Navigating Standards Misconceptions Unpacking ISO 19650 and the route to BIM standards adoption in the Middle East

Navigating Standards Misconceptions Unpacking ISO 19650 and the route to BIM standards adoption in the Middle East

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The technology used to design and construct projects has come far in recent years, with the architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) industry now having digital tools that provide the ability to leverage an increasingly intricate level of detail.

Building information modelling (BIM) in particular has advanced, developing into a multi-disciplinary and holistic approach that is the foundation to the organisation of the entire digital footprint of an asset across its lifecycle, from the planning and design to construction and operations.

With more than $850bn-worth of projects in the design or bidding phase in Saudi Arabia and the UAE, the scale and complexity of construction in the region is at an all-time high. This surge in development has already highlighted the urgency for greater efficiency across the industry. BIM, if implemented correctly, can be one of the greatest project assets in this regard – but only if adopted to similar standards.

Industry players have repeatedly called for governments and project owners to mandate the use of BIM standards to ensure their adoption by all projects stakeholders, as well as to drive the development of more sophisticated tools from solution providers.

Still, even the most comprehensive BIM mandates and best tools will only see success in pockets if project teams do not have a shared language for managing the complexity of project data. Herein is the strong need for project teams to adopt strict adherence to common standards for organising and digitising shared building information.

This is precisely where the ISO 19650 standard plays a crucial role in delivering projects on time, within budget and with sustainable outcomes. Yet the industry’s adoption can only go so far if misconceptions about the benefits and implementation of these standards persist within the AECO sector. Awareness is therefore crucial to bringing the wider industry on-board.

The role of BIM mandates and standards in driving digital transformation

One of the key challenges is the lack of understanding at the senior project management level. Many senior leaders often associate BIM solely with 3D model coordination, overlooking its broader purpose as a structured process and a collaborative way of working. This misunderstanding impacts buy-in, as partners may view BIM as an optional technical tool rather than a strategic framework integral to project success.”

Derek Bourke, Digital Construction & BIM Manager Khansaheb

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Standards in the construction industry define common specifications, methods and procedures, enabling collaboration and improving efficiency, transparency and risk management. They range from professional codes to international standards, such as those by ISO, which address project challenges and enhance workflows.

Standardisation can significantly reduce costs, particularly in large-scale projects, by providing a shared framework for diverse stakeholders, including architects, engineers, contractors, owners and management teams.

ISO 19650, for instance, establishes a common language to streamline communication, especially in complex, multi-disciplinary or international projects, where inconsistent terminology can create misunderstandings.

However, standards require widespread adoption to be effective, and this is why major clients – often government bodies – are rolling out mandates on the technology and standards that must be used on their projects. In fact, it was the UK Government’s Construction Strategy that led to the creation of PAS 1192, and then ISO 19650.

In the GCC, while not all countries have mandates at the national level, more authorities have started mandating BIM. Dubai Municipality, for instance, mandated the use of BIM as early as 2013 for larger structures, and Abu Dhabi mandated BIM in 2019 for all major construction projects.

In Saudi Arabia, the National Building Information Modelling (NBIM) initiative was launched in 2021 to encourage BIM adoption across public projects. The Public Works Authority of Qatar then mandated the use of BIM on all public infrastructure and building projects in 2023 based on ISO 19650.

The road to ISO 19650

To guide the application of BIM on industrial projects, the the Switzerland- based International Organisation for Standardisation (ISO) developed the ISO 19650 Standard for International Asset, building on industry best practices. Published in 2019, ISO 19650 was based on the British standard BS 1192 and PAS 1192-2, which had at the time already been shown to save up to 22% in construction costs.

BS 1192, introduced in 1990, outlined employer’s information requirements (EIR) and introduced provisions for 2D and 3D modelling, as well as BIM execution plans (BEPs). PAS 1192-2, created in 2013, focused on information management during construction, forming a cornerstone of ISO 19650 for collaborative construction practices.

ISO 19650 makes project owners central to the selection and adoption of shared practices and ensures that projects are started with the end in mind. By implementing project mandates through an EIR, project owners can define the conventions and common rules, setting out the shape of the standards that will guide project planning, construction and delivery.

DID YOU KNOW?

