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What We Do · Building Safety

The Golden Thread Of Information

In the UK, the Building Safety Act 2022 makes the golden thread a legal duty for higher-risk buildings. We help you build it, keep it and prove it — using the ISO 19650 series, BS 8644-1 and practical, proportionate information management.

What It Means

A Living Digital Record Of Building Safety

The golden thread is the information that lets the people responsible for a building understand it — and the steps needed to keep the building and the people in it safe, now and in the future.

It is not a single document or a piece of software. It is accurate, up-to-date, digital information about how a building was designed, built, changed and is being managed — held securely, kept current and handed on whenever responsibility changes.

The right people, with the right information, at the right time.

The Golden Thread Principles

Accurate and trusted

Accessible to the people who need it

Accountable — clear ownership of every change

Electronic — held digitally, not in filing cabinets

Secure — protected against loss and misuse

Transferable — survives changes of owner and system

Understandable and consistent

Up to date — kept current for the life of the building

Why It Came About

From Tragedy To A Legal Duty

After the Grenfell Tower fire in 2017, Dame Judith Hackitt's Independent Review of Building Regulations and Fire Safety found that information about buildings was often missing, out of date or impossible to trust. Her 2018 report, "Building a Safer Future", called for a golden thread of information. The Building Safety Act 2022 turned that recommendation into law.

Higher-Risk Buildings

Who Has To Keep A Golden Thread?

In England, the golden thread is a legal requirement for higher-risk buildings: buildings at least 18 metres tall or with at least seven storeys that contain at least two residential units. During design and construction, hospitals and care homes of that height are also in scope.

Clients, principal designers and principal contractors must create and maintain it through design and construction. Once occupied, the accountable person and principal accountable person must keep it up to date for the life of the building.

The principles are good practice for every building — and many clients now ask for a golden thread approach on all their assets.

The Gateways

Three Points Where Information Is Tested

Gateway 1

Planning

Fire safety is considered at the planning application stage, before a design is fixed.

Gateway 2

Before Building Work Starts

The Building Safety Regulator must approve the design and the plans for how compliance will be managed and evidenced.

Gateway 3

Completion

Before occupation, you must show the building as built complies — and hand over the golden thread information.

The Standards That Help

The Law Says What. The Standards Show How.

The Building Safety Act does not prescribe a single standard or product. But established standards give you a proven, auditable way to create and maintain golden thread information.

ISO 19650 Series

Information management using BIM across the whole life of an asset: information requirements, a common data environment, review and approval, handover and operation (Parts 1–4), and security-minded information management (Part 5).

BS 8644-1:2022

Digital management of fire safety information — a code of practice for design, construction, handover, asset management and emergency response. It builds on ISO 19650 and was written in response to the Hackitt review.

ISO 55001

Asset management systems. Keeping the golden thread current in operation is an asset management discipline: clear roles, planned maintenance and reliable asset information.

COBie

Construction Operations Building information exchange (BS 1192-4). A structured way to hand over asset data — spaces, systems and components — for operation and maintenance.

BS EN 17412-1

Level of information need. Helps you define exactly what information is needed, when and in what detail — so the golden thread is complete but proportionate.

PAS 1192-6

Collaborative sharing and use of structured health and safety information using BIM — so risks are identified, shared and managed from design onwards.

Related, Not The Same

BS 8644-1 And COBie Compared

Both help build a golden thread, but they do different jobs. BS 8644-1 tells you how to manage fire safety information digitally through the whole life of a building. COBie is a format for handing over structured asset data. Used together, with ISO 19650, they give you information you can trust.

	BS 8644-1:2022Digital management of fire safety information	COBieConstruction Operations Building information exchange
What it is	A British Standard code of practice for the digital management of fire safety information	A structured data format for exchanging asset information (code of practice: BS 1192-4)
Purpose	Make fire safety information structured, trusted and easy to find when it matters	Hand over consistent asset data for operation and maintenance
Information covered	Fire safety information — e.g. fire strategy, compartmentation, fire-stopping, fire doors, detection, alarm and suppression systems, evacuation, inspection and maintenance records	Facilities, floors, spaces, zones, types, components, systems, their attributes and linked documents
Lifecycle	Design, construction, handover, asset management and emergency response	Mainly during delivery, formally at handover
Main users	Designers, contractors, owners and managers, fire risk assessors, accountable persons, emergency services	Clients, facilities managers and maintenance (CAFM) systems
Format	Processes and information structure — no single file format	Spreadsheet or IFC-based structured data
Link to ISO 19650	Builds directly on the ISO 19650 series	Widely used to deliver ISO 19650 information exchanges
Role in the golden thread	Directly supports the fire safety part of the golden thread	Can supply structured asset data that feeds the golden thread

How ISO 19650 Helps

ISO 19650 Is The Engine Of A Good Golden Thread

Information requirements — OIR, AIR and EIR define exactly what golden thread information is needed

Common data environment — one secure, controlled place for the current version of the truth

Review, approval and audit trail — every change is checked, authorised and recorded

Handover — structured information passes cleanly from project to operation

Security — ISO 19650-5 protects sensitive building information

Residential high-rise with a glowing golden thread of information running through it

How We Can Help

Build It, Keep It, Prove It

Golden Thread Readiness Review

We assess your current information, processes and systems against the golden thread principles and show you the gaps.

Information Requirements

OIR, AIR and EIR written for higher-risk buildings, aligned to ISO 19650, BS 8644-1 and the level of information need.

CDE And Processes

Common data environment set-up, information protocols, change control and audit trails that stand up to scrutiny at Gateways 2 and 3.

Fire Safety Information

Putting BS 8644-1 into practice so fire safety information is structured, current and ready for the people who need it.

Handover And COBie

Handover information and COBie data that flow cleanly into operation — without the end-of-project scramble.

Training And Capability

ISO 19650 and golden thread training for clients, designers, contractors and accountable persons — so the capability stays with you.

This page gives general information and is not legal advice. Requirements differ across the UK nations and continue to develop, so always check the latest regulations and guidance.