InfoTown™
Part 4 · Why It Works

Using Information

Can I find it, trust it and use it?

Before you start

In the story

The copy in the van won, and it was out of date. This lesson follows the person using the information: need it, find it, trust it, use it, prove it.

Back to the story

The right way: The drawing in the van

Same trench, found and trusted first

Monday, 7am

Dave: Area 2 drainage… there it is.

On the site app. Thirty seconds, including the tea.

Monday, 9am

Dug once, to revision C02.

Monday, 4pm

The Clerk of Works: Built to C02, with the photo linked. Lovely.

Smiling. Rare.

Used what was handyAn old copy, a trench dug twice, and nothing to prove what's in the ground.
Found it, trusted itThe right revision in thirty seconds, dug once, and proof on the record.

How did you find the last thing you used, and how did you know it was the right version?

Continue your journey

Story 12: Drawing 042, the whole journey

Rex's diary. One year on. A new starter turned up today with nobody to show them round. I drew them the town. Then I remembered my year.
The right way, explained

The right way, explained

Information only matters when somebody uses it, and every use runs the same line: need it, find it, trust it, use it, prove it. Dave's van copy was handy but couldn't be trusted. The site app gave him the right revision in thirty seconds, and the proof to go with it.

In the town See it in the town: five years on, someone needs Drawing 042. What happens next?
The scene

The line that starts with a need

Everything so far was about getting information onto the shelf. This line runs the other way: it starts with someone who needs something. Dave needs to know which drain goes in Area 2. He has to find it, trust it, use it, and be able to prove it later. Pick a stop to ride along.

Need, find, trust, use, prove A transit line with five stops. At Need, Dave asks which drain goes in Area 2. At Find, a tablet search finds Drawing 042 in the Site Office. At Trust, its label shows revision C02, published. At Use, a trench is dug with the pipe in it. At Prove, a photo records that it was built to C02. A dashed line carries the proof back to the Site Office for the next person. Which drain goesin Area 2? Area 2 drainage 042 · C02 · A5 Drawing 042 Rev C02 Area 2 drainage A5 ✓ Built to C02 NEEDFINDTRUSTUSEPROVE Why do I need it?Where is it?Is it the right one?Do the jobCan I show it later? The proof goes back to the Site Office, ready for the next person who needs it
Pick a stopDave's morning

Need

On site
IM calls it
Watch out for

This is Information Use!

Getting the right information to the person who needs it, in a form they can find, trust, use and prove later.

Read this way, everything ISO 19650 asks for, from requirements and labels to checks and acceptance, is there so information can be used with confidence. Using it well means working from published, current information and keeping a record of what was used. That record becomes part of the information the client keeps for the life of the asset: the thing you built.

Fix it People using old versions?

People using
old versions?

  1. Ask three people how they found the last drawing they used.
  2. Fix the slowest step: the search, the labels or the signal.
  3. Retire the van-door copies. Politely.

A note for the Coordinators (that's IM): start from the need! Watch how people on site actually look for things, then make the right version the easiest one to grab. If the back alley is quicker, people will use it.

More detail
The user test Before you use it, can you…

Find it?

FindableSearch by its label, in the right building, in seconds.
Ask aroundRing Alex. Alex is on holiday.

Trust it?

TrustedPublished, latest revision, fit for the job.
HopedIt was in the van, so it must be right.

Prove it later?

ProvenA record of what you used, linked to what you built.
RememberedAsk Dave. Dave's retired.
The real town Why do people use the wrong version?

Because the right one is three clicks away and the wrong one is in their hand.

Paper is quicker

Until it's out of date, which is almost immediately.

Search is rubbish

Because the labels are rubbish. See Lesson 7.

No signal on site

So people download it once and never again.

Nobody asked what users need

We build routes around what we make, not around who has to find it.

From the standard
UK National Annex Can I build from it? The codes that tell you

Status codes

CodeStateWhat that means to youBuild from it?
S2SharedShared for information. Read it, refer to it, plan with it.No
S3SharedShared so people can comment on it. If you've been asked to review it, now's the time to speak up.No
A1, A2… AnPublishedAuthorised and accepted, with no comments outstanding. The number is the work stage: on this site A5 is construction and A6 is handover and the as-built record.Yes, for that stage, if it's the latest

Revision codes

CodeWhenWhat that means to you
P01, P02…SharedA shared draft. The number goes up every time it's shared again, so check you've got the highest one.
C01, C02…PublishedThe published version, authorised and accepted. Higher is newer. Build from the latest C, with an A status.

Every status and revision code, and the naming rules, are in one place: Lesson 7, The labels.

Based on the UK National Annex to BS EN ISO 19650-2. Your project's information standard can add to it. ISO 19650 and its UK National Annex are © ISO and BSI. InfoTown explains the ideas in its own words, for learning; 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.