Across Australia and the UK, clients are investing billions in capital programs – new precincts, transport corridors, data centres, and hospitals. Nearly all of them now recognise the need for a standardised BIM Execution Plan (BEP). But here’s the critical point most miss: the BEP is not the starting point. 

Under ISO 19650, the BEP is a response document, it shows how and when the project team will meet the client’s (Appointing Party) Information Requirements (IR’s). The real foundation in the collation of the Information Requirements such as the Organisational Information Requirements (OIR), Project Information Requirements (PIR), Asset Information Requirements (AIR) and Exchange Information Requirements (EIR). These IR’s define the what and the why – what information the client needs, and why it matters to the organisation’s objectives, operations, and asset performance.

Without clear Information Requirements, every BEP in the world is little more than a guessing game. 

Reframing the conversation: from templates to intent 

When a client says, “We just need a standardised BEP,” what they often mean is that they want consistency across projects. That’s a fair and valuable goal, but it’s also incomplete. Standardising a BEP without the underlying Information Requirements is like asking every contractor to follow the same recipe without first deciding what meal you’re cooking.

The PIR is the client’s strategic brief for information. It connects business drivers, such as operational efficiency, sustainability, risk governance, or digital twin enablement, to the specific data deliverables required from the supply chain.

The EIR translates the PIR into a contractual language, setting out what information is to be delivered, in what format, and at what stage. The BEP, in turn, responds to those requirements by describing how the delivery team will produce and manage that information.

Why it matters 

For clients managing large portfolios, the PIR does more than structure data, it anchors consistency, accountability, and value. 

1. Risk Reduction: A well-defined PIR prevents misinterpretation during tendering and delivery. Every party knows what success looks like.
2. Efficiency: With clear information outcomes, duplication and rework drop dramatically across design, construction, and operation
3. Lifecycle Value: The IR’s embeds whole-of-life thinking, ensuring the data captured during design and construction genuinely supports asset management and digital twin use cases.
4. Market Confidence: Supply chain partners can bid accurately and demonstrate capability transparently when they know the “why” behind the requirements. 

In contrast, when the IR’s are absent or vague, projects face all-too-familiar outcomes: over-engineered BEPs, misaligned models, inconsistent COBie data, and disjointed asset handovers. The result is higher cost, lower trust, and lost opportunity to leverage information as an asset. 

Getting it right: IIMBE’s approach 

At IIMBE, we’ve seen the impact of both sides. On one project, a client sought to “standardise BEPs” across a $5 billion capital program. Each contractor dutifully filled in the template, yet every model, schedule, and asset register emerged differently. The problem wasn’t the BEP; it was the missing Information Requirements. 

Our team worked with the client to step back and define the Information Requirements framework that connected the organisation’s strategic goals to asset and project information needs. That included: 

• Identifying critical information deliverables aligned with operational systems. 

• Defining data structures using Uniclass and COBie. 

• Establishing verification points across the delivery lifecycle; and 

• Embedding these expectations contractually through the EIR and tender return BEP process. 

Within two procurement cycles, the client saw measurable improvement in tender quality, data interoperability, and confidence in digital handover. 

ISO 19650 as a framework for value, not paperwork 

The ISO 19650 series is often misread as a compliance exercise. In reality, it’s a management framework designed to connect information to outcomes. It’s about enabling informed decisions, not just enforcing file naming conventions. 

When implemented correctly, the IR’s doesn’t add complexity, they simplify everything else. It sets out the purpose, scope, and success criteria for information before design even begins. It allows BEPs to be genuinely responsive and aligned with client value, not just contractual box-ticking. 

And when combined with a robust Common Data Environment (CDE) and progressive information review, it becomes the cornerstone of data governance across the asset lifecycle, from first sketch to facility operations. 

The takeaway for executives 

If you’re a client or program director overseeing multi-billion-dollar investments, the message is simple: don’t start with the BEP, start with the IR’s. 

The BEP tells you how your supply chain will deliver. The IR’s tells them what and why. 

Only when both are in balance can your project achieve consistency, clarity, and long-term value. 

At IIMBE, we help clients articulate these requirements clearly, align them with ISO 19650 and sector/region specific principles, and embed them in procurement processes that drive measurable results. Because in digital delivery, foresight always costs less than hindsight. 

Closing thought 

A standardised BEP is important. But a standardised BEP built on an informed Information Requirement’s is transformative. 

That’s how you move from digital compliance to digital confidence.