Digital Construction Week 2022

The Construction Innovation Hub has issued an update on the LEXiCON project, outlining the next steps for industry on the path to trustworthy, structured digital product information that drives improvement in the safety, quality and sustainability of our built environment.

LEXiCON seeks to find a common language for construction projects so that it is easy to compare and categorise information. This will be supported by the use of machine-readable Product Data Templates (PDTs), as part of an effort to drive efficiencies in product selection.

Working in partnership with the Construction Products Association (CPA), the Hub has expanded on the work earlier in the year which outlined the principles of the LEXiCON methodology. The Phase 2 report explains how individuals, organisations and Relevant Authorities can register on the platform and what their information requirements would be.

This includes how users can create and edit Product Data Templates, alongside guidance on bringing the right groups of people together to collaborate and ensure that product information is accurate, relevant and up to date.

Keith Waller, programme director at the Hub, said:

The Government’s Construction Playbook made it clear that we need to harmonise, rationalise and digitise product information to improve the safety, quality and sustainability of our built environment.
Both LEXiCON releases are a major step towards this goal, enabling the creation of trustworthy, structured digital product information that is standardised across the industry.

Our latest report explains how organisations and individuals would set themselves up on the platform and what their requirements would be. As the Construction Innovation Hub moves to a new phase of activity focused on deployment, I look forward to seeing this work taken forward by industry.”

In the new report’s foreword, Hywel Davies, technical director at CIBSE, urges the construction products industry and others working in the built environment to step up and play a role in the further development of LEXICON.

The construction sector is behind the curve in its adoption of digital information management tools and technologies,” he explained. “That is why this report is so timely, focusing as it does on what is needed to enable the creation of product data in a format that can be exchanged and transferred through the supply chain and into operation.”

He added that LEXiCON should be welcomed by clients and developers as it would help drive consistent, accurate and reliable digital information on the projects they fund, deliver and manage.

The long-term ambition of LEXiCON is to enable Machine Learning and AI to help specifiers and designers select products which meet their requirements quickly and accurately, removing the potential for errors.
For more information, visit our LEXiCON webpage.