This video explains how to create a pre-appointment BIM Execution Plan (pre-BEP) for ISO 19650 tender responses. The written guide below covers why the pre-BEP is critical to winning work, what it should contain, how it satisfies the Exchange Information Requirements, and how structured templates help delivery teams present a credible and compliant submission that builds confidence with the appointing party.

Why the pre-appointment BIM Execution Plan wins tenders

The pre-appointment BIM Execution Plan — often called the pre-BEP or pre-contract BEP — is the centrepiece of a strong ISO 19650 tender response. It is the document where the prospective delivery team demonstrates that they understand the Exchange Information Requirements (EIR), have the capability and capacity to deliver against them, and have a clear strategy for managing information throughout the project. The pre-BEP is not a formality or a box-ticking exercise. It is the primary tool the appointing party uses to assess whether a team is genuinely prepared to manage project information in a structured and reliable way.

What makes the pre-BEP important goes beyond just compliance. It serves multiple purposes simultaneously. First, it shows that the appointing party’s exchange information requirements will be satisfied, because the pre-BEP maps directly to what was asked for in the EIR. Second, it allows the appointing party to assess the supply chain by evaluating whether the team has the right skills, experience, and resources. Third, it confirms that the proposed methods are suitable for the project, including the tools, workflows, and standards the team intends to use. Fourth, it demonstrates that the team has thought about risk management and has strategies in place to deal with challenges before they escalate. And critically, the pre-BEP lays the foundation for the post-appointment BIM Execution Plan. It provides a draft plan that can be refined and finalised after contract award, meaning the project does not start from zero once the team is appointed.

The challenges teams face when creating the pre-BEP are common across the industry. Poor information management strategies lead to scattered, disorganised data. Unclear task responsibilities mean nobody is sure who is accountable for what. And when new resources need to be brought on board, the lack of structured processes makes onboarding slow and painful, which drags on the entire mobilization process. The pre-BEP addresses all of these issues by forcing the team to define their approach clearly before the project starts, not after problems have already surfaced.

A well-structured pre-BEP covers four key areas. The first is the Project Information Model (PIM) strategy, which outlines how the project’s information will be developed, delivered, and managed across its lifecycle. The second is information standards, methods, and procedures, which define how files will be named, classified, shared, and stored to ensure consistency and compliance. The third is roles and responsibilities for information management, establishing clear accountability for data delivery, quality control, and coordination. The fourth is collaboration workflows and the common data environment (CDE), which define where information lives, how teams access it, how updates are tracked, and how the project stays aligned. Defining all of these up front gives the appointing party confidence that the team is ready to hit the ground running from day one.

How to create a pre-appointment BIM Execution Plan

1. Review the Exchange Information Requirements – Start by thoroughly reviewing the EIR to understand what information is required, in what format, at which milestones, and to what quality standards. Every element of the pre-BEP should trace back to a specific EIR requirement.
2. Define the Project Information Model strategy – Outline how the project’s information model will be developed and managed, including the federation strategy, software platforms, and how data will be structured across disciplines and project stages.
3. Establish information standards, methods, and procedures – Document the naming conventions, classification systems, file formats, and version control processes the team will follow. These should align with the standards specified in the EIR and demonstrate consistency across the delivery team.
4. Assign roles and responsibilities – Define who is responsible for each aspect of information management, from the nominated information manager through to task team leads and quality reviewers. Use the accountability features to make ownership visible and traceable.
5. Define collaboration workflows and the CDE – Specify how the common data environment will be configured, how teams will access and share information, and how status codes, approval workflows, and version control will operate in practice.
6. Address capability and capacity – Include an honest assessment of the team’s skills, experience, and resource availability against the project requirements, demonstrating that the team can realistically deliver what has been promised.
7. Document risk management strategies – Identify the key information management risks and outline mitigation plans for each, showing the appointing party that the team has planned beyond the best-case scenario.
8. Use templates for structure and consistency – Start from a pre-BEP template that covers all the required sections, then tailor the content to the specific project. This ensures nothing is missed and the submission follows a professional, consistent structure.

What you’ll learn

• What a pre-BEP is – How the pre-appointment BIM Execution Plan functions as the delivery team’s draft information management plan, demonstrating capability and approach before contract award.
• Why the pre-BEP matters for tender success – How a well-structured pre-BEP satisfies the EIR, demonstrates capability and capacity, validates proposed methods, addresses risk, and lays the groundwork for the post-appointment BEP.
• Project Information Model strategy – How to define the approach for developing, delivering, and managing the project’s information model throughout its lifecycle.
• Information standards, methods, and procedures – Why defining naming conventions, file formats, classification systems, and version control up front is essential for consistency and compliance across the delivery team.
• Roles and responsibilities – How to establish clear accountability for information coordination, data delivery, and quality control so every team member knows exactly what they are responsible for.
• Collaboration workflows and the CDE – How defining the common data environment setup, access rules, and approval workflows up front builds trust with the appointing party and ensures teams can work together from day one.

Common questions

Explore further

• Pre-contract appointment BEP – The full expert course lesson with detailed walkthroughs and practical examples of building a pre-appointment BIM Execution Plan.
• Best BIM Execution Plan strategy – How to build a BEP that demonstrates real capability and wins confidence from appointing parties.
• EIR, PIR, and BEP documents with Plannerly – How the complete set of information requirement and response documents connects and can be managed using templates.
• ISO 19650 concepts and workflows – The full help centre collection covering how each component of ISO 19650 works together in practice.