BIMINAM HEALTHCARE WORKSTREAM MEETING, 29-04-2026
Date: 29 April 2026
Purpose of the Session
The meeting focused on improving the standardisation, structure and lifecycle management of healthcare asset information, particularly in relation to:
- the NHS Activity Database (ADB)
- healthcare asset classification and taxonomy
- maintainable asset data
- lifecycle and FM integration
- standardisation across hospital programmes
- opportunities for automation and digital validation
The discussion brought together perspectives from healthcare FM, design, asset management and digital information specialists.
Key Themes & Discussion Points
- NHS Activity Database (ADB) as a foundation for healthcare asset information
A major focus of the session was the NHS Activity Database (ADB) system.
The group discussed how ADB was originally developed to:
- standardise healthcare room and equipment requirements
- support healthcare design using HTMs and HBNs
- define activities, room layouts and required equipment
- generate room data sheets and asset requirements
ADB was recognised as:
- a highly valuable historic framework
- widely embedded across existing healthcare estates
- still heavily referenced in healthcare projects today
However, participants noted that:
- the database has not been consistently maintained
- newer asset types and technologies are often missing
- many organisations have created inconsistent variations of the coding system
- Standardisation versus fragmentation
A recurring concern was the fragmentation caused by:
- projects creating their own coding systems
- inconsistent use of classifications
- lack of standardised approaches across NHS projects
Chris Jeffers highlighted the risks of:
“everybody doing their own thing in this space.”
The group strongly supported:
- improving and extending existing standards
rather than - replacing them entirely.
There was broad agreement that:
standardisation is essential for scalable healthcare asset management and lifecycle continuity.
- Linking asset information across the lifecycle
The discussion explored how asset information should connect:
- design
- construction
- commissioning
- operations
- maintenance
- replacement
Participants emphasised the need for:
- “stitching together the whole asset lifecycle story”
A major challenge identified was ensuring that:
- asset data produced during design and handover
can actually be used effectively by - estates and FM teams during operation.
- Relationship between taxonomy, systems and maintenance
The session explored the complexity of linking together:
- asset types
- system classifications
- UniClass codes
- GS1 product identifiers
- SFG20 maintenance procedures
- operational requirements
Key insight:
maintenance requirements are not always “one-to-one” with the asset itself.
For example:
- the same product may require different maintenance approaches depending on:
- location
- system role
- operational criticality
- healthcare context
This reinforced the need for:
- richer classification structures
- contextual asset information
- lifecycle-aware taxonomy approaches.
- Challenges with SFG20 and asset coding
Participants discussed how:
- designers are increasingly expected to apply maintenance classifications
- but often lack operational understanding to do this accurately
This can lead to:
- inconsistent coding
- “best guess” classifications
- poor alignment with operational FM needs
There was strong support for:
- involving FM and asset management teams earlier in design
- ensuring maintainers influence asset classification decisions
- embedding operational thinking into healthcare design workflows.
- Importance of FM and operational involvement
Chris Jeffers stressed that:
- FM voices must be represented during design and delivery
- operational requirements are often considered too late
- Soft Landings remains one of the few frameworks encouraging this integration
The group discussed the importance of considering:
- maintainability
- accessibility
- lifecycle performance
- operational workflows
from the earliest project stages.
- International collaboration and knowledge sharing
The session included contributions from US-based healthcare specialists, highlighting similarities between UK and international healthcare asset management challenges.
Topics included:
- healthcare closeout documentation
- life safety systems
- room data sheets
- zoning and inspection approaches
- manual versus digital asset management workflows
There was strong support for creating:
- open, internationally relevant approaches
- globally transferable healthcare asset information methodologies.
- Defining what an “asset” actually is
A major unresolved topic raised by NHS England participants was the need to define:
- what constitutes an “asset”
- the difference between maintainable and non-maintainable assets
- the required data level for each asset category
- responsibility boundaries across asset groups
This was recognised as a critical foundation for:
- standardisation
- digital handover
- lifecycle management
- automation and validation.
- Automation and AI-enabled validation
The group briefly revisited the ambition to automate:
- checking of O&M information
- variation tracking
- validation of changes and asset records
The broader aim is to move toward:
- machine-readable healthcare asset information
- automated validation workflows
- structured Golden Thread assurance processes.
Overall Conclusion
The session reinforced that healthcare asset management remains heavily affected by:
- fragmented classifications
- inconsistent coding approaches
- poor lifecycle integration
- weak standardisation between projects.
However, the discussion also demonstrated strong momentum toward:
- shared taxonomy frameworks
- lifecycle-focused asset information
- integration between design and operations
- structured healthcare asset data models
- and internationally collaborative approaches.
The group recognised that future success will depend on:
- clearer definitions of assets and responsibilities
- consistent classification systems
- operational involvement from the outset
- and structured, reusable data that supports the full lifecycle of healthcare estates.