Even where we have data about our buildings, their contents and how they are operating, that data is managed in different applications that are designed to allow users flexibility in naming, properties and categorisation. Although there are now protocols that improve the way applications exchange (translate) some information (for example geometry), if the data on systems, asset types, assets, products, assemblies, tasks and competency are all described differently in each application, it isn’t machine-readable – or reliably transferred.
This means that the non-geometric information has to be added and checked manually, adding risk and complexity to the process.