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To use BIM effectively, and to coordinate with other stakeholders, adherence to the same standards has many benefits. These include:

Benefit 1: Operational impact

Operational costs (OpEx) account for about 80% of an asset’s total lifecycle cost, making effective information management critical. Exchange Information Requirements (EIRs) and BIM Execution Plans (BEPs), aligned with standards like ISO 19650, play a key role in increasing the operational efficiency of the asset.

The EIR, a pre-tender document, outlines the information to be delivered and the standards to follow during a project. The BEP describes how the delivery team will implement BIM to meet these requirements. While the BEP is created early in the project lifecycle, it should be treated as a dynamic, evolving document that adapts as the project moves forward, rather than as a static one-time deliverable.

Together, they ensure the operations team has the necessary data for efficient project handover, maintenance and eventual decommissioning, reducing delays and unforeseen costs.

Non-ISO-compliant projects often require expensive and time-consuming reality capture and validation of the asset information post handover. By contrast, compliance with standards enables optimal “as-built” results through processes like “scan to BIM” or “scan to twin”.

Benefit 2: Collaboration and transparency

A Common Data Environment (CDE) serves as a shared, centralised platform for all project data, acting as a “single source of truth” accessible to stakeholders such as owners, contractors, architects, engineers and operations teams. Traditionally, organisations worked from their own plans and standards, leading to reduced interoperability and outdated information sharing. A CDE eliminates these issues by enabling real-time collaboration and ensuring data consistency.

Mandating a CDE, supported by practices like ISO 19650 naming conventions, enhances

file compatibility, reduces conflicts and fosters informed decision-making. It also prevents misunderstandings, promoting collaboration by ensuring all parties have equal access to up-to-date data.

Benefit 3: Quality assurance and risk mitigation

Adhering to international standards ensures a consistent level of quality, building client trust and enhancing brand reputation. Standardised workflows help clients and contractors manage risks in large or complex projects by enabling early identification of potential issues. Clear information exchange fosters a proactive approach, minimising delays and cost overruns.

A BEP clearly defines processes, responsibilities and expectations from the outset. The BEP serves as a roadmap that ensures alignment across all project stakeholders, minimising the risks of miscommunication, rework and delays. This structured approach leads to smoother workflows and more efficient project delivery.”

Andy Boutle, Head of Digital Construction ALEC

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Dispelling common misconceptions So why is the adoption of standards not universal? There are a number of reasons.

Initial cost and resourcing, cultural resistance, skill gaps and a lack of standardisation across regions and sectors all serve to throw up obstacles in the path of adoption. The perceived issue of initial cost can prove deterring for smaller firms working on projects, while cultural challenges are a common phenomenon when working with professionals accustomed to a certain way of working and reluctant to change or abandon established workflows.

Leadership buy-in, good communication, education, training and increasing understanding are all key to overcoming the barriers to BIM standardisation by helping all project partners understand and embrace the advantages that adherence to standards brings.

Below, we explore four common misconceptions that can lead to the AECO industry’s hesistance to adopt BIM standards such as ISO 19650 on projects.

Misconception 1 BIM standards don’t have a place on my small projects; they only make sense for larger projects

The truth: In projects of any size, 80 per cent of the cost is incurred during an asset’s operational lifetime. On

larger projects, the time and money saved by adhering to BIM standards and a BIM execution plan (BEP) can stretch to tens of millions of dollars, but even on smaller projects, there are significant efficiencies to be realised across the project lifecycle, from design and construction through to operations.

Standards establish industry-driven best practice and with proper implementation, these frameworks streamline workflows by standardising processes and reducing rework, conflicts and delays. Standards ensure that the needs of the project’s operator have been assessed and recorded from the start of the project, that the data has been collected wholly and accurately, and that it is formatted in a way accessible to the operator. This is essential for all projects regardless of their value or level of complexity or sector. Rather than being an overhead, the application of BIM in accordance with standards ensures that all teams collaborate efficiently with clear expectations, minimising the relatively high costs associated with miscommunication or design errors.

A smooth BIM standards-enabled handover from the design and build teams to facilities management also means a project can come online fast and start generating revenue.

