Organisations need reliable, and appropriately secure, information to support decision making, however, in the construction and asset management industries, software often fails to facilitate this. This lack of interoperability can make it hard for supply chain partners to collaborate and for asset owners to control the data to operate their assets.

The Technologies Code of Practice for Interoperable Information is being introduced to address interoperability challenges experienced by buyers and users of industry software. It will be developed by a working group with individuals from software developers, supply chain users of the software and client organisations. 

The Government and Industry Interoperability Group is asking for expressions of interest in joining the code of practice working group which will be formed in June and run for around nine months. They are also asking for examples of how the current lack of interoperability affects your business operations – is it affecting staff turnover or your ability to win projects?

You can help to shape the code of practice by completing a three-minute online survey. If you would like to get involved, either as members of the code of practice working group, or as part of the wider consultation community, please register your interest at the end of the survey.   

Membership of the working group is open to individuals with relevant experience, expertise and an active interest in helping industry to securely share better information and to deliver better whole life outcomes. Working group members will serve in a (voluntary) personal capacity and will come from a variety of professional roles and with experience of different stages of the asset lifecycle.

Paul Wilkinson, who is leading the work on behalf of the Government and Industry Interoperability Group, said: “Our sector has historically developed in professional silos and this is often reflected in our software. Government is calling for the sector to deliver better whole-life outcomes and to do this we need to work more effectively, to share information between supply chain partners and deliver it to asset owners. Increasingly, clients are seeking to manage their information independent of the technology used to create it, but this is currently challenging to deliver. The code of practice will look at these challenges and provide recommendations to software providers and the wider industry.”

Funded by UK government, the Government and Industry Interoperability Group is tasked with enabling the built environment industry deliver and benefit from interoperable information during the whole asset lifecycle. It is focused on practical implementation to enable “two or more systems to securely exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged”. 

To learn more about the Technologies Code of Practice for Interoperable Information, contact Paul Wilkinson at paul.wilkinson@pwcom.co.uk

Click here to complete the short survey to help shape the code of practice.