Why Owners Must Lead with Their Own Portfolio-wide Data Standard
Executive Summary
Every year, facility owners fund millions of dollars in Building Information Model (BIM) deliverables—yet 96% of the data created during design and construction never reaches operations.
The problem isn’t technology, it’s inconsistency. From the start, AEC teams typically use their own BIM standards that do not match the owner’s data standard, resulting in a patchwork of models that look impressive but cannot be merged, compared, or reused.
Most owners assume that a “BIM deliverable” automatically contains usable information. It rarely does, because the level of usable data depends entirely on how it’s defined contractually. Some BIMs are visually detailed but informationally empty, while others are structured for harvesting into lifecycle use.
The difference lies in who defines the data structure and who enforces it.
When each AEC consultant applies their own standards, the result is fragmented and incompatible. When the owner defines an authoritative schema, all project teams contribute to the same digital ecosystem. This isn’t about controlling modeling methods—it’s about controlling data outcomes contractually.
The solution is an authoritative, owner-executed data structure—defined, provided, and validated by the owner. The mechanism of this structure is a BIM Execution Plan (BEP) that includes a Data Execution Plan (DEP) owned by the facility organization that includes a Level of Data Information (LODi) framework that together defines how data is structured, validated, and delivered.
This unified data framework serves as the owner’s playbook for consistent information, ensuring all facility teams for new and existing buildings to follow the same data structure and data rules. It guides AEC teams on new projects to create data-rich BIMs that can be harvested directly into the owner’s digital twin, ensuring a smooth transition from construction to operations. At the same time, it enables existing buildings to adopt the same data structure, improving the accuracy, consistency, and efficiency of ongoing operations.
However, this data structure cannot be created in isolation. When the BEP and its LODi framework are established, they must blend with the owner’s existing preferred data structures—honoring legacy systems and institutional data conventions that are already working. Achieving a truly unified standard requires agreement from both sides: adapting elements of the new BEP framework to fit established datasets and modernizing legacy standards to align with the BEP. The goal is not to replace what exists, but to integrate and elevate it into one consistent, portfolio-wide data framework.
Once established, this shared standard allows every department—from capital planners to custodians—to participate in improving and expanding the data within their operation ecosystems. Facility staff can harvest, update, and fill in missing information across legacy buildings, ensuring that both new and existing assets evolve together under a unified, consistent data structure.
This strategy delivers two wins with one standard: validated data-rich BIMs for new projects and structured, actionable data for existing facilities.
Even as many owners pause new construction to consolidate and optimize existing assets, this is the ideal time to define and enforce a unified data standard. When new projects begin, the framework will already be in place to ensure consistency across the entire portfolio. With budgets tightening and construction slowing, owners cannot afford data waste. A unified data framework ensures that even legacy facilities become strategic assets, fueling better decisions, capital planning, and long-term sustainability.
To succeed, this strategy requires executive leadership. Only the C-Suite can mandate a unified data structure across planning, design, construction, and operations.
When leadership enforces this alignment—while respecting and blending existing data conventions—a truly data-driven portfolio can emerge. The C-Suite must set the expectation that all departments operate within one consistent data framework, connecting every space, asset, and system into a living, evolving digital ecosystem.
Owners who lead this now will guide their consultants, contractors, and internal teams toward a more intelligent, interoperable future. One where every building and dataset contributes to an authoritative, unified source of truth.
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To read the rest of this post regarding…
The Owner’s Mandate: Define, Provide, Validate for New and Existing
Why It Must Come from the C-Suite
Conclusion: Leadership Defines the Future
…click here:
https://www.cdvsystems.com/not-all-bims-are-created-equal
