Appointment

Following a successful appointment, the lead appointed party will be required to update the delivery team’s BIM Execution Plan and provide other key documentation, including the Responsibility Matrix, Lead-Appointed Party’s EIR, the Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP), and other documents set out in the standard. This stage is broken down into a series of activities that will need to be completed in accordance with clause 5.4 of I.S. EN ISO 19650-2:

Confirm the delivery team’s BIM execution plan

Firstly, the lead appointed party shall confirm the delivery team’s BIM execution plan in agreement with each appointed party. This will allow the lead appointed party to: confirm the names of the individuals who will undertake the information management function within the delivery team, update the delivery team’s information delivery strategy (as required), update the delivery team’s high-level responsibility matrix (as required), confirm and document the delivery team’s proposed information production methods and procedures, agree with the appointing any additions or amendments to the project’s information standard, and confirm the schedule of software, hardware and IT infrastructure the delivery team will use[1].

Over the course of a project, the BIM execution plan can evolve through the appointment of additional parties. It is the responsibility of the lead appointed party to maintain the delivery team’s BIM execution plan as a live document and to ensure the delivery team’s information management approach is easily communicated and ensure changes are communicated to all task teams. This activity will take place during the completion of the appointment.

Establish the delivery team’s detailed responsibility matrix

During the Tender Response stage, a high-level responsibility matrix was required as part of the pre-appointment BIM execution plan. For this stage, the lead appointed shall further refine this to establish the detailed responsibility matrix, clearly identifying what information is to be produced, when the information is to be exchanged, with whom, and which task team is responsible for its production[1].

When preparing the detailed responsibility matrix, the lead appointed party shall consider: the information delivery milestones, the high-level responsibility matrix, the project’s information production methods and procedures, the elements of information container breakdown structure allocated to each task team, and the dependencies on the information production process[1].  This activity will take place during the completion of the appointment and will inform the lead appointed party’s EIR, task information delivery plans (TIDP) and subsequent master information delivery plan (MIDP).

Establish the lead appointed party’s exchange information requirements

Not to be confused with the appointing party’s EIR, the lead appointed party shall also define its own EIR for each appointed party on a project. When working internally, it is recommended that the lead appointed party establishes a clear schedule of information requirements as through it were a formal appointment.

Through their own EIR, the lead appointed party shall: take into consideration the appointing party’s information requirements when defining their own information requirements, establish the level of information need, establish the acceptance criteria, establish the dates that need to be met for each requirement, and establish the supporting information that the appointed party might need to fully understand or evaluate each information requirement[1]. This activity will take place during completion of the appointment.

Establish the task information delivery plans(s)

The task information delivery plan (TIDP) is a detailed plan of how task teams / appointed parties are going to deliver the information that has been requested of them. There is no standard template for the TIDP, as this is a programme; standard methods for producing a program should be considered, i.e., Gantt charts, spreadsheets, or tables could be considered for simple TIDP. The University of Cambridge has created a downloadable template for the TIDP.  For each information container within the TIDP, the critical information shall include the name and title, the predecessors or dependencies, the level of information need, the estimated production duration, the information author responsible for its production, and the delivery milestones[1].

Each task team / appointed party is responsible for first establishing the TIDP and then maintaining the document as the project progresses and evolves. When creating a TIDP, it is important to consider the project’s information delivery milestones, the task team’s responsibilities within the detailed responsibility matrix (5.4.2), the lead appointed party’s information requirements, the availability of shared resources within the delivery team, and the time the task team will need to produce the information[1]. This will enable each task team to clearly identify and clarify what is to be delivered and to establish what information needs to be exchanged to support coordination on the project. This activity will take place during the completion of and throughout the appointment.

Establish the master information delivery plan

When each of the TIDPs have been completed by the task teams / appointed parties, the lead appointed party shall compile all this information in a master information delivery plan (MIDP) on behalf of the delivery team. By completing the MIDP, the lead appointed party shall consider the assigned responsibilities within the detailed responsibility matrix (5.4.2), the information predecessors or dependencies on information between task teams ensuring they fit into the overall deliver team schedule, the time the lead appointed party will need to review and accept the information model, and the time the appointing party will need to review and accept the information model[1].

Once the TIDPs have been collated and the MIDP established, there is no standard template for the MIDP; as this is a programme, standard methods for producing a program should be considered, i.e. Gantt charts and spreadsheets. The lead appointed party shall set a baseline of the deliverables and dates within the MIDP, inform tasks teams if changes are required in the TIDPs, and inform the appointing party of any risks or issues which could impact the project’s information delivery milestones[1]. Should any changes occur to TIDPs throughout the project, it is the responsibility of the lead appointed party to update and maintain the MIDP. This activity will take place during the completion of and throughout the appointment.

Complete lead appointment party’s appointment documents

Approaching the end of the appointment stage, the appointing party is responsible for ensuring the completed appointment documents for the lead appointed party are included and managed via change control throughout the duration of the appointment. It is vital that the following five resources are included:  the appointing party’s EIR, the project’s information standard (including any agreed additions or amendments), the project’s information protocol (including any agreed additions or amendments), the delivery team’s BIM execution plan, and the delivery team’s MIDP[1]. This activity will take place during the completion of the appointment.

Complete the appointed party’s appointment documents

Similarly, the lead appointed party shall be responsible for ensuring the completed appointment documents for the appointed parties are included and managed via change control throughout the duration of the appointment. It is vital that the following five resources are included:  the lead appointed party’s EIR, the project’s information standard (including any agreed additions or amendments), the project’s information protocol (including any agreed additions or amendments), the delivery team’s BIM execution plan, and the agreed TIDPs[1]. This activity will take place during the completion of the appointment.

Summary

The lead appointed party will need to ensure that the delivery team’s information management strategy is carefully planned before commencing the works. It is important that a collaborative effort is carried out by the delivery team to facilitate the subsequent stages. By clearly outlining the execution plan for information management, responsibilities, and information delivery plans, the delivery team can effectively deliver the project in accordance with the information requirements. 

[1] Organisation and digitization of information about buildings and civil engineering works, including building information modelling (BIM) - Information management using building information modelling - Part 2: Delivery phase of the assets (I.S. EN ISO 19650-2:2018)