Andrew Green breaks down how Better Building Information Management (B2IM) is transforming property data management. By embracing smart tech and global standards, B2IM is driving smarter decisions and efficiency across the property lifecycle – offering key takeaways for the Digital Construction Week community.
The B2IM approach enables the Government Property Agency (GPA) to have the relevant data, enabling their people and supply chain to make better decisions at the right time. This leads to better services for their customers and better insights and outcomes. This supports the delivery of GPAs organisational objectives, while balancing risks, costs and performance over the entire property lifecycle.
B2IM policy
Better Building Information Management (B2IM) is GPA’s agreed method of working.
B2IM is pivotal to delivering GPA’s vision of providing smarter working in modern civil workplaces for a digitally connected estate. This is to inspire it’s people to use data and technology to support GPA in its mission to have better building information throughout the entire property lifecycle.
The B2IM property lifecycle process begins by enhancing the customer experience through the optimal use of digital technology in GPA’s buildings. It then leverages established industry standards, methods, procedures, and data schemas to generate and utilise structured estate information, applied across GPA’s capital projects, portfolio management, workplace services, and data analytics functions.
B2IM is aligned to ISO 19650 and connected to wider Government related initiatives, such as; soft landings, National Digital Twin, FMS002 Asset Data Standards and Golden Thread obligations for building safety.
B2IM common language and standardised data approach
The core principle of the B2IM approach is that everyone across GPA uses the same common language. GPA defines the master data sets to gather data and provides wide access to enable its use and reuse many times.
Why GPA need a common language approach for data and information management?
- To support the creation of great places to work
- To simplify the integration / interoperability of data across GPA departments
- To harness data and technology to meet our ambitious smarter working, wellbeing and Net Zero/ sustainability commitments
- To enable better informed life cycle decision making
- To drive significant property lifecycle efficiencies and continual improvement
- To adopt an information management system for all our buildings
- To enable our commercial partners and their supply chain to support GPA’s aspirations by leveraging innovation and best practices
- To work collaboratively to make best use of technology in GPA’s buildings
- To set up our estates and finance software tools using a common language
- To set conditions for future automation of project, FM and asset data insights
- To get everyone on the same page
Integrated data and information, across the entire life cycle
Integrating the B2IM data standards and use of technology into GPA’s buildings and workplace services, is based on the following B2IM principles:
Customer Experience
B2IM enables smarter work environments
Industry data standards
Adopted for specific information purposes (NRM for costs, SFG20 / CIBSE Guide M for operation & maintenance; Uniclass for BIM)
Common language
B2IM translated into functional standards for GPA offices. Everyone across GPA uses the same words to mean the same thing
Open standards
Interoperable, scalable digital architecture for buildings
- Develop the B2IM common data approach to connect our data and systems and protect against security threats
- Harness data and technology to meet our ‘end to end’ property life cycle B2IM requirements for data and information management.
Master data and data owners
- Define a master data reference library and data dictionary and assign master data sets and owners for specific audiences and use cases
- Master data set owners will be responsible for maintaining their master data for others to use
- Gather data once and provide wide access to enable its use many times
- Connect our data and systems, whilst protecting data about our people and our estate
Data and Technology
- Use commercial off-the-shelf technologies wherever possible.
- Innovate and pilot technologies, taking on board customer feedback
- Use software tools that can export data via an API to data layers
- Governance is in place to scrutinise changes to our digital architecture and data connectivity
People and Learning Organisation
- Support our people and our supply chain in developing the right digital skills to exploit data / information management insights.
- Utilise smart building technology to drive data analytics on productivity and performance of the workplace (e.g. occupancy monitoring, critical asset condition and carbon reduction)
- Evolve structured estate performance data to support internal asset management decisions and reporting
Commercial / Procurement of Data
- Incorporate the B2IM requirements into all our contracts in collaboration with Crown Commercial Services.
- Partner, with the RICS and SFG20 to leverage the best value from how B2IM is used for life cycle costing and adopt a common operating and maintenance standard for GPA’s estate
- Engaged with cross government working group initiatives to harness best practices and the adoption of a common B2IM approach.
- Monitored the effectiveness and efficiencies, by establishing B2IM measures for specific benefits / outcomes against baseline targets set.
B2IM is the new norm
GPA has embedded B2IM into their contracts and way of working, along with upskilling capability by adopting a standardised use of data.
When GPA construct, refurbish or onboard buildings from other government departments, the B2IM approach has been consistently applied and assured. This has enabled a structured and coordinated approach to the whole portfolio of buildings and asset data captured and utilised, so that GPA’s operations team can effectively and efficiently manage GPA’s portfolio.
B2IM has realised smarter modernised workplaces, supported by better data. It supports in managing the performance of the portfolio and workplace services, working efficiency, and delivering the GPA’s commitment to carbon emission reduction.
A suite of B2IM guidance and training defines how to deliver the desired outcomes, tailored for each department, to help put B2IM into everyday working lives – so B2IM is the new norm.
About the Author
Fellow of the RICS; ACIBSE and Institute of Asset Management Qualified Specialist
Andrew is the Technical Author of the RICS New Rules of Measurement (NRM3) and the CIBSE Guide M11 Life Cycle Costing and Life Tables, as well as co author of BS8544 for maintenance.
He works for the AtkinsRealis ‘Digital Asset Management’ team, as a Solution Architect, and has over 45 years of experience of practical learnings from public and private sector organisations.
Andrew has led the Government Property Agency B2IM programme for the last 3 years and been instrumental in embedding the B2IM common language and digital enabled approach across all departments – including helping to upskill GPA staff and supply chain, in B2IM ways of working.
He is passionate about helping clients to put into practice standardised data and structured information management. Collaboratively working with the RICS, CIBSE, SFG20, Uniclass and with cross government working groups, to help improve their capability and realise measurable benefits and efficiencies.