FprEN 17412-1

SLOVENSKI STANDARD
oSIST prEN 17412:2019
01-september-2019

Informacijsko modeliranje gradenj - Raven informacijskih potreb - Pojmi in načela

Building Information Modelling - Level of Information Need - Concepts and principles

Modélisation des Informations pour la Construction (BIM) - Niveau d’Information Requis -

2003-01.Slovenski inštitut za standardizacijo. Razmnoževanje celote ali delov tega standarda ni dovoljeno.

Modélisation des Informations pour la Construction Modélisation des Informations pour la Construction

(BIM) - Niveau d'Information Requis - Concepts et (BIM) - Niveau d'Information Requis - Concepts et

This draft European Standard is submitted to CEN members for enquiry. It has been drawn up by the Technical Committee

If this draft becomes a European Standard, CEN members are bound to comply with the CEN/CENELEC Internal Regulations

which stipulate the conditions for giving this European Standard the status of a national standard without any alteration.

This draft European Standard was established by CEN in three official versions (English, French, German). A version in any other

language made by translation under the responsibility of a CEN member into its own language and notified to the CEN-CENELEC

CEN members are the national standards bodies of Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia,

Finland, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania,

Luxembourg, Malta, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland,

Recipients of this draft are invited to submit, with their comments, notification of any relevant patent rights of which they are

Warning : This document is not a European Standard. It is distributed for review and comments. It is subject to change without

© 2019 CEN All rights of exploitation in any form and by any means reserved Ref. No. prEN 17412:2019 E

European foreword ....................................................................................................................................................... 3

Introduction .................................................................................................................................................................... 4

1 Scope .................................................................................................................................................................... 5

2 Normative references .................................................................................................................................... 5

3 Terms and definitions ................................................................................................................................... 5

4 General ................................................................................................................................................................ 8

5 Framework to specify the level of information need ......................................................................... 8

5.1 General ................................................................................................................................................................ 8

5.2 Identify the purposes ..................................................................................................................................... 9

5.3 Identify the information delivery milestones ....................................................................................... 9

5.4 Identify the actors ........................................................................................................................................... 9

5.5 Identify the objects within a breakdown structure ......................................................................... 10

6 Definition of level of information need and its subdivision ......................................................... 10

6.1 General ............................................................................................................................................................. 10

6.2 Level of geometry ......................................................................................................................................... 12

6.3 Level of information .................................................................................................................................... 16

6.4 Documentation .............................................................................................................................................. 17

7 The role of verification and validation ................................................................................................. 18

Annex A (informative) Overview of the main concepts related to information exchange ............. 19

Annex B (informative) Example of method to specify level of information need .............................. 20

Bibliography ................................................................................................................................................................. 24

This document (prEN 17412:2019) has been prepared by Technical Committee CEN/TC 442 “Building

This document sets out the concepts and principles for defining the level of information need and

information deliveries being part of the information exchange processes during the life cycle of built

assets when using Building Information Modelling (BIM). Those concepts and principles can deliver

clear benefits to all participants in the various life cycle phases of built assets as they provide a common

understanding on the right level of information needed at a certain time preventing both a costly

overproduction of information as well as a risky underproduction. Information exchange ensures the

right information to be delivered for the agreed purpose to facilitate verification and validation

There is a need that these concepts and principles are described in a common and comparable way to

allow services related to Building Information Modelling to be procured and offered on a European

scale. The need has arisen by the fact that there are several conflicting terms, concepts and usages in

place, both internationally and across Europe, that hinder the objective of having a common

understanding and practise in describing the level of information need for a common European market.

This document applies to the information management during the whole life cycle of a built asset,

including strategic planning, initial design, engineering, development, documentation and construction,

The information exchange, as well as related topics, such as the exchange information requirement, and

the information delivery are defined and explained in context of two related standards:

— EN ISO 19650-1, Organization of information about construction works — Information management

— EN ISO 29481-1, Building information models – Information delivery manual – Part 1: Methodology

This document specifies concepts and principles to establish a methodology for specifying level of

information need and information deliveries in a consistent way when using Building Information

This document specifies the characteristics of different levels used for defining the detail and extent of

information required to be exchanged and delivered throughout the life cycle of built assets. It gives

The concepts and principles in this document can be applied for a general information exchange and

whilst in progress, for a generally agreed way of information exchange between parties in a

collaborative work process, as well as for a contractually specified information delivery.

The level of information need provides methods for describing information to be exchanged according

to exchange information requirements. The exchange information requirements specify the wanted

The concepts and principles contained in this document are applicable to all those involved in the asset

life cycle. This includes, but is not limited to, the asset owner/operator, the project client, the asset

manager, the design team, the construction supply chain, the equipment manufacturer, the system

The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their content

constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition cited applies. For

undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including any amendments) applies.

