The term used in relation to management of the progression and uses of information.
There is general confusion with the use of the term, due to range of other interrelated terms often used without due explanation.
Level of information is related to:
- Level of Information
- Level of Accuracy
- Level of Coordination
- Level of Granularity
The ISO 19650 framework, intending to clarify the terminology in 2018, introduced a new term: ‘Level of information need’, which was designed to replace the terms used in BS EN 1192, such as Level of model definition/level of detail (LOD) and level of information (LOI)
Nevertheless, the use of the acronym LOD, caused significant confusion, even within academic papers and although the level of information need, is the better-suited description, the industry needs time to update the currently available systems and standards; hence, we will continue to see the acronyms LOD & LOI for some time. To avoid further misunderstanding, the acronyms shall be used with caution and always used the full name and source in the opening context.
Fortunately, long awaited guidance has been recently published by BSI, BS EN 17412‑1:2020 hoping to clarify the situation
The Level of information is used to describe non-geometrical information
The term LOI will remain to be used in conjunction with LOD (Level of Detail) – both terms can be contained under the umbrella of the new ISO term level of information need
LOI + LOD = Level of information need
For an up-to-date definition of the term Level of information need go to Information Management according to BS EN ISO 19650 Guidance Part 1 quoted below:
6.5.1 What is the level of information need and why do we need it?
Information is required for a purpose, such as to perform a task or support a decision. The level of information need is defined to enable the right level of information to be provided to satisfy the information related purposes at each information exchange. It is important to avoid the delivery of too little information, which increases risk, and the delivery of too much information, which is wasteful. The level of information need is a broad concept which represents the framework for how the “richness” of each information deliverable is going to be defined. There are many different ways to express the level of information need, including the richness of geometrical details and the richness of datasets.
Note that ‘level of information need’ should not be abbreviated.
History of the term Level of
VICO [1] Uses the term Level of Detail[2] divided into five progressive stages from LoD 100 to LoD 500.
OGC City Geography Markup Language (CityGML) Encoding Standard – (OGC) – sets out 5 Levels of Detail (LoD) for 3D geospatial models, which go from LoD0 to LoD4. LoD0 is a simplified 2D building footprint, and the scale goes right up to LoD4 which includes building internal rooms and installations. [3]
Danish Information levels – built upon the principle of evolving detailing with the degree of detailing from level 0 to 6 [4]
BS 1192:2007, superseded by BS 1192:2007+A2:2016. Introduced Level of model definition, level of detail (LOD) and level of information (LOI) [2]
301 – Building Information Modeling (BIM) Addendum – include term Level of Development (LOD). It is a US Industry alternative to the AIA digital practise documents. References the BIMForum LOD Specification 2015 as part of its MPS. [5]
E203TM, G201TM & G202TM – establish Model Management Protocols and Processes, Level of Development (LOD), Model Authorised Uses, and provides a Model Element Table matrix. AIA E202TM 2008 BIM Protocol Exhibit used the Vico’s MPS Level of Detail schema but changed it to Level of Development; LOD 100, LOD 200, LOD 300, LOD 400 & LOD 500. AIA coined the term Level of Development (LOD). It has become the benchmark when it comes to comparing MPS schemas. [6]
Minimum Modelling Matrix (M3) similar to the AIA G202TM 2013 definitions. This Progression Management system uses (Level of Development) LOD 100, LOD 200 & LOD 300, but, also, has a grade classification suffix attribute when specifying design model elements for construction documents. It also has an additional suffix symbol for an As-Built status. The scheme does not engage LOD 400 or LOD 500.
National Guidelines for Digital Modelling – It guides Model development phases (taken from BIPs 2007). These are from Phase 0 to 6. Phase 1 being: Briefing/Pre-design, 2; Conceptual design, 3; Schematic design, 4; Developed design, 5; Contract documents, and 6; Post-construction/Facilities management. It uses terms such as Level of Detail (LOD) [7]
Singapore BIM Guide – Model Progression sub-sets such as Level of Detail LOD [8]
[1] Trimble Navigation Limited, “Project Progression Planning with MPS 3.0,” 2013. Accessed: Jan. 17, 2020. [Online].
[2] BSI, “PAS 1192-2:2013,” no. 1, p. 54, 2013, doi: Published by the British Standard Institute. British Standard Limited. ISSN9780580781360. /BIM TASK GROUP.
[3] G. Gröger, T. H. Kolbe, C. Nagel, and K.-H. Häfele, “Open Geospatial Consortium,” 2012. [Online].
[4] O. (ed. ) Rasmussen, K. J. (ed. ) Christensen, and BPS-centret., BPS general principles of drawings. BPS-centret, 2006.
[5] “BIMFix Blog: Model Progression Specifications – Resources.” (accessed Jan. 19, 2020).
[6] “Digital Practice Documents | AIA Contract Documents.” (accessed Jan. 19, 2020).
[7] T. Fussell et al., “National Guidelines for Digital Modelling,” Cooperative Research Centre for Construction Innovation, 2009.
[8] BIM Guide Workgroup, “Singapore BIM Guide,” 2012. [Online].
