Questions

ISO 19650 and golden thread questions

Plain answers to the questions clients and project teams ask most. Each answer starts with the short version.

What is changing in the ISO 19650 revision?

The revision moves the standard from "BIM" to "information management" and brings design, construction and operation into one whole-life process. Draft revisions went out for public consultation in March 2026, and in August the committee called for a further round of drafting, so the final standard is still some way off. The current editions remain in force until then.

What replaces the EIR in the revised ISO 19650?

In the drafts, the exchange information requirements (EIR) become information production requirements, the BIM execution plan becomes an information production plan, and the MIDP and TIDPs merge into a single information production schedule. The purpose is the same: telling your appointed teams what information you need, when and in what form. Our documents are labelled with both the current and draft names so they work either side of publication.

What happens to the OIR, AIR and PIR?

The ideas stay, but in the drafts they stop being fixed document types. Instead, your organisational, asset and project needs are collated and filtered for each appointment. In practice that means asking which of your needs a particular appointment has to meet, rather than issuing three separate documents.

Do I need to update my BIM execution plan and templates now?

Not yet, but plan for it. Your current documents stay valid until the revised standard is published. The sensible step now is to make sure they're consistent and right-sized, so the later update is a rename rather than a rewrite. A project health check (£1,750) does exactly that.

What is the golden thread?

The golden thread is the information about a higher-risk building that lets people understand it and keep it safe, held digitally and kept up to date for its whole life. It's a legal duty under the Building Safety Act for higher-risk buildings: at least 18 metres or 7 storeys, with at least two homes. Hospitals and care homes of that height also count during design and construction.

How do I know if my golden thread information is good enough?

Our golden thread readiness assessment (£2,500) tests your building information against the duties and gives you an action plan to close the gaps. It's an assessment, not a legal compliance opinion. A free readiness check is coming to this site soon.

What is ISO 19650-5, and does my project need it?

ISO 19650-5 covers security-minded information management: deciding whether information about a building could be misused to cause harm, and controlling who can see it. Every project should at least carry out a short security triage. Sensitive buildings, such as government, health, utilities, data centres, heritage, or anything with detailed security or access systems, are likely to need a security management plan.

How much does ISO 19650 support cost?

Our prices are fixed and published: a document review £1,200, a project health check £1,750, a client requirements pack £2,500, a security triage and plan £2,000, a golden thread assessment £2,500, and an organisational health check £6,500. Ongoing support starts at £300 a month.

Do small projects need ISO 19650?

Not the full process, but they do need clear information requirements. Small projects get into difficulty when they copy a large client's documents. Right-sized requirements, a simple naming standard and a clear handover list give most of the benefit for a fraction of the effort. Our free generator has a "simple project" setting for exactly this.

Who signs off Guide Digital's work?

Every deliverable is reviewed and signed off by a named, certified ISO 19650 practitioner under our Review Standard. You can check the credential on the BRE public register of certified individuals.

Do you use AI?

Yes, to speed up research and first drafts, which keeps prices down. AI never signs anything off: every deliverable is checked and signed off by a certified person, and information you mark as sensitive never goes into AI tools.

Question not answered here? Email tom@guidedigital.co.uk.

Written by Tom van den Driessche, BRE-certified ISO 19650 practitioner (BREP10352).