EN ISO 29481-1, Building information models — Information delivery manual — Part 1: Methodology and

prEN ISO 23386:2019, Building information modelling and other digital processes used in construction —

Methodology to describe, author and maintain properties in interconnected dictionaries

prEN ISO 23387, Building Information Modelling (BIM) - Data templates for construction objects used in

ISO 6707-1, Buildings and civil engineering works — Vocabulary — Part 1: General terms

For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in EN ISO 29481-1, ISO 6707-1 and

ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following addresses:

named persistent set of information retrievable from within a file, system or application storage

EXAMPLE Including sub-directory, information file (including model, document, table, schedule), or distinct

Note 1 to entry: Structured information containers include geometrical models, schedules and databases.

Unstructured information containers include documentation, video clips and sound recordings.

Note 2 to entry: Persistent information exists over a timescale long enough for it to have to be managed, i.e. this

Note 3 to entry: Naming of an information container should be according to an agreed naming convention.

[SOURCE: EN ISO 19650-1:2018, 3.3.12 modified – reference (3.3.1) to (3.11) to be consistent with

[SOURCE: EN ISO 19650-1:2018, 3.3.7 modified – cross reference (3.3.2) related to “information

[SOURCE: EN ISO 19650-1:2018, 3.3.8 modified – cross reference (3.3.2) related to “information

description of the information deliverable to fulfil a specific purpose for which the information is

Note 1 to entry: One purpose of defining the level of information need is to prevent delivery of too much

[SOURCE: EN ISO 19650-1:2018, 3.3.16 modified – definition has been changed, same NOTE 1 to entry]

confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that specified requirements have been

confirmation, through the provision of objective evidence, that the requirements for a specific intended

[SOURCE: ISO 21511:2018, 3.13 modified – deletion of “work” from the title and “of the project or

information that can be perceived from shape, position, scale, orientation and reflection of

Note 1 to entry: An object can be geometrically described through form, size, dimensions, and location – in

EXAMPLE 1 Information can be derived from geometry, e.g. the dimensions of an object, the distance between

EXAMPLE 2 Documentation can be derived from geometry, e.g. views extracted from an information model

EXAMPLE 3 Geometry can be represented by square, cube, cylinder, ball, cone, triangle, curve, straight line,

EXAMPLE 4 Geometry can be used for 3-dimensional (3D) consistency to visualize, generate views, quantity

Note 1 to entry: Information can be expressed using characters, digits and symbols or tokens such as

EXAMPLE 1 Information can be contained within a brief, a budget, a specification, an energy calculation, a

product data sheet, a technical report, an operation and maintenance manual, etc.

EXAMPLE 4 Information can be used to filter, sort, check, compare and analyse objects.

fixed and structured amount of information that can be managed and interchanged as a unit between

[SOURCE: EN 62023:2012, 3.2.3 modified – NOTES to entry 1 to 4 deleted, “DOC” added]

The level of information need describes the granularity of information exchanged in terms of geometry,

information and documentation. Different purposes, have their own needs of geometry, information

The level of information need should be used to discuss and agree on the information delivery between

To specify the level of information need and how information is going to be delivered, the following

The definition of level of information need is independent from the listed prerequisites.

See Annex A for more information related to the relationships between EN ISO 29481-1 and level of

When the level of information need is specified, the purposes for information delivery shall be

The purposes should be specified to clarify why the information is needed. The level of information

To achieve the same purpose, the geometry, information and documentation can vary for different

EXAMPLE 1 To perform an accessibility analysis, requirements such as the clear opening width of a door, its

location, the position and shape of the handle are needed. Other properties, such as the name of the manufacturer

and the acquisition cost, are not relevant to fulfil the purpose. On the other hand, for cost analysis purposes, the

acquisition cost of a door is needed, but the appearance of the handle is not relevant. For rendering purposes, the

geometrical appearance of a door is relevant, while the name of the manufacturer and the acquisition cost are not.

During an information delivery milestone, the same level of information need required for an object can

EXAMPLE 2 In concept design, the same geometry and information of a block can be used for clash detection

NOTE In some cases, the purpose does not need to be explicit to all actors (e.g. for security reasons). In those

cases, the purpose will be considered as “not disclosed” and only authorized actors will be informed.

When the level of information need is specified, information delivery milestones shall be identified.

The information delivery milestones should be specified to clarify when the information is needed.

The level of information need does not specify the information delivery milestones.

At the same information delivery milestone, the geometry, information and documentation can vary for

EXAMPLE 1 To do accessibility analysis, usually the same level of information need is required at different

EXAMPLE 2 To do energy analysis, different level of information need is required at different milestones.

When the level of information need is specified, actors who require and deliver the information shall be

EXAMPLE 1 The same level of information need can be required by different actors at the same milestone to

EXAMPLE 2 Different level of information need can be required by different actors at the same milestone to

NOTE 1 At different milestones, e.g. especially in the early phase, the actor responsible of delivering specified

EXAMPLE 3 A client could ask for a specific level of information need for an object at an agreed information

delivery milestone without specifying who needs to deliver it. In this case, the supply chain is free to assign

NOTE 2 Different actors can be responsible for different level of information at the same information delivery

NOTE 3 For design purposes, at an agreed information delivery milestone, a wall in a project can be made up of

a structural element, architectural cladding and an air duct penetration with an air duct passing through the

penetration. Mechanical, electrical and plumbing engineers are responsible for providing reliable information

concerning the sizing of the duct and associated desired penetration sizing so that the structural and architectural

teams can continue their work to respectively validate the wall structure and cladding design.