Without standards in place stipulating the format of Exchange Information Requirements (EIR) and BEP, asset operator companies often

There is the belief that smaller projects do not benefit from these standards. In reality, the principles of BIM and ISO 19650 are scalable and can enhance efficiency even in small projects by ensuring consistency and better coordination across teams. Moreover, smaller entities who adopt these practices position themselves competitively to take on larger, more complex projects in the future.”

Mina Nessim, Head of Engineering & BIM Binladin Contracting Group

BIM frameworks, as outlined in the ISO 19650 series, help address challenges like limited resources and tighter timelines. For smaller projects in volatile or rapidly changing environments, the structured data and streamlined coordination BIM provides can make the difference between success and failure.”

Kendall Wilson , Senior Manager – Digital Twin Modon Real Estate

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have to re-survey projects if they do not have access to the right plans and specifications. This can be due to the plans not being generated or being inadequately produced during the build phase, or due to the asset operator team being unaware of where to find the data.

Beyond the lifecycle of individual projects, adherence to the latest BIM standards on projects of any size also helps firms organise their experience for their workforce better and design and construct future projects.

Misconception 2 I already have my own standards, therefore I do not need to adopt ISO 19650

The truth: While internal, local or existing standards provide benefits when working with any partner that

shares them, inefficiencies can occur when onboarding new partners. If the new partners have to be trained on uncommon, project- or locale-specific standards, precious time can be lost. Although it also takes time to adopt international standards, these sunk costs can be more readily amortised through use on future projects with other partners due to their greater cross-compatibility across the AECO industry.

For companies that have already adopted the PAS1192-2 standard, or BIM Level 2, this misconception can also take the form of not seeing the difference with or the benefits of going further and adopting the ISO19650 standard. However, the use of an increasingly outdated standard shares the same issues with using internal or local-only standards.

By contrast, when companies adopt the latest international standards, this enables them to work seamlessly with any other company anywhere in the world that operates within the same framework.

The common language and frameworks provided by project standards enhances cooperation, communication and coordination between team members within organisations and between partner organisations on a project. The resulting reduction of errors early in the project’s lifecycle can saves time and money over the design and construction process, and even into the operations and decommissioning phases. Adherence to standards also leads to higher quality throughout.

The adoption of standards on a project by a team is often scalable without training to other projects that the team works on in the future. Adopting BIM and ISO 19650 also fosters continuous improvement, future-proofing businesses for evolving industry demands and ensuring alignment with global standards.

By integrating smaller contractors into our workflows, offering structured training and setting clear expectations through detailed BEPs, we help raise the level of competence within the supply chain, ensuring better alignment with BIM standards over time.”

Mina Nessim, Head of Engineering & BIM Binladin Contracting Group

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Misconception 3 My supply chain is immature and not cabable of changing to ISO19650, therefore I cannot change

The truth: While BIM standards are widely adopted, adoption is typically inconsistent across the

contracting supply chain, leading to the perception that the ecosystem is not ready for a wider rollout. Cultural resistance across the wider ecosystem can also contribute to the perception that the process of implementing BIM standards more widely throughout the supply chain may be too complex or logistically problematic to be worth carrying out.

Project owners may also be concerned that by insisting on the implementation of a given BIM standard that they could reduce their options of potential partners within the contracting supply chain.

Yet this misses what is perhaps the preeminent purpose of standards, which is to ensure that every participant in the contracting supply chain has the access they need to accurate and up-to-date project information. Conformity to BIM standardisation ensures that the entire supply chain is providing the right services and materials and are appraised of any changes to quantities or specifications as soon as they are made. The outcome of this is less wasted time and materials, and higher profit margins.

At the same time, any company process change – especially one involving the adoption of new technology – requires education and training. Enablement should be a collaborative effort between the project stakeholders and led by the owner to ensure the supply chain is skilled to deliver the right information requirement.

Inclusion in training programmes can also help subcontractors feel more comfortable and invested in what may feel at first like a challenging new way of working. While the costs of educating and training supply chain partners might be borne by other parties in a project, the savings, efficiencies and growing maturity of the ecosystem will ultimately be felt across the board.

