ISO 29481 and its role in the Dutch civil engineering sector

10 MIN. READ

Jeroen van Geijlswijk | 10 februari 2021 | Nieuwegein

While most parties in the Dutch civil engineering sector are familiar with ISO 29481, it will be largely unknown across the borders. ISO 29481 is often a requirement in local engineering and construction contracts such as UAV (Uniform Administrative Conditions) and UAV-GC (Uniform Administrative Conditions for Integrated Contracts). But why? Before I explain what ISO 29481 is, let’s determine what it is not.

ISO 29481 is not a system;
ISO 29481 is not software;
ISO 29481 is not owned by a company, but was developed by the Dutch civil engineering (CE) industry;
You cannot buy ISO 29481.

So what is it? How should I use it in my project as a client or contractor?

This post answers these and many other frequently asked questions about ISO 29481. It also includes links to more detailed articles. All this will help you uncover the meaning of the key terms without delving into the extensive documentation of the open standard ISO 29481. Oops, now I spilled the beans. ISO 29481 is an open standard. But still, that may not mean much to you.

An open standard

An open standard is not visible; you only notice it when it’s not there. While writing this article at my home office in Rotterdam, I benefit from the time and energy invested in open standards such as TCP/IP, SMTP, HTTP, PDF, XML and many others. Just like you, I rely on software that is compatible with these standards. Right now, the combination of these standards and technologies is literally saving lives, as many of us are ‘flattening the curve’ by working from home. For project communication there is an open standard as well: ISO 29481.

What is ISO 29481?

The civil engineering industry is characterised by varying partnerships across different organisations. Tendering and outsourcing procedures are an intrinsic part of the sector. New partnerships emerge all the time: from planning to commissioning and management. Some organisations remain involved in the project for a long time. Others come and go. Effective communication between these stakeholders is crucial for the final outcome. Quick approval of changes by the responsible person or timely distribution of the most recent, authorised version of a drawing has a major impact on a project’s quality, planning and costs. Clarity on responsibilities and tasks (transparency and verifiable action) is imperative. As such, improved cooperation and more sustainable outsourcing add value to the entire chain.

Translated, the full meaning of the Dutch acronym VISI is Creating Conditions for Implementation of ICT Standardisation. Simply put, ISO 29481 enables unambiguous agreements on (digital) communication for the various project roles. These agreements are designed to allow for smooth contact between the parties. ISO 29481 is the open standard for defining formal communication and processes between parties (including contracting parties) working together in a project. In this context, ISO 29481 assumes the perspective of the project manager. It focuses in particular on information transmission on the intersections and provides agreements as templates that can be adapted to the specific project. ISO 29481-compliant agreements are a prerequisite for digital information transmission.

The history of ISO 29481

Civil engineering has performed many technological feats in the Netherlands. The Haarlemmermeerpolder. The Delta Works. The Afsluitdijk. Maasvlakte 2. The Netherlands continues to lead with its civil engineering expertise. Where is the room for improvement? 10-15% of a project’s failure costs are caused by communication errors.

In 1998, a group of civil engineering organisations launched the idea of making agreements on communication and transfer of information in projects. Such agreements would enable fast and flexible collaboration and communication across organisations. Since then, public authorities, engineering firms, contractors, trade organisations, knowledge institutes and IT organisations have worked hard on the development of what the industry has dubbed open standard ISO 29481.

The concept of ISO 29481 was inspired by professor Jan Dietz’s DEMO methodology. Design & Engineering Methodology for Organisations (DEMO) is an approach for analysing and describing business information and processes. DEMO revolves around the concept of ‘communicative action’. Communication is deemed essential for the proper functioning of an organisation. The changing partnerships in civil engineering make project communication between tendering and contracting parties an essential part of the primary process. This is why ISO 29481 was created as an open standard for communication and transmission of information within projects.

The journey from idea to open standard was not a smooth one. Practical valorisation of the idea involved further modelling by Dutch independent research organisation TNO. At first, the CE sector was sceptical about a standard like ISO 29481. Parties preferred the old ways. Despite this resistance, a number of ISO 29481 champions were able to build support and mark a turning point in the sector. Five years after the initial ideas, the market was ready for genuine implementation.

The Rotterdam project as first proof

The Rotterdam project Herinrichting Noord- en Bergsingel (Redevelopment Noordsingel & Bergsingel) delivered the first proof that the ISO 29481 concept works in practice. The project took place in 2003 and involved the use of ISO 29481-standard software that had been certified by CROW (the Dutch technology platform for transport, infrastructure and public space). It was followed by a rapid succession of projects in the city of Rotterdam. Other government organisations, such as the province of Gelderland, Rijkswaterstaat and the municipality of Utrecht, also pioneered with their first projects in those early days. After the first individual projects had proven the practical value of ISO 29481, the pioneers entered the next phase around 2009. The organisations widely adopted a ISO 29481-based approach. Open standard ISO 29481 was now a requirement in the specifications of all implementation projects.

