What are MPDT, MIDP, TIDP, DPoW, LOD, LOI, Uniclass? BIMIreland.ie asked BIM consultant Pat Slattery, partner at ArcDox, to help explain some of these acronyms and how we define the Information deliverables.
The ‘I’ in BIM is about information, and everyone involved in the delivery of building information would like to have complete clarity on what information they are responsible for, what stage of the project they are required to deliver their information at, and in what format they are expected to deliver their information in. In the absence of clearly defined information deliverables and responsibilities on projects, we see wasted effort, duplication of information, often conflicting information, or gaps in the information. This invariably leads to delays, variations, cost overruns, disputes, and unreliable or incomplete asset information.
Creating “lists” of exactly what information is required for a building project, is important to both the client/employer, in stating exactly what they need, and for the suppliers (designers, specialists, contractors, sub-contractors, product supplier etc), to know what is expected from them, as well as what they can expect from each other, particularly where one party depends on information from another party, to do their job. “Lists” of information deliverables also provide the client/employer, or their representatives, with the means to check if they have received the information they need, and provides the suppliers with the means to check if they have received the information they expected from a previous party in the delivery chain.
Even the simplest of buildings is a complex entity and creating a list of all the information required for any building is a complex task. This is further complicated by the complex structure of companies and people who are involved in contributing to the design, construction, and operations of buildings. At the beginning of most projects, the client/employer is unlikely know everything about the building to produce a full list of information deliverables when they appoint the project team. This means that the “lists” must be developed over time, and with input from the right experts at the right time, i.e. it is a collaborative team effort.
The task of creating “lists” may at first appear to be a challenge but with well-structured templates and free online tools, such as those by the Scottish Futures Trust and the NBS, combined with a managed collaborative team effort, aligned to project stages, the task is readily achievable, resulting in information management benefits that far outweighing the effort required, and leading to more reliable and complete asset information.
The process outlined in PAS 1192-2:2013 (specification for information management for the capital/delivery phase of construction projects using building information modelling) for creating the “list” of information deliverables, is broken down into three stages, and documented in three documents, which each has a specific purpose, but they do work together.
1. Model Production Delivery Table (MPDT)
This is a high-level list of model deliverables and key building elements is created when signing a contract between the employer and supplier. The Model Production Delivery Table (MPDT) forms Appendix 1 of the CIC BIM Protocol (the contractual addendum to appointments and contracts). It assigns the responsibility of key models and building elements, to particular parties, for specific project stages, with an overall indication of the Level of Model Definition (Level of Detail & Level of Information) for the models to achieve at those stages. Ideally, the Models included in the MPDT will have been identified in schedules to the Employer’s Information Requirements. (see template MPDT from Scottish Futures Trust here https://bimportal.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/level2/stage/3/task/13/prepare-midp-raci-mp-dt)
2. Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP)
The appointed Project Information Manager, develops and maintains a Master Information Delivery Plan (MIDP) for their stage of the project. It is a list of all the graphical models, a list of the all output drawings and schedules from those models, as well as a list of other documentation required for each stage of the project. The MIDP is created by assembling the individual Task Information Delivery Plans (TIDP’s) from each supplier (designer, specialist, contractor, sub-contractor, product supplier, etc), who document their deliverables (list of models, drawings, schedules, documents).
(see template MIDP from Scottish Futures Trust here https://bimportal.scottishfuturestrust.org.uk/level2/stage/3/task/13/prepare-midp-raci-mp-dt)
The same template is used by each supplier to provide their TIDP.
3. Digital Plan of Work (DPoW)
The Digital Plan of Work (DPoW) documents, at a very “granular” level, the Level of graphical Detail (LOD) and Level of non-graphical data or Information (LOI) required for every Product, System and Element that makes up the building, and assigns responsibility for providing this information to a particular party (role) at each stage of the project.
The DPoW also documents the list of Activities and Spaces that make up the building, and the list of Tasks required to answer the employers Plain Language Questions (PLQ’s) at each stage. Tasks normally result in a set of documents (e.g. the Task of obtaining planning permission, a PLQ, will result in a set of documents that forms part of a planning application, or the Task of carrying out an environmental impact analysis, a PLQ, will result in an Environmental Impact Assessment Report, etc).
The UK government, in conjunction with the NBS, have developed a free online tool to develop and maintain the Digital Plan of Work, called the NBS BIM Toolkit (https://toolkit.thenbs.com/)
All the Products, Systems, Elements, Activities and Spaces that make up Buildings (Entities or Complexes) have been classified using the Uniclass Classification system in the NBS BIM Toolkit, which is compliant with the open BIM standards (Industry Foundation Classes, or IFC) adopted in Europe. To read more about Uniclass see here https://toolkit.thenbs.com/articles/classification
Prepared by Pat Slatery, Dip. Const. Tech., Revit Certified Professional
A founding partner of ARCDOX a specialist consultancy practice with a progressive outlook providing professionally managed services to enable and support the implementation of BIM (Building Information Modelling) on Projects. A graduate of DIT Bolton Street with over 30 years’ experience in Irish and international architectural practices delivering on an extensive range of projects of varying type and scale, understanding the issues and challenges around design, construction and operations of buildings. Since 2009 as a partner of ArcDox, has successfully overseen the completion of a mix of projects using BIM processes using BIM tools and supported clients, architects, engineers, consultants, contractors and sub-contractors with BIM setup, production, project team support, project resources, and training for their teams. With a strong technical background and practical experience, oversees project management, production management, resources management and technical content management in the practice. Specialities include BIM Management, BIM implementation, BIM Support, BIM Training, project management, production management, resources management, technical content management.
