Employer's information manager

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a very broad term that describes the process of creating and managing digital information about a built asset such as a building, bridge, tunnel and so on.

One of the key roles that should be allocated in the early stages of projects adopting BIM is that of the employer's information manager. They will take responsibility for the progressive definition of the employer's information requirements.

The employer's information requirements (EIR) define the information that will be required by the employer from both their own internal team and from suppliers for the development of the project and for the operation of the completed built asset.

The employer's information manager will have responsibility for including relevant aspects of employer's information requirements in procurement documentation for suppliers and will go on to oversee the exchange of that information from suppliers and the internal team during the course of the project.

In addition, they will establish information standards methods and procedures and will set up and configure the employer's information environment for the collection, verification, storage, and exploitation of information delivered by suppliers.

Suppliers will also be required to appoint an information manager. The supplier's information manager is a procedural gate-keeper, policing the common data environment (used to collect, manage and disseminate documentation, the graphical model and non-graphical data for the project team), to ensure that it follows the agreed protocol and that the data is secure. See information manager for more information.