ISO 19650 is the prominent global standard for the implementation of BIM, focusing on the collaborative process integral to the entire life cycle of constructed assets. Developed and published by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO), this standard serves as a comprehensive framework for managing information from the conception of a project, through construction and operation to its eventual decommissioning. The development and publication of ISO 19650 highlights the commitment of international standards bodies to creating a consistent and efficient approach to BIM implementation on a global scale.
ISO 19650 is a multi-part standard. Part 1 delineates fundamental concepts and principles, while Part 2 provides practical guidance for information management throughout the project life cycle. The scalability of ISO 19650 allows organizations to tailor its application to the specific needs and intricacies of their projects. As an internationally recognized standard, ISO 19650 reflects the collaborative efforts of standards bodies to enhance global construction industry practices. Throughout this process, transparency, collaboration, and consensus-building are key principles. ISO standards, including ISO 19650, are developed with input from experts and stakeholders worldwide to ensure that they reflect a global consensus on best practices.
A country might choose to adopt ISO 19650 for several reasons, all of which contribute to the standard’s potential benefits in enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of construction and infrastructure projects. Some of the reasons why a country might decide to adopt ISO 19650:
- Global standardisation of processes
- Support interoperability and collaboration
- Consider a quality assured approach to information management
- Competitive advantage and potential for cross boarder trade
- Improved project delivery outcomes
In summary, the adoption of ISO 19650 by a country can bring about international alignment, improved collaboration, risk reduction, and enhanced competitiveness in the construction industry, ultimately contributing to more successful and sustainable infrastructure development. Countries will usually adopt ISO 19650 by publishing a national annex to the standard.
Poznan University of Technology is a technical university conducting research and training in BSc, MSc, PhD engineering and postgraduate studies in 20 different fields, including Architecture and Urban Planning, Construction and Environmental Engineering. The university specialises in improvements throughout the construction lifecycle, including; preparation for the design, construction, asset management, renovation, reinforcement and demolition of buildings and civil engineering structures, all areas where the BIM technology is applicable.
The university has created this BIM website to act as a home and sharing platform for current research and discussion around BIM in Poland. It has a remit to provide research activities around BIM, understand the industries’ needs and try to address them. The website contains a few videos and useful links, but the bulk of the content is meeting minutes, outputs, reports and recordings of events that have been held either virtually or in person over the past decade.
The Public Procurement Office (Urzad ZamówieÅ„ Publicznych – UZP), headed by the President, is the central body of government administration. Supervision over the President of the Office is exercised by the Minister for the Economy. The advisory and opinion-giving body of the President is the Public Procurement Council, whose members are appointed and dismissed by the Minister for the Economy.
This website outlines useful information and knowledge sharing for BIM in four main sections:
- Regulations, including both national Polish law, as well as EU law related to BIM
- BIM Standard EN, looking at the international standards for BIM (ISO 19650) and the BIM Standard PL
- Links to other ministries / groups
- Publications, including links to documents from the EU BIM Task Group.
The Polish Association of Construction Employers (Polski ZwiÄ…zek Pracodawców Budownictwa – PZPB) is a nationwide organisation grouping companies from the infrastructure and construction industry, which together generate over PLN 50 billion of the value of construction and assembly production in Poland and employ over 50,000 people. Among the PZPB member companies there are 13 of the 15 largest enterprises dealing with comprehensive investment implementation, development companies, specialised design companies, companies producing construction products, machines, providing technologies and others related to the infrastructure and construction sector.
This study presents the results of several years of social work on Polish BIM standards intended for public investments in construction, tentatively named BIM Standard PL. The project began in 2014, when an agreement was signed between the Polish Association of Construction Engineers and Technicians (PZITB), the Association of Polish Architects (SARP) and the Chief Construction Supervision Office (GUNB) regarding cooperation in legislative processes related to construction, with one of the topics being BIM.
As a result of this agreement, under the aegis of PZITB and SARP, a think tank called V4 BIM Task Group was established, which gathered a group of the experts in the field of BIM to formulate the Polish path to BIM implementation. Three main goals were identified: implementation of BIM in public investments in construction, staff education and standardisation of BIM processes. The year 2025 was indicated as the deadline.
BIM Standard PL started in 2018 with the signature of a declaration of cooperation between PZITB, the Polish Association of Construction Employers (PZPB), SARP and Budimex, Skanska, Warbud and Porr to develop a draft of BIM standards for public investments in construction. It is intended as a comprehensive BIM manual for investment, management and construction professionals mainly in the public sector. BIM Standard PL is addressed both to the ordering party and contractors, with particular emphasis on good preparation of the BIM information process and correct implementation. Due to the different level of BIM competences among potential users, BIM Standard PL is not only defining the standards but also offers educational materials to acquire BIM competences. This document is not an official standard but a proposal, made available for market evaluation and discussion.
The Ministry of Development & technology for Poland has appointed a BIM working group and steering committee. The group and committee developed BIM templates to support the implementation of digital ways of working in public projects in residential construction. These are universal document templates to be used in public and private construction projects.
This set of 12 BIM templates were created by involving all stakeholders (designers, engineers, general contractors, ministries, etc.), which had the opportunity to submit comments and proposals for solutions to be used in these documents.
The BIM set includes:
- BIM Lexicon
- BIM Requirements Template (EIR) Overview
- BIM Requirements Template (EIR)
- BIM Plan (BEP) template overview
- BIM Plan Template (BEP)
- Table of production and supply of models (Template, overview, example)
- BIM annex to the contract.
These BIM templates should be used as a proposal for the layout of documents and their minimum content, which will allow for the proper implementation of BIM to meet all the project and organisational requirements. These templates can be adapted to suit a project.
Construction processes are subject to outdated procedures and sets of requirements, which prevent progress in the industry. The Polish Roadmap for BIM implementation is an attempt to outline the direction of changes that will allow the construction industry to shift to more modern and, at the same time, more effective ways of working.
Developing a national Roadmap and strategy for transformation is necessary, because due to the different specificity of the market and legal conditions in different countries, it is not possible to adopt new solutions by means of regulations.
The main goal of the Polish BIM Roadmap is to achieve a level of adoption similar to the British BIM implementation level by 2025, but enriched with many additional elements, such as Digital Twins, digital security in distributed processing technology, Lean methodology and ecology. The process of implementing BIM in Poland should be based both on top-down activities (legislative, standardisation, standardization and pilot) and self-organisation of the construction market in the form of bottom-up activities (organisation of work in Lean, integration of processes, systems and information).
The project “Digitization of the construction process in Poland” aims to change the national construction industry so it becomes more efficient. During meetings, attended by representatives of the European Commission, the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology, the Contractor and a wide range of stakeholders, experiences were presented related to the implementation of the BIM methodology and the digitisation of construction. Examples from Poland and other countries across the world, as well as further steps planned by the Ministry of Development, Labour and Technology, were showcased, including the creation of a BIM Working Group / Steering Committee in accordance with the recommendations of a Roadmap, devised to form the basis for developing a strategy for the implementation of the BIM methodology in public procurement. The meetings were.
The project, started in November 2019, has been aimed at popularising BIM in the Polish construction market. From the very beginning, the project included meetings with stakeholders: investors, public entities, designers and general contractors. Entities and persons participating in the initial meetings also participated in subsequent events and in consultations of documents that were created within the project. This website contains links to many documents and resources relating to this project.
