To create a DPP, all the required information (see chapter 3) must be provided. The manufacturer can optionally add further information and documentation to the DPP.
Ideally, the manufacturer or industry association should create a Product Data Template (PDT) for each product family or product category or have it created by a service provider. This corresponds to the blank digital form for a product data sheet. ISO standard 23387:2020 defines concepts and principles for data templates for components used in Building Information Modeling (BIM). A template is made up of machine-readable property descriptions in accordance with ISO standard 23386:2020, which originate from digital data dictionaries such as the bSDD, which are based on ISO standard 12006-3:202213.
In the bSDD, further context information such as the respective test standard or the relationship to other properties can be stored once in addition to the property designations, without these having to be integrated in each template.
Which properties are mandatory in a PDT?
Distributors of construction products are obliged by legislation to provide essential characteristics in a PDT as performance information for their products in the form of a declaration of performance (DoP). These essential characteristics are defined in the harmonized technical specifications for each product and include aspects such as mechanical strength, fire performance, energy efficiency, etc. In addition, there is other important information often requested by specifiers, such as material composition, environmental performance and information on the circular economy. Manufacturers are also required to specify performance characteristics in connection with their innovative solutions. This makes it easier for small companies, for example, to draw attention to their innovations and enter the market more quickly.
A further advantage is that the customer can be provided with the latest state of the art information via the Digital Product Passport. Data can be continuously added or information updated in the DPP. Legally binding performance characteristics of the Declaration of Performance (DoP) are excluded. Once the values have been entered in the PDT, a Product Data Sheet (PDS) is created for the actual product, i.e. the physical article. In IT terms, this is an “instantiated” PDT that contains the specific information of a product. A PDS can be used in digital data exchange between the various stakeholders in a construction project, e.g. for integration into a BIM model.
Centralized data management such as a Product Information Management (PIM) or Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system including a Content Management System (CMS) play a crucial role for optimal data integration and interoperability, building on the globally unique product identifier. To ensure that all information is up-to-date and correct, including new data in the event of changes to product properties or regulatory requirements, the DPP must be updated regularly.
There are many different ways to create and publish a DPP. The choice of method depends on the specific situation, the requirements of the product, the size and type of the manufacturing company and the technical and organizational framework conditions. Two main variants are described below. These are summarized in the following diagram.
6.1.1 Variant 1: Manufacturer creates and manages the DPP himself
In this variant, the digital product passport (DPP) is made available either on the company’s own website or on a separate platform. In this case, the manufacturer creates the DPP internally by first collecting all the product information required for placing the product on the market and organizing it by life cycle phase. This gives the manufacturer comprehensive control over their own data and seamless integration into their existing IT systems. The manufacturer therefore always has the option of adapting the DPP to new requirements at any time.
6.1.2 Variant 2: DPP creation by external provider
The DPP is made available by an external provider on its platform. With this variant, the manufacturer remains responsible for ensuring that the data is correct and up to date. Data is updated via interfaces, manually via a CMS or by the provider on behalf of the manufacturer. The manufacturer’s infrastructure requirements are minimal as they are provided by the provider.
It can be assumed that a considerable number of DPP providers will be established in the future. This white paper was supported by the DPP providers buildup AG14 and NexSwiss15.
13 ISO 12006-3:2022 – Building construction – Organization of information about construction works – Part 3: Framework for object-oriented information
14 https://ch.buildup.group/de
15 https://pepadocs.com/en/digital-product-passport
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