More and more clients ask for work "to ISO 19650". For a small team this can sound like a large process change, but most of what it asks for in the model itself is good, consistent practice. This checklist shows how to apply ISO 19650 in Revit in a way that fits a small scan-to-BIM or design team.

What ISO 19650 is, briefly

ISO 19650 is a series of international standards for managing information over the life of a built asset with BIM. It describes who asks for information, what they ask for and how it is shared. The client’s requirements usually come as Exchange Information Requirements (EIR), and the delivery team answers with a BIM Execution Plan (BEP).

The standard does not prescribe a software. In Revit, it mainly shows up as naming, status, coordinates and a tidy model.

1. Read the EIR first

Before modeling, find out from the EIR:

• which file naming and classification the client wants;
• which coordinate system and units;
• which LOD and accuracy per element group (see LOD vs LOA);
• which formats to deliver (RVT, IFC, PDF) and when.

Write your answers in the BEP. It is the document you will be checked against.

2. File naming

ISO 19650 uses a field-based container name. The UK National Annex form is a common example:

Project-Originator-Volume-Level-Type-Role-Number

For example: ZB01-ZTB-ZZ-XX-M3-A-0001 for an architectural 3D model of the whole building. The exact codes come from the client or the BEP. In Revit:

• name the RVT file with this pattern;
• use the same fields for exported IFC and PDF files;
• keep the name free of dates and words such as "final".

3. Status and revision codes

Files in the Common Data Environment (CDE) move between Work in Progress, Shared, Published and Archived. Each shared file carries a status code (such as S1 for coordination, S2 for information) and a revision (such as P01 for preliminary, C01 for contractual).

Store them in Revit as project parameters on the title block or in Project Information, so every sheet and export shows the same values.

4. Project Information

Fill in Manage → Project Information completely: project name and number, client, address and status. Many checks and title blocks read from here, and it is the first place an auditor looks.

5. Coordinates and levels

• Set up shared coordinates at the start and publish them to every linked model.
• For scan-to-BIM, align the model with the scan’s survey control, not the other way round.
• Keep levels and grids in one model and copy or monitor them in the others.

6. Worksets and model structure

Split the model with worksets by responsibility and visibility: point cloud, levels and grids, exterior, interior, structure, MEP and links. Consistent Revit naming conventions for families, types and views make the structure readable for the next team.

7. Check before you share

Before a file moves from Work in Progress to Shared:

• run a model check for warnings, duplicates and unused items (Model Check);
• remove imported CAD that is no longer needed (Purge CAD);
• for scan-based models, check the model against the point cloud (Deviation Check).

8. Handover

At handover, deliver what the EIR asks for and nothing that confuses: no working views on sheets, no temporary families, no helper elements. A short handover note with the coordinate system, the LOD and LOA table and the check results makes the delivery easy to accept.

Next steps

ISO 19650 is mostly about doing the same good things every time. For the modeling part of a scan-based project, see the scan to BIM workflow in Revit and the Revit point cloud plugin guide.

Get ZetaBIM

ZetaBIM is a Revit plugin for scan-to-BIM teams. See the complete guide to the Revit point cloud plugin workflow. Download ZetaBIM to try it, browse more ZetaBIM tutorials, or watch the videos on the ZetaBIM YouTube channel.