BIM Part 6: health and safety information management (BS EN ISO 19650-6:2025) is a new international standard focussing on how health and safety information is shared throughout the lifecycle of a building.
Following the Grenfell Tower tragedy of 2017, an inquiry by Dame Judith Hackitt concluded that building safety standards for high-rise residential structures needed significant improvement. Recommendations included the creation of a golden thread of information, to ensure the transparency and accuracy of health and safety data, and providing reassurance and evidence that a building has been built safely and will remain safe.1
Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a process that involves developing a detailed 3D digital model of a building, used throughout all phases of its design, construction, and operation. All stakeholders, including architects, engineers, contractors, and owners, contribute to and utilize the BIM model, supporting a collaborative, efficient, and transparent approach to both the construction process and ongoing building management.
What are the main components of ISO 19650-6?
The ISO 19650 suite of international standards provides a framework for organizing and managing construction projects using BIM. The newest addition to this series, ISO 19650-6, which supersedes PAS 1192-6:2018, provides a framework specifically for managing the information relating to health and safety in the construction and ongoing use of a building.
ISO 19650 Part 6 is made up of three main components:
- How to structure health and safety information
- The information requirements to be integrated into contracts and project agreements
- Alignment of the process with the overall ISO 19650 framework
Part 6 of the ISO 19650 series builds on the processes set out in ISO 19650-2 and -3 by introducing additional guidance on structuring information and ensuring its accessibility. For example, in the UK, it specifically recommends using the Uniclass RK risk table, a classification system developed by the Health and Safety Executive (HSE), to help identify and manage risks effectively.
What are the benefits?
Across the globe, the construction sector is undergoing major reform to ensure buildings are not only safer but that construction products are designed, delivered, and installed with greater competence, professionalism, and transparency.
As the industry embraces these changes, digitalization and BIM are proving to be the backbone of a safer, smarter, and more accountable built environment.
It is clear that the adoption of digitalization has led to significant positive outcomes for the construction industry, and with the Building Safety Act 2022 now in force and placing specific legal requirements on the classification of risk in occupied buildings, the use of BIM is more necessary than ever.
ISO 19650-6 presents numerous benefits, including:
- Increased safety – not just for end users but for everybody involved in the process, from design to maintenance personnel
- Strengthened risk mitigation – identifying and mitigating hazards and risks across the asset life cycle
- Improved performance – resulting in fewer incidents and associated impacts
- Better communication – ensuring clearer information management for all stakeholders involved in the process
- Cost effectiveness – by minimizing waste, losses and the need for rework
- International application – allowing for more global collaboration.
To learn more about how ISO 19650-6 is enhancing building safety, download our white paper: Improving safety in the built environment by enabling better planning, risk identification, and communication through Building Information Modelling (BIM).
1 Hackitt, J. (2018). Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety: Final Report – Building a Safer Future. 17 May 2018.
2 Source: BS EN ISO 196506:2025 Overview of Standard