Asset information for operations
What does the FM team need on day one?
Start from the decisions operations make, then ask only for the data those decisions need: which assets, which properties, which tags, in a structure their systems can load.
Understand
What it is, in plain language
- Pedia · StandardsAsset information requirements (AIR) in practiceThe client's statement of which assets it needs information about, which properties for each, in what format and when, written so a delivery team can actually provide it.
- Pedia · WorkflowsAsset tagging and identificationGiving every maintainable asset a unique, readable identifier that appears on the asset, in the model, on drawings and in the maintenance system, so all four point to the same thing.
- Pedia · GlossaryAsset registerA list of the assets an organisation maintains, with their identity, location, type and key data.
- Pedia · WorkflowsSpace data and space managementRooms and areas as data (names, numbers, areas, uses, occupants) and how a well-structured model gives operations the space data they plan, clean, charge and report with.
- Pedia · StandardsISO 55000 (asset management)The international standards for managing physical assets over their whole life, and why they matter to BIM: they explain why owners ask for asset information in the first place.
- Pedia · StandardsPIM and AIM (project and asset information models)The two information models in ISO 19650 — the project information model built up during delivery, and the asset information model used to run the asset.
- Pedia · StandardsInformation requirements (OIR, AIR, PIR, EIR)The four kinds of information requirement in ISO 19650 — organisational, asset, project and exchange — and how each one feeds the next.
Learn
Short lessons with a quick check
- Lesson · 3 min · quizWhat facilities teams actually needFacilities teams don't need the design model. They need to know what they have, where it is, how to maintain it and what to do when it breaks, from the first day.
- Lesson · 3 min · quizWriting asset information requirementsGood AIR are short, specific and testable: a list of maintainable asset types, a few properties each, linked to decisions, with who provides them and when.
- Lesson · 4 min · quizAsset tags and registers that workOne unique tag per asset, the same on the label, in the model and in the maintenance system, built from a rule that matches the owner's register.
Do
Tools that export Excel, PDF and Word
- Tool · Excel · PDF · WordAsset Register BuilderUse it before handover to see whether the asset data will work for the facilities team, or to start an asset register from the record model.
- Tool · Excel · PDF · WordLOD / LOIN MatrixUse it to agree how developed each element must be at each stage.
- Tool · Excel · PDF · WordNumbering Rule BuilderUse it when you agree room, sheet or asset numbering, or need to renumber consistently.
- Tool · Excel · PDF · WordCOBie CheckerUse it before handover to check the asset data spreadsheet.
- Tool · Excel · PDF · WordIDS BuilderUse it to turn information requirements into a file software can check.
The process, at a glance
- 1Decisions
What the operator decides and must comply with
Output: List of decisions and obligations
Gate: Agreed with the FM and maintenance teams - 2Asset types
Which things are maintained as assets
Output: Maintainable asset types
Gate: Not every element is an asset - 3Properties
Per asset type, with format and who provides it
Output: Asset information requirements
Gate: Each property linked to a decision - 4Checks
Rules run at every data drop
Output: Validation rules (IDS, COBie checks)
Gate: Checked from technical design on - 5Test importMandatory
Into a copy of the CAFM or CMMS
Output: Data that loads
Gate: Imported before handover, not after
Start from decisions, end with a test import. Every property must be traceable to a decision.
Common mistakes
What goes wrong most often on real projects.
- Copying a generic template with hundreds of properties, then accepting 'n/a' everywhere.
- Tags in the model that never reach physical labels.
- Not involving the people who run the CAFM or CMMS.
- Asking for everything at handover instead of building data up stage by stage.
Is it in place on your project?
Tick what is done — it counts towards the checkpoint on your learning path.