Professional management fosters the support for an open standard. This also applies to ISO 29481, which was managed by CROW for years. On 15 June 2012, the College Standaardisatie (the Dutch organisation that manages all standards for the government) recognised ISO 29481 as open standard and decided to add ISO 29481 to the ‘comply or explain’ list. This means that public and semi-public organisations active in areas that fall within the scope of the standard, are required to impose the ISO 29481 standard when purchasing, installing or redeveloping ICT systems or services (comply). Organisations which deviate from this requirement must provide compelling arguments and duly justify their reasons in their annual reports (explain).

Some years ago, management of a coherent set of open standards – including ISO 29481 – was formally placed with the BIM Loket foundation, with close involvement of CROW for implementation purposes. This management has a consultative structure, giving all stakeholders a voice. As a standard is never fully finished, this ensures it can evolve with the times.

More than a decade after the initial implementation projects, more than a hundred organisations have successfully applied ISO 29481 in thousands of projects. Organisations use certified ISO 29481 software with a broader range of applications; from the preparatory stage to management and maintenance. This has put an end to a lot of confusion, discussions and unnecessary costs of failure. ISO 29481 has found its way to civil engineering projects.

Key terms to remember

A list of selected key terms for this subject.

Project-specific message

Contrary to what the name might suggest, this is not a message but a file containing project information. The file contains the project name and number, as well as the project workers (ID, name, email address) and the participating organisations (ID, name, SOAP server). The file also describes the role of every collaborator in the project. This is possible because the file also contains a reference to the ISO 29481 framework, in which the roles are defined.

ISO 29481 framework

Communication agreements for a project have been embedded in a structure called the ISO 29481 framework. The agreements, concepts and terminology in the framework are a translation of the contract to the building blocks of the ISO 29481 standard. Frameworks are available for the most common contracts in the Netherlands. Read our detailed articles for more information about these frameworks:

UAV
UAV-GC
Construction team
DNR

People who are not directly involved in the practical aspects of projects, can also benefit from understanding the ISO 29481 framework. The framework describes the type of roles, transactions, messages and annexes that can occur in a project. It also defines what types of roles can communicate with other types, how this is done and what messages can be exchanged.

Role

Responsibilities and duties are not assigned to an organisation, individual or function in ISO 29481, but to a role. This is because projects invariably contain the same roles, but organisations do not always have the same responsibilities and duties. The partnership type or contract form does not affect the existence of roles, but it does have an impact on the assignment of roles to people. This is also referred to as role allocation. People can, for example, have an advisory role, an assessing role and/or an approving role.

Transaction & transaction flow chart

When two roles agree that work needs to be done or that something needs to happen, there is a binding agreement or a type of transaction (of information). Every type of transaction has an initiator (the role that initiates the transaction) and an executor (the role executing the transaction). Any type of transaction can also be launched several times within a single project.

For each type of transaction, the types of all possible messages sent between initiator and executor are defined, including their logical sequence. This is called a transaction flow chart.

Message

A message type is a pre-defined form used to exchange information in a transaction. Information which does not fit in the form, can be attached as an annex.

SOAP server

The messages are not sent from one email address to another, but from SOAP server to SOAP server. Certified software ensures transmission and receipt. Project-specific messages must define the address of the SOAP server for each organisation.

The benefits of ISO 29481

Now that you know more about the long history and components of ISO 29481, it is time to highlight the practical benefits. The scientific world has not yet assessed the advantages of ISO 29481. So I rely on the organisations that embraced the open standard. Implementation of ISO 29481 generally results in these benefits:

faster setup of collaboration and establishment of the required communication structure
better insight into responsibilities and their interrelations
reduced chance of miscommunication, construction errors and duplication of work
improved coordination of activities between project partners.

You can read more about the benefits of ISO 29481 in case studies of the province of Drenthe and the municipality of Amsterdam.

‘The right information in the right format at the right time for the right project partner‘

Conclusion

This introduction to ISO 29481 makes clear that an entire book can be devoted to the standard. A new chapter is added to the story of ISO 29481 every year. One recent extension of ISO 29481 entails its implementation for the construction of a wind farm. Please View our software an training pages to discover more about ISO 28481. If you preferer a live demo, please request one here.