The Manufacturers’ Information Hub (The MIH) has unveiled its proof-of-concept project, marking a significant step in the development of a unique pan-European manufacturer-led system for sharing structured construction product information across the built environment sector.
The MIH is a not-for-profit initiative established by manufacturers to simplify access to construction product information through a standardised, interoperable approach.
The hub is not a product database, but a single gateway enabling information to flow more efficiently between manufacturers, designers, contractors, distributors, digital platforms and asset owners.
The approach is intended to reduce duplication, improve data consistency and support emerging regulatory and market requirements around traceability, digital product information and compliance.
The MIH is expected to save time and money for more than 430,000 construction product manufacturers across Europe. About half of these businesses have fewer than 10 employees, meaning they need a simple solution to share their product data to comply with safety and environmental regulations, while helping them to map their information to national, European and international standards.
The MIH describes itself as a collaborative initiative developed "by manufacturers for manufacturers", with support from construction product companies, contractors, distributors, trade bodies and government stakeholders across Europe.
Alex Small, founder of The MIH and Digital Platforms and Innovation Lead at Tata Steel UK, said: "The construction industry is digitalising rapidly, but manufacturers still face major challenges in sharing product information efficiently and consistently across multiple platforms and systems. In particular, SME manufacturers need our help.
"The MIH proof-of-concept is the first step in demonstrating a practical, manufacturer-led approach to solving that problem. Our aim is to create a trusted information exchange that allows manufacturers to share structured product data once, in a standardised way, while maintaining control of their information.
"We believe this is essential infrastructure for the future of digital construction, particularly as the industry responds to new requirements around product safety, sustainability and digital product passports."
Through participating in the MIH, manufacturers retain full ownership and control of their data and automatically become co-owners of the hub.
Current UK supporters include Knauf, Sika, Etex, Siderise, Heidelberg Materials, Wienerberger, Kingspan, Saint-Gobain and Tata Steel UK, alongside organisations including Construction Products Europe, GS1, and major contractors Kier, Bovis and Sir Robert McAlpine.
This first phase of building The MIH is being supported by UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) as part of its Industrialising and Digitalising Construction Research and Innovation Challenge.
Melissa Zanocco OBE, Challenge Director: Growth Mission at UKRI, said: "To deliver the digital transformation of the construction sector, it is essential we have reliable, direct access to manufacturers' product information. A joined-up, collaborative approach by construction product manufacturers and information users is needed to create a solution that works for everyone.
"The MIH is a valuable solution to this problem. It will improve productivity and drive growth and efficiency for both manufacturers and the users of their information, right through to asset management and beyond."
James Franklin, Digital Twin Project Director at Kier, said: "For a main contractor to have access to standardised product information through this sort of gateway is a game changer. The MIH provides access to product information that can be linked to a range of our existing digital tools and platforms, streamlining adoption. It will also enable the tagging and tracking of construction products, support product data integration into digital twins and help us with safety, compliance and environmental improvements."
