IN Brief:
- The UKRI-backed proof of concept was delivered after a three-month development programme completed at the end of August.
- The proposed gateway connects manufacturers' existing information systems through standardised interfaces rather than replacing them.
- The next development phase is a minimum viable product for demonstrator projects, followed by wider real-world pilots.
The Manufacturers’ Information Hub has completed the UK Research & Innovation-backed proof-of-concept phase of its construction product information platform and is moving into development of a minimum viable product for real-world testing.
The not-for-profit initiative is intended to provide a single gateway between construction product manufacturers and the designers, contractors, distributors, asset owners, and software systems that use their technical information. Rather than replacing manufacturers’ existing databases, the proposed hub would connect those systems through standardised interfaces so information can be accessed in a consistent format.
The proof of concept was delivered by the end of August after a three-month UKRI-supported programme announced at Digital Construction Week in June. The development work tested how manufacturer databases could connect through a standard application programming interface, how information could be validated against a common data structure, and how authorised users could retrieve that information downstream.
The project is now moving towards a minimum viable product. The MIH’s own current roadmap places that work in 2026, followed by wider real-world pilots in 2027 and a planned full launch in 2028. The minimum viable product is intended to support demonstrator projects with manufacturers and main contractors rather than operating immediately as a full industry-wide service.
The underlying problem is less a shortage of construction product information than the number of places in which it is stored. Technical sheets, manufacturers’ websites, BIM libraries, product information management systems, specification platforms, spreadsheets, certification records, and project databases can all contain overlapping versions of the same information.
That fragmentation creates additional work for project teams when information has to be found, checked, re-entered, and updated. It also increases the risk that a designer, contractor, or asset owner is working from a superseded document even though the manufacturer holds a newer version in its own system.
The MIH approach is designed around manufacturers remaining responsible for their information. Its published model says manufacturers will retain control over data validity, accuracy, and access, while the hub provides the connection and standardised structure needed to make that information available to authorised users.
The system is therefore intended as an interoperability layer rather than another product comparison database. Manufacturers with established product information management systems would connect those systems to the hub, while organisations with less mature digital infrastructure could use the common data structure to organise their information before making it available.
This becomes more important as construction regulation and procurement place greater weight on structured product information. Traceability, the golden thread, environmental data, testing and certification evidence, and emerging digital product passport requirements all depend on information that can be identified and exchanged at property level rather than left inside static brochures.
For contractors, a standard connection could reduce repeated data collection across different projects and software platforms. A product’s fire, acoustic, structural, environmental, or maintenance information could be called into a specification, digital twin, building logbook, or asset management system without each platform maintaining its own manually updated copy.
The same principle could extend into site verification. The MIH has identified tagging and tracking as one of the areas for demonstrator work, creating a potential link between the product specified in design information and the physical product delivered and installed on site.
That would only be useful if governance remains strong. Structured data can travel faster than a PDF, but incorrect structured data can also propagate quickly through connected systems. The manufacturer’s continuing responsibility for accuracy, combined with clear version control and permissions, is therefore central to the proposed architecture.
The project also has to deal with the uneven digital maturity of the manufacturing base. Large product companies may already manage thousands of properties through established data systems, while smaller manufacturers can still rely heavily on documents and spreadsheets. A common gateway has to accommodate both without making participation dependent on a major software investment.
Funding remains one of the next practical questions. The UKRI-backed proof-of-concept phase has ended, and the project team is seeking support for the prototype and demonstrator stage while maintaining the not-for-profit model. The MIH says its longer-term intention is to operate across Europe rather than as a UK-only system.
The proof of concept established that the core exchange model can be demonstrated. The minimum viable product has a harder task: it must show that mappings, permissions, version control, and interfaces remain manageable when real manufacturers connect live catalogues and project teams start consuming the information through different software.
Construction has accumulated numerous product libraries and digital standards over the past decade, so another portal will not succeed through visibility alone. The useful test will be whether manufacturers can maintain one governed connection while contractors and designers retrieve current information without rebuilding the same data relationships for every project and platform.