Internal standards might seem sufficient for isolated use, but they lack the interoperability needed in today’s complex, interconnected environments. Frameworks like the ISO 19650 series offer the adaptability and scalability required to navigate cross- organisational collaboration. These standards also mitigate ambiguity by providing clear guidelines, which is particularly important in uncertain or dynamic ecosystems.”

Kendall Wilson , Senior Manager – Digital Twin Modon Real Estate

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Misconception 4 There is no point in training my staff on new standards. They are going to leave me if I improve their capabilities

The truth: It takes time and money to train a workforce in any new skill, process or standard, including the

opportunity cost of having employees in a classroom when they could be on-site.

The time and cost that must be invested into BIM training can be perceived by some companies as a burden with relatively unclear or uncertain returns. However, this perspective leans into the potential downsides of training, such as the risk of staff leaving after a single project, while neglecting the upsides.

On the upside, training for proficiency in BIM standards brings immediate and tangible benefits to a project that often outweigh the cost of training an employee, even if they do not turn out to be long-term employees.

Further, the more employees are trained in both BIM and the standards associated with it, the greater the employee buy-in to the standards. Training demonstrates the advantages of adopting and adhering to standards, and has the added benefit of making all members of the workforce feel engaged with their employers, the project and the industry as a whole.

Training can also prove to be attractive to both clients and the workforce within the industry. A better trained, loyal workforce enhances the company’s reputation in the eyes of existing and potential clients and employees, and by ensuring its workforce is up to date on the latest standards, a company undeniably positions itself at the forefront of the market.

In a projects market that is evolving fast, many employees are anxious about job security, and therefore the training and knowledge development that an organisation offers its employees will directly affect its attractiveness to talent during hiring. Conversely, a company that does not train its workforce risks losing, or worse yet, recruiting talented, goal-oriented employees as they search for ways to further their careers elsewhere.

While an ecosystem may initially lack maturity, adopting incremental approaches guided by frameworks like the ISO 30172 Digital Twin Use- Cases, ISO 30186 Digital Twin Maturity and ISO 37166 Urban Data Integration Framework can bridge gaps over time. In volatile or ambiguous supply chains, these standards provide clarity and reduce complexity by defining roles, data flows and interoperability requirements, fostering collaboration and gradual alignment.”

Kendall Wilson, Senior Manager – Digital Twin Modon Real Estate

The more employees are trained in both BIM and the

standards associated with it, the greater the employee buy-in to the standards.

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Acting together: ISO 19650 adoption The ISO 19650 framework has become an essential approach to managing complex data and ensuring streamlined project delivery.

As the global ISO 19650 standard continues to spread, organisations that have already adopted it will find themselves at a competitive advantage in both local and cross-border markets.

By fostering internal expertise and equipping staff with standardised skills, organisations benefit from a workforce ready to meet future demands, contributing to both talent retention and project excellence.

In the face of an evolving AECO industry, adopting BIM and ISO 19650 is not simply a trend but a long-term strategy for resilience and innovation. Organisations that invest in these standards position themselves as collaborative, forward-thinking partners, well-prepared to meet the complex demands of modern construction.

Companies that have integrated BIM standards have reported significant returns on investment through reduced errors, minimised project delays and improved alignment with client expectations. Non-compliant project management, by contrast, can result in both costly re-surveys and challenges in terms of data management, interoperability and the efficient maintenance of the building lifecycle.

To accelerate the benefits of standardisation across projects, owners and contractors are encouraged to take proactive steps in familiarising themselves with the frameworks that will drive industry success.

Project owners, consultants and contractors can view our Standards Resource Hub for materials on how to meet and align with ISO 19650 standards including:

● Asset Information Requirement (AIR) template ● Employer’s Information Requirement template (EIR) ● BIM Execution Plan (BEP) template ● BIM Implementation Guide and more

By taking advantage of these resources, owners and contractors alike can ensure that their projects are not only compliant but also positioned for maximum efficiency, collaboration and quality.

Implementing a change in standards across a business is a challenging and time- intensive process. To ensure success, a company must first pilot a change on a live project from the outset. By showcasing measurable improvements in efficiency, collaboration or quality, the change can gain the buy-in and confidence needed for wider adoption across the business.”

Derek Bourke, Digital Construction & BIM Manager Khansaheb

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