When the level of information need is specified, the objects within a breakdown structure for the

The level of information need does not specify the objects within a breakdown structure.

To be able to specify the level of information need, one or more objects within a breakdown structure

should be specified, identifying the semantic, functional and/or spatial decomposition of the project

1) Construction results (spaces, construction complexes, construction entities and construction

2) Construction information (information model, building model, specification, documentation, diagram).

NOTE 2 Breakdown structures can follow a classification system, systems engineering principles or a

NOTE 3 Different purposes can require different breakdown structures and derived decompositions.

EXAMPLE To fulfil the purpose of cost estimation during the construction phase, a breakdown structure can

The level of information need (LOIN) describes the extent and detail of information exchange in terms

of geometry, information and documentation. In accordance with this document, the level of

information need (LOIN) should be described by different concepts: level of geometry (LOG), level of

The level of information need can be answered by a combination of geometry, information and/or

Level of information need can either be predefined or can be defined for a particular information

NOTE 1 A predefined level of information need can be included in regulations, standards, plans of work,

recommendations or specific project requirements; while other level of information need can be project specific.

If an aspect of level of information need is not relevant, ‘not applicable’ can be used.

EXAMPLE For building permission purpose during the briefing, the level of geometry and level of

The level of information need identifies the wanted presence of geometry, information and/or

documentation to address a specific purpose at a specified information delivery milestone or agreed

Level of information need does not describe the status or reliability of the information. The status and

reliability of information about the information needed should follow the methodologies described in

NOTE 2 Metadata are initially indicated by its author and then amended by the following approval and

authorization processes. ISO 19650-1 describes the use of metadata of information containers. In this document,

the use of metadata are related to the specified geometry, information and/or documentation associated to

Figure 1 shows the level of information need framework and the relation with the prerequisites

To specify the level of geometry of an object or a set of objects, the following aspects should be

a) Detail: description of the complexity of the object geometry compared to the real-world object. This

More refined geometric representations can contain more features, and/or be more decomposed,

EXAMPLE 1 For facility management purposes, the detail of a boiler can be symbolic as a box including the

EXAMPLE 2 For clash detection purposes, the detail of a boiler can be simplified and reduced to outer shell.

EXAMPLE 3 For visualization purposes, the detail of a boiler can use the detailed geometry from the

EXAMPLE 4 For 2D drawing production, the detail of a door can be different based of the information delivery

Figure 2 — Example of symbolic (A), simplified (B) and detailed (C) graphical representation of a

EXAMPLE 5 For the same purposes at different information delivery milestones, the detail of a building can be

Figure 3 — Example of symbolic (A), simplified (B) and detailed (C) graphical representation of a

building for 3D modelling to support master planning (A), early light analyses (B) and detail

Figure 4 — Example of symbolic (A), simplified (B) and detailed (C) graphical representation of a

EXAMPLE 6 The same existing column can have different graphical representations at the same information

Figure 5 — Example of detailed graphical representations of a column at the same information

delivery milestone for different purposes: (A) visualization, (B) degradation analysis

Dimensionality can be zero-dimensional - 0D (location point), one-dimensional - 1D (e.g. line, curve,

path), two-dimensional - 2D (e.g. surface, face) or three-dimensional - 3D (e.g. body, volume).

EXAMPLE 7 For quantity take off purposes, in a 3D environment the dimensionality of a pipe can be 1D to

EXAMPLE 9 For the parcel management, the dimensionality of a road can be 2D also in a 3D environment.

EXAMPLE 10 For 2D representation, the dimensionality of a bed can be 2D, for quantity take off it can be 3D at

Figure 6 — Example of dimensionality 2D (A) and 3D (B) of a bed at the same information

delivery milestone for different purposes: 2D representation (A) and quantity take off (B)

c) Location: description of the position and orientation of an object. Location can be absolute (e.g. geo-

EXAMPLE 11 Relative location can be e.g. linear alignment, grid, transformation of coordinate system or local

EXAMPLE 12 Relative location can be described in terms of semantic relationships with other objects, e.g. “is

d) Appearance: description of the visual representation of an object. This is a continuum ranging from

More refined appearances can contain more shading attributes (e.g. diffuse colouring,

transparency, reflectance, emissivity), thereby being a better approximation of the visual

characteristic of the real-world object. Shading attributes can be expressed in many ways e.g. as

EXAMPLE 13 For communication purposes, the appearance of a plumbing pipe can be symbolic using red or

EXAMPLE 14 For coordination purposes, the appearance of a plumbing pipe can be simplified using the colour

EXAMPLE 15 For visualization purposes, the appearance of a plumbing pipe can be realistic using colours and