When is data good enough to pass on?

It is not enough for modelers, work planners and digitizers to be good with data, finds Pim van Meer in this Digital Maze. With good data you can make decisions, so how do you make that data readable for administrators, buyers, builders and consultants?

In response to my earlier column Thank you work planner, Sandra van Ravenzwaaij gave me a good follow-up question. Not just about modeling, but about something bigger: when does it actually work to build information based on 3D models in such a way that you can actually use it to make decisions? Not just locally, for one smart team member, but chain-wide.

That's a strong question.
Perhaps just the right one to also make it understandable to all levels of government in the chain.

The short answer is simple: yes, that is defined and made testable, from sketch design to delivery. And the way of working, meanwhile, is also simple.
But let me be honest about that: that took us years. It cost a lot of money to learn. But now the solutions are there.

The core of Sandra's question touches on something I often see in practice: information works fine locally, but breaks as soon as you want to scale it up. The work planner gets by with it, the estimator gets by, someone manually adds some more, and everyone says: you see, it works.
Until that same information is needed for transfer, for a uniform data strategy, for key figures at organizational level, for a delivery file, or for the customer at the end of the chain. Then it turns out that what seemed smart locally was actually just not finished.

So what do we do internally to ensure that information is not only useful, but also remains useful for the next one?

We start with contracts.
No longer steering by drawing as an end product, but by information needs. That is a fundamental difference. You don't say: deliver a nice set of pieces. You say: deliver the information needed to make targeted decisions right now.

Next, we do a kick-off.
Because I don't believe in imposing. I believe in explaining and educating. In such a joint session we explain to all stakeholders who are going to make and assess the design how 3D digitization and the new way of working help to make targeted decisions. With or without AI, with or without parametric designs, with or without a link with digitally parallel plans, but in any case data-driven and based on a BIM model.

And then comes the step that may make the most difference in practice: input control. There You need an (objective) gatekeeper for that. Not one for just the techies, but rather one that is also readable for project leaders, managers and directors. Because if only the most technical people can see whether the data is correct, decision-making will still be stuck on interpretation.

The most approachable solution I know of is BIMsentry. That is a data service for the Digital System for the Built Environment, where Digigo works with the market and the Ministry of VRO to make digitization work for the construction supply chain. Internally, we just call it a digital validation bill. Different names, fairly simple function: demonstrate whether the data is complete enough to pass.

Why is it so important?
Because you can only do good analysis if the data is complete. That applies from developer to builder, from builder to housing corporation or investor, for completion dates, and just as much toward initiatives like BIM Legal. If the data is not complete, semi-automated decisions become arbitrary. If the data is complete, you can focus on value, reduce failure costs and make much sharper decisions.

And that, to me, is where the real profit lies.
I become less of a referee then.
The system shows whether something is good enough.
That gives peace of mind in the chain.

Important to add: this is not one magic tool. It is a combination of standards, agreements and tools. IDS helps to make information requirements explicit. Validation services help verify compliance. And more such solutions will emerge in the coming years. That's only right.

Large parties may well invest in this so that smaller parties can make use of it. That's not a crazy thought. If it allows us to make better, faster and more consistent decisions, that's exactly how a mature chain should work.

So Sandra: thanks for your question.

And an invitation to the rest of the chain: please respond.

Where is this already working well for you?
Where is the information still breaking? Do you know how to find the minimal-information needs of the stakeholders around you?
Where are already succeeding in making data not just locally smart, but chain-wide useful?
Because this conversation is too important to take place only between modelers, work planners and digitalization people. Directors, buyers, builders and consultants, in particular, must participate in this.

Filing moment

Work planner: if it works for you, you're good to go. But if it breaks as soon as the next one in the chain has to move on with it, it's not finished.
So the real question is not how much you model.
The real question is whether the data is complete, understandable and testable enough for the next person to make a good decision.
And if they can't do that yet, there's no shame in that. But then don't pretend it's already good enough.