The Manufacturers Information Hub (MIH) – the proposed single gateway for construction product information – gained government backing at its formal launch at Digital Construction Week (DCW).
Fergus Harradence, deputy director, construction, logistics, airports and water at the Department for Business & Trade, spoke at the launch of the MIH at DCW. He pointed out some key benefits of the MIH for the government’s objectives to modernise the sector, as set out in the Construction Products Reform Green Paper:
- construction relies on the coordination of many parts; this will only happen efficiently if the whole supply chain is digitised;
- improving digital information management processes can only help attract talent to the sector; and
- digitised construction product information will also deliver sustainability benefits and will be essential for the delivery of digital product passports.
The plans for the MIH were first reported at the start of the year. To date, the MIH’s development has been spearheaded by Tata Steel digital platforms and innovation lead Alex Small, Saint-Gobain Interior Solutions head of digital construction Paul French, and former chair of Construction Products Europe’s digital task group, Brian Glancy.
Integration with existing schemas
The MIH will be developed to European and international data standards and will integrate with existing data dictionaries and schemas.
Small previously said: “The MIH is a central access point for all construction product manufacturers’ information across Europe. It’s not a data repository, it’s not a database: it is simply a routing tool, a conduit, whereby all manufacturers have one link into the hub, and anyone who wants manufacturers’ information also has one link to extract from the hub. The mapping is done in each person’s link into the hub.”
The MIH will be a not-for-profit organisation owned and controlled by manufacturers: each manufacturer that joins the scheme will have equal voting rights, no matter what their size.
More manufacturers needed
According to Small, the development of the MIH marks the first time that manufacturers have come together to create software directly for the built environment and construction sector. “Its many-to-one, one-to-many solution will make the process of sharing accurate product information easier not only for manufacturers, but also for the whole supply chain, who spend countless hours seeking out and validating product information,” he said.
The MIH now has a website and is encouraging manufacturers to express interest in participating in the hub’s further development.
“We already have more than 30 manufacturers on board, together with support from Construction Products Europe and five national construction products associations, including the Construction Products Association in the UK,” said Small. “Many of our founding manufacturers are well-known brands. We hope to publish their names shortly, and urge manufacturers across Europe to contact us direct if they wish to join the first tranche of members.”
