What is Information Modelling?
Technical definition
The work of creating formal models of a facility’s concepts, objects, relations and attributes – so that people and systems share the same definition of what exists and how it is connected.
In brief
The information model is your facility’s common language. It defines what a “pump”, an “air handling unit” or a “zone” is – once, for all systems, throughout the lifecycle.
The Challenge
Without a shared model, every system and supplier defines its own concepts. An “air handling unit” can be one object in the BIM model, ten signals in the control system and one row in the maintenance register – with no formal connection between them. When concepts are not modelled, no reliable semantic mapping between systems is possible, and every integration has to reinvent the meaning.
The consequence: reports that do not add up, a digital twin that cannot be built, and analyses that require weeks of manual data cleaning.
HubMind’s Methodology
The information model is the foundation slab of the Map. We model from the business’s needs – not from any single system’s data model – and anchor the structure in established standards: IEC 81346 for structure and reference designations, IFC/BIM for building information and ISA-95 for production-level hierarchies.
The model then becomes the reference for data mapping, asset information mapping and systems integration mapping – and for how information follows the object between phases in a lifecycle information mapping. Without a model, every mapping is an interpretation; with a model, it is a verification.
Warnings & Pitfalls
The perfect model: A model that tries to describe everything is never finished and never used. Model what creates value – identities, relations and the attributes that are actually consumed.
The system’s model becomes your model: If you let the first platform define your concepts, you inherit its limitations for twenty years. The model must be system-neutral and owned by you.
A model without maintenance: An information model without designated ownership and a change process degrades into documentation nobody trusts.
💡Our Recommendation
Model the needs first: Start from the business’s questions and decisions – not from the systems’ tables.
Build on standards: IEC 81346, IFC and ISA-95 give you a structure that survives supplier changes.
Keep the model alive: Version-control, maintain and review the model as a technical deliverable.
Connect the model to the mapping: Let the information model be the reference for all data mapping between systems.
FAQ
Is information modelling the same as data modelling? Closely related, but not the same. The information model describes the business’s concepts and relations system-neutrally. The data model is an implementation of it in a specific system or database.
Do we need an ontology? For most asset owners, a well-structured model based on IEC 81346 and a naming convention goes a long way. Ontologies such as RealEstateCore become relevant when you want machines to read and reason over the model.
How does the model relate to the digital twin? The information model is the twin’s skeleton. Without the model, the twin is a 3D picture with no connection to real data.
HubMind’s related pages:
Technical information architecture – the blueprint for your facility’s information
Data mapping – the translation table between your systems
IEC 81346, IFC / BIM and Digital twin
Standards & frameworks:
RealEstateCore – Open ontology for building data
ISO 16739 (IFC) – Open format for building information models
Does your facility need a common language for its information?
HubMind helps asset owners model objects, relations and attributes – as the foundation for integration, analytics and digital twins.