BS 8587:2012

This British Standard provides owners, operators, tenants, facility managers and property managers with guidance and recommendations in regard to the management of information and data concerning the facilities they own and/or operate. The standard is applicable to organizations managing an existing facility as well as those planning the delivery of a new facility. Whilst primarily intended for organizations in the private sector, the standard might have benefits for public sector bodies.

This standard does not cover the information and data required to deliver the operational asset, but includes recommended actions to assist in safe, correct, efficient and effective operation of the asset.

COMMENTARY ON CLAUSE1

Matters in regard to operability require provision to be made within the asset delivery process; however, no account is taken in the standard for these requirements. The use of building information models (BIM) in the delivery process for a new facility is, however, anticipated by the recommendations embodied in the standard. The emphasis is on the management of information for existing facilities irrespective of whether or not the organization is contemplating the retrospective application of BIM. Information requirements in regard to the design and construction of a facility are therefore not covered. Nonetheless, this standard has been drafted to take into account the technology and application of BIM. BS8536 recommends actions regarding the incorporation of information and data for operation of the facility in prior lifecycle phases, particularly design.

For the purpose of this British Standard, the terms “information” and “data” are used to differentiate between structured data from which meaning can be derived by the person receiving it and raw or unstructured data such as statistics, facts and transactions. Similarly, “documents” and “records” are used to differentiate between structured information that is exchanged between people and systems and information that is created, received and maintained.