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BSI Identify
Within the complex environment of a construction project, getting the right products in the right place at the right time and then installing them correctly is a massive challenge. In reality, this doesn’t always happen, and the as-built asset can often differ from that specified during design. While controlled product substitution that meets the designer’s intent can be fine, when this process is not well managed, and products are not installed correctly, there can be significant deficiencies in a built asset’s performance. This could be higher energy consumption, as well as maintenance challenges and potential safety issues. Lack of local product availability, poor communication from design through procurement and time and cost pressures are all drivers for using products that differ from those specified in an asset’s design. And, until now, product traceability in the construction industry has been a hit and miss affair. Now, a new digital solution provided
by BSI called BSI Identify is set to put an end to the confusion of multiple identifiers for products and of missing or out of date in-formation. It will help the industry deliver safer buildings that perform as they should because there will no longer be ambiguity over building products and less scope for unmanaged substitutions or badly installed products. With this new service, manufacturers will be given a unique identifier for each product they supply called a UPIN (Universal Persistent Identifier Number). The UPIN will be used as a token to reference and
BSI Identify provides a connecting piece of digital infrastructure for building projects
How BSI
Identify works Click to read
link within the industry’s accelerating move towards using digital.
The UPIN can also be included on the
physical product or its packaging in QR codes and NFC or RFID tags and so can be scanned on site by the installer. The UPIN takes the installer to a landing page confirming that they have the right product and providing all the information they need about the product and how to install it correctly. The solution has wider implications
for the whole future of the construction industry and the built environment. “Although it will often link to a physical
Will Johnson- Marshall.
product, BSI Identify works within a digital environment,” says Head of Operational Delivery for BSI Identify, Will Johnson-
Marshall. “It is designed to be compatible with any kind of software so whatever software you use, if you have a UPIN to reference a product you will not only be able access information, you can connect the story through the life cycle of the building. It provides a connecting piece of digital infrastructure for building projects.” This is vital information for the ultimate
owners or managers of the property as it allows them to know exactly what elements have gone into the construction of the building or other asset. This means it can be properly maintained in the future within a transparent, digital environment. The service was developed in collaboration with construction industry
partners, chief among them the Construction Products Association who are founding partners. In the same way it develops standards, BSI consulted widely among it’s network of contacts in the construction industry; asset owners, designers, manufacturers and trade bodies, to get the full picture of what would work for all parties. “In our discussions it helped that, as BSI,
we were seen to be independent in this and only interested in getting the best solution for the whole industry,“ said Will. “As soon as the potential applications of the system were outlined to stakeholders, they very quickly began to see areas where it would benefit them.”
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