{"id":160047,"date":"2026-03-10T07:45:05","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T07:45:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/?p=160047"},"modified":"2026-03-09T16:37:02","modified_gmt":"2026-03-09T16:37:02","slug":"towards-digital-operations-playbook-joining-the-dots","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pbctoday.co.uk\/news\/digital-construction-news\/construction-technology-news\/towards-digital-operations-playbook-joining-the-dots\/160047\/","title":{"rendered":"Towards a Digital Operations Playbook: Joining the dots"},"content":{"rendered":"

There is no shortage of standards and guidance for the built environment. The challenge is that they often refer to specific stages of the asset lifecycle and it can be unclear how they join up. The Digital Operations Working Group has been formed to help address these increasingly pressing challenges<\/h2>\n

The Digital Operations Working Group (DOWG)<\/a> has been established to move the sector beyond discussion and into direct action, bridging the gap between project delivery, technology-agnostic digital requirements and long-term estate management.<\/p>\n

Led by Steven Boyd MBE, Gordon Mitchell and Justin Kirby, the group applies Right-to-Left thinking – starting with desired business outcomes – to create a Digital Handshake that connects capital delivery with operations.<\/p>\n

Our first task is to map the landscape \u2013 identifying and aligning relevant standards, initiatives and policies to demonstrate how the dots join up. This process will also highlight where gaps exist \u2013 such as in Smart Handover and Digital Soft Landings \u2013 and where we can add immediate value by establishing a common language for the sector.<\/p>\n

There is a well-known project-operations gap, with the high-quality data created during design and construction being lost as the building enters its operational phase. The challenge is more than data inefficiencies; it is systemic \u2013 procurement misalignment, disconnected capital and operational budgets, and a lack of lifecycle thinking in design. It is often compounded as asset management, facilities management and smart buildings work in silos with digital information maintained as a series of unconnected and passive records.<\/p>\n

Decisions made during a building\u2019s operational life<\/a> affect approximately 70% of whole-life value and influence safety, carbon and occupant experience. Structured operational datasets present the opportunity to shape decisions, manage risk, effectively meet obligations and plan investment. Where this foundational data is layered with effective governance and processes, building operators can move from reporting performance to improving it, and from managing assets to enabling outcomes.<\/p>\n

Right to Left thinking<\/h3>\n

A key principle of the DOWG\u2019s work is \u201cRight to Left\u201d thinking. Starting with the asset owner\u2019s desired outcomes, we can work back to the data required to deliver these in successful building operations, and then to the best ways to gather this data, including through project handover and the Digital Handshake necessary to deliver a digital soft landing.<\/p>\n

This thinking is aligned to the RIBA Plan of Work and, importantly, recognises why buildings are built and used \u2013 they exist to drive business outcomes and value for the asset owner.<\/p>\n

The landscape to which this thinking needs to be applied is complex and the digital maturity of built environment organisations varies considerably. In beginning to shape a Digital Operations Playbook, the DOWG seeks to define a minimum common language that works well in all stages of the asset lifecycle and to identify a minimum Common Data Foundation that can be used by all, and which can also form the foundation to develop digital twins and to apply AI as maturity develops<\/a>.<\/p>\n

Mapping the Landscape<\/h3>\n

The soup of available standards and guidance can be confusing. Mapping the Landscape is a first step towards integrating the various necessary activities required in the operational phase. To start the discussion that will shape the playbook, DOWG\u2019s proposed framework for this mapping is at Figure 2. It starts with Asset Owner Value \u2013 both \u201ccarrot\u201d (ROI and occupant experience) and \u201cstick\u201d (compliance with safety and carbon requirements) \u2013 and is underpinned by a Common Data Foundation.<\/p>\n

Our aspiration is to co-create a minimum common language that resonates with all the elements in Figure 2, and to build a minimum Common Data Foundation that provides the DNA for a building enabling interoperability throughout its whole life.<\/p>\n

In initiating a discussion to shape the playbook, DOWG suggests that data needed to inform the operational phase can be grouped by:<\/p>\n