Material Passport Model

The advent of Material Passports, also known as DPP (Digital Product Passports), has highlighted an important (and sometimes absent) factor in facilitating the connection between the passport registry and the source of the Material Information (MI): the digital twin equivalents of those assets in the supplier's BIM volume, and their GUIDs

The Material Passport Model (MPM) is a separate BIM volume that facilitates the creation of 3D Material Data Placeholders (MDP) for when there is no modelled asset containing the MI within the linked subcontractor model volumes, or when that information is embedded within a complex assembly and is not individually accessible to record or extract for the material passport

3D Material Data Placeholders (MDP) can be inserted into the MPM as asset objects and placed on a separate Workset (or technological equivalent) to provide a host for the MI to connect to the Material Passport. This approach facilitates a schedule of MI parameters being exported from the MPM and shared with the MI author(s). Once the MI is completed by the suppliers, the data can be imported back into the MPM, or directly into the Material Passport platform if the data schema is compatible

To avoid the potential for data duplication within the subcontractor models, or to assist in the completion of the main as-built model, the 3D Material Data Placeholders (MDP) and their associated GUIDs can be imported directly into the subcontractor's model environment, allowing the MI to be mapped onto the subcontractor's own as-built modelled item. Once verified, the temporary 3D Material Data Placeholders (MDP) will be identified by its matching GUID and the duplicate geometry removed

Strategically, the presence of an MPM as an individual BIM volume containing 3D Material Data Placeholders (MDP) accelerates the identification and acquisition of unknown MI from host objects at the commencement of the Material Passport process. Conversely, the absence of an MPM aligned to the BIM Execution Plan results in a significantly slower, reactive process—requiring manual coordination to pinpoint exactly where within a subcontractor’s specific BIM volume a 3D asset or its corresponding MI is missing

MPM's with MDP's are the answer to the question: How do you actually host and extract material information when subcontractors haven't modelled those elements, or when that data is locked inside a complex assembly