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Data ownership in a collaborative construction industry If a digital twin – or in the future, National Digital Twin and smart cities – is all about connected data ecosystems, what happens when data ownership and management are brought into the equation? Who owns the data, and how do we ensure the information can still be accessed in 10-30 years’ time. Stuart Bell makes a case for greater clarity around data and accountability, stressing the need for companies to be clear on whose role it is to maintain it.
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he construction industry is highly complex and slow to change. With the industry facing skills shortages and an aging workforce just as the country needs critical infrastructure investment to boost the economy, the ways in which we design, procure and construct are under pressure to evolve. For the industry to confront these challenges there is a general agreement that the way in which it works needs to change. A culture of genuine collaboration and the sharing of information must happen, and digital technology could be the answer. Digitisation is helping project teams and asset owners drive efficiencies through more effective modelling, design, procurement, mobilisation, construction and operation, yet amongst this there is a great deal of confusion as to who owns data. These issues should be addressed at the earliest stage of the project, within the contract along with any interoperability expectations. Generally, as it is the client that is procuring the information, they must ensure they specify responsibilities or have the resources and knowledge to manage their model to maintain it. If we look into the not too distant future, it may will be that autonomous systems and robots will be using it for operations and maintenance. Document www.AECmag.com
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naming conventions and standards cre- duty, subject to their contractual responate a futureproof information manage- sibilities. Yet where there is disconnecment framework and are tion, piecing together dispafundamental to the creation rate datasets in order to of scalable, interoperable identify them is all the more ecosystems. The informacomplicated, making for a tion needs to be updatable complex tapestry that takes and maintainable to feed the months to complete. digital twin, otherwise it Pushing the responsibiliwill be a stagnant model. ty of information manageSecurity is another signifiment onto the supply chain cant consideration. If we is not a new phenomenon. have a connected data ecoThis behaviour started back system that shares data, the in the 90s with the advent Rather than client again has to specify of the Private Finance outsource the Initiative. This specific pubwhat data is required to be shared, and ensure data is lic procurement route shiftinformation managed correctly to prevent ed responsibility out onto management risk from supplier insolvency the construction supply service, as well as cyber threats. chains; meaning they were wouldn’t it be in charge of designing, What about asset better for the building and operating priowners insourcing data? vately financed capital projasset owner to ects. The government conGenerally speaking, the insource the fragmentation of the consequently cut their memstruction supply chain combers of staff (construction data so they plicates data ownership, as management have access to information at an information manageprofessionals) who specialment level there can be a the information ised in this field and outgreat deal of disconnection. and audit trail? sourced responsibility to When it comes to maintainthe fragmented construcing a full, clear audit trail of tion industry. communications, it is incumbent upon Moreover, ahead of the 2016 BIM the contracting parties to perform this Level 2 mandate, government advisors
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