Where's it go now?
The drawing went the quick way, and nobody could prove what was built. This lesson shows how to share work so you can prove it later.
Same Friday, done properly
Alex: It isn't issued for construction yet. Our checker's on it first thing Monday. Then the lead firm authorises it and the client accepts it. Tuesday afternoon, if all goes well.
Dave grumbles, then moves the pour to Wednesday.
Checked Monday, shared at S4, authorised by the lead firm and accepted by the client: 042 is published as C01, A5. Site is told, with a link. The gang builds to the new pipe level. Boring. Brilliant.
Dave: Here's what we built to, who issued it and when it reached us.
Found and proven. Query closed the same day. He buys the teas.
Think of the last drawing or instruction you got. Could you find it in six months' time? Could you prove who sent it and which version it was?
Rex's diary. Week 14. Learning to check drawings in my own team. Somebody's just asked me for a signature. It's 4:55 on a Friday.
There are two ways to get a parcel somewhere. The proper route goes through the CDE, where it's logged and leaves a trail. The back alley is quicker on a Friday: the group chat, email, a photo on a phone. It leaves nothing behind, so you can never prove later what you were given.
The proper route is the one we built. It goes through the Site Office, the project's CDE, where every parcel is booked in. The back alley is the shortcut people take when they're in a hurry. Both get the parcel there.
Every project needs a map of its proper routes: who sends what, to whom, and when. Drawings come in on the design line, go out to site on the site line, and up to the client for acceptance. If it's on the map, everyone knows where to look. The back alley never is.
The back alley is an informal exchange, and informal exchanges are a risk.
ISO 19650 plans exchanges up front (who delivers what, to whom, at each milestone) and expects them to go through the CDE, so every container carries its status and revision and leaves a record of who shared it. That's the proper route. Anything that goes round it skips those protections.
A note for the Coordinators (that's IM): if everyone's using the same back alley, the proper route is probably in the wrong place. Find the busy alleys and fix the route!
Usually for a good reason. Back alleys aren't drawn on the official map, but every town has them.
The proper route feels painfully slow when the pour is on Monday.
Nobody ever showed them how to send it properly.
No CDE access, or the folder they need doesn't exist yet.
Use an alley often enough and it starts to feel like the road.
| Question | Where ISO 19650 answers it | In the town |
|---|---|---|
| What has to be delivered? | Exchange information requirements (EIR), from the client and from the lead | What travels on each line |
| When? | Information delivery milestones | The timetable |
| By whom? | The task information delivery plans and the master information delivery plan | Who sends what |
| How? | Through the CDE, with an ID, status and revision, and a record of who shared it and when | The proper route, and the trail it leaves |
Based on the ISO 19650 series: the ideas come from the standard; the plain-English wording, examples and advice are InfoTown's. ISO 19650 and its UK National Annex are © ISO and BSI. You'll hear the same language across the industry. Read more for free in the Information Management Initiative (IMI) Framework guidance from BSI and nima. For the full requirements, use the standard itself.