proper document management.

Since the 1980s, all industrial sectors have been transforming themselves from manual practices to computer-aided or automated practices. As such, the way we interfaced with these documents changed as we no longer manage physical copies, we manage documents electronically.

Today, even the most modest of construction projects begin with drawings, specifications, estimates, consultant reports, information models, and more. If managed correctly, these documents can create a single source of truth that your entire team can rely on, even as plans change.

Following the release of the BS EN ISO 19650 series, many businesses have begun to adopt good practices around information management. In doing so, it is important to understand that BS EN ISO 19650-1, and the other standards relating to building information modeling (BIM), are supported by a myriad of other formalized good practice standards. As such, it is important to ensure that good practice is considered holistically. One example is to consider information management within the context of document management.

To read more on the topic of building information modeling (BIM), click here.

The Benefits of Document and Information Management

By applying the good practice principles of document management, a business can reap several productivity benefits relating to the searching, retrieval, management, and collation of information. By also applying the good practice principles of information management, a business can further augment these benefits by effectively increasing the amount of metadata available relating to each document.

Applying both document management and information management means that a document has a greater value than the sum of its properties.

BS EN 82045-1 outlines several benefits to electronic document management, which include:

• Efficient search and retrieval

• Quick and direct propagation of changes

• Automatic workflow procedures

• Providing document collections about related information

• Reduced administration

• Supporting the exchange of information

• Supporting collaborative working

To achieve these benefits, electronic document management relies on the ability to apply metadata to documents.

The Importance of Metadata

Metadata is defined as data about data or data elements.

Simply put, document properties such as Author, Date Created, and Name are about the document itself as opposed to the content, making them metadata. Using metadata, the benefits described above can be achieved as documents could be searched by when they were created, who produced them, or what they are called.

Typically, within the built environment, metadata is recorded in three instances:

• As a visible part of a document’s presentation. BS EN ISO 7200 specifies the mandatory and optional properties that should be included on all technical documentation, either within a title block or document header. For example, properties such as Unique identification, Creator, Approver, and Date Issued are all mandatory properties

• Associated to a document within a directory or document management system. BS EN 82045-2 specifies good practice document properties and their associated attributes to support machine-interpretable exchanges

• Associated to a document within a common data environment. The BS EN ISO 19650 series specifies that information containers (documents) should have a unique identification, revision, status, and classification associated as well as a method of controlled access at the document level.

Business approaches to electronic document management should capture these properties as a minimum to ensure they can effectively manage their documentation. It is also recommended that they include these properties as part of the document presentation, as well as associated with the document to ensure visibility if the document leaves its respective directory, system, or environment. For example, if the document is printed.

How Information Management Can Mitigate Cybersecurity Threats

Cybersecurity attacks are making headlines these days, and the construction industry is not immune. For some construction companies, recent ransomware attacks have led to the loss of confidential data or a systems shutdown. Cyberattacks can take many forms, and as they adopt more technological solutions, construction companies need to prepare to defend themselves.

From the project, team, and customer relationship software to drones and autonomous construction machinery, the construction industry technology has replaced paper documents such as project drawings, purchase orders, field directives, and timecards. A company’s major assets are no longer just materials and equipment, but also technology devices that provide critical services and often represent significant investments.

Standards, such as BS ISO/IEC 27032 Information technology. Security techniques. Guidelines for cybersecurity help organizations tackle cybersecurity threats.

Older software and information management processes are proving much more vulnerable to security incidents. Implementing an information management standard is a good way to increase your business’s confidence in handling information data and creating a culture of information resilience, as well as minimizing risks.

As the digitalization of information management continues to advance rapidly in the built environment, accessing the standards your business needs to adapt to these new ways of working does not have to be complicated and time-consuming. Our tailored BSI Knowledge subscription service provides flexibility, access, visibility, and control over the standards and insights your team needs to adopt emerging processes. Request to learn more.

Ensure your construction business is managing its documents and information in the most effective way possible by adding these standards to your collection today.