How BIM Part 6 supports safer, smarter construction through better risk data management
Launched in January 2025, ISO 19650-6 has provided the construction industry with a powerful new tool to enhance safety and collaboration. It is an international standard dedicated to improving how health and safety risk information is structured, shared, and communicated throughout the lifecycle of a built asset.
This new standard brings risk information into a shared knowledge base, making it more meaningful and accessible.
Creating a shared risk library: a foundation for better communication
One of the key features of ISO 19650-6 is the creation of a risk library – a structured repository of risk-related information that can be accessed, contributed to, and reused across teams, projects, and even organizations.
By centralizing this information and placing it in a shared digital environment (typically within a BIM model), project stakeholders can:
- Engage in open discussions about risk identification and mitigation
- Collaboratively determine appropriate treatments and responses
- Build a “golden thread” of safety data that extends throughout the project lifecycle
Importantly, the standard emphasizes that risk data must not only be technically accurate, but must also be clear, accessible, and understandable. This ensures that everyone involved, from designers and contractors to building managers and regulators, can engage with and benefit from the information.
Transparency and interoperability
Creating a shared resource of this kind calls for a level of transparency and interoperability that might feel unfamiliar to some, but this cultural shift is essential.
Rather than keeping critical health and safety information in isolated silos, ISO 19650-6 encourages it to be part of a connected ecosystem – one that ultimately leads to better decision-making, reduced risk, and safer environments.
Designing out risk from day one
One of the most powerful aspects of ISO 19650-6 is its potential to eliminate risk early in the design phase.
By linking design elements with potential hazards and corresponding treatments, teams can simulate real-world scenarios, visualize risks using BIM, and communicate mitigation strategies clearly to all relevant stakeholders.
This proactive approach not only improves safety during construction and occupancy; it also helps avoid costly redesigns, repairs, or reworks down the line, resulting in significant economic and environmental benefits.
By combining key data fields with a structured risk and incident scheme, visual risk scenarios can be generated within BIM. These digital models help clarify complex issues, detect design conflicts early, and allow processes to be rehearsed in a safe virtual space, long before physical work begins.
The scope of ISO 19650-6
It is important to note this standard is not a risk assessment framework. Instead, it provides the structure and process for communicating risk information effectively.
For organizations seeking guidance on performing risk assessments, the ISO 31000 series remains the relevant reference.
A new white paper: Improving safety in the built environment by enabling better planning, risk identification, and communication through Building Information Modelling (BIM).
Download our new white paper, in which we explore how ISO 19650-6 can help organizations, regardless of size, to:
- Improve health and safety performance
- Share and reuse risk information more effectively
- Contribute to the golden thread of building safety data
