Metadata management within Building Information Modeling (BIM) deliverables presents a consistent challenge, often stemming from varied factors such as unclear project requirements, the experience level of modelling teams, and the degree of early involvement by BIM professionals in project planning phases. This challenge, however, is not insurmountable. The Standardised Data Tool, accessible to any user with a Revit or Civil3D subscription, offers a robust solution to these issues by allowing for custom configurations that support complex data sets for both building and infrastructure projects.
Originally known as the BIM Interoperability Tools Classification Manager, the Standardised Data Tool has evolved to support more than basic classification tasks. It now facilitates work across the Autodesk ecosystem, enabling both building and infrastructure teams to collaborate using the same data sets—a significant advancement for project consistency and efficiency.
For those clients that request basic classification of model objects, the tool supports you and your team out-of-the-box and includes OmniClass, Uniclass, and IFC classes; the real magic happens when customising the standardised data tool to meet specific, client-defined data standards. This process, while seemingly daunting, is streamlined by the tool’s flexibility and the availability of extensive classification libraries.
Case Study – Transport for New South Wales (TfNSW)
TfNSW’s digital framework illustrates both the challenges and opportunities in metadata management. Design teams frequently encounter the issue of receiving project-specific data requirements (BIM Schema DMS-FT-516 and CAD Schema DMS-FT-562) after the contract has been awarded, leading to discrepancies between the anticipated metadata and what’s actually required.
However, you can plan ahead with TfNSW’s Master Classification Library (MCL) to configure a baseline configuration of the Standardised Data Tool across all TfNSW deliverables, teams can preemptively align their models with expected standards, ensuring a smoother project execution.
As the TfNSW information is publically available, you can follow along with your own copy of the dataset.
The Configuration Process
Configuring the Standardised Data Tool begins with understanding the data hierarchy and mapping the library data to relevant BIM schema parameters. Some columns identifying the data may not be obvious and TfNSW does not provide a direct link between the data and the parameter names in the MCL, rather than guess what data goes where, you can reference the blank version of the BIM Schema (DMS-FT-516) to identify the target parameters.

For example, you might map the “Element Hierarchy Tree View” from the master classification to the “TfNSW_AssetLocationDescHrchy” parameter in the BIM schema. Similarly, the “Asset Type Code” would map to “TfNSW_AssetTypeCode,” and so on. Certain mappings may still be ambiguous, so don’t forget you can always reach out to TfNSW’s digital engineering representative for clarification.
Once you have the data mapping in place, setting up the Standardized Data Tool configuration is quite simple. Start by identifying a unique code for each asset, such as the MCL Unique ID or Asset Type ID.

I recommend validating the TfNSW dataset to ensure the values are unique. You can do this by using conditional formatting and filtering in Excel to ensure there are no duplicates.
Next, set up your configuration spreadsheet for the Standardised Data Tool:
In the “Unique Code” tab, list all the individual elements with user-friendly descriptions derived from the master classification library.

Create separate tabs for each parameter you want to populate, using a reference code to link back to the unique asset codes.

Set up the header row for each parameter tab, specifying the parameter to be filled and any secondary parameters or lookup values.

It’s important to get the configuration of the header correct, so to explain in a little more detail:
TITLE | The title of the lookup sheet. For this, I use the name of the parameter exactly as it appears in Revit. The title must match the data on the the “”Unique Codes”” worksheet in the excel found in row 7 (the black bar). |
DESCRIPTION | This is a description that is meaningful to you. It could be blank, in this example, it states the details of where the data was sourced from. |
VERSION | This is a version that is meaningful to you. |
FUNCTION | The function value is related to which tab within the Standardised Data Tool that the pick-list will appear in, this can be: – Element – Facility – Space |
NUMBER PARAMETER | This is the first parameter that is filled out. This can be blank. This is called “NUMBER PARAMETER” because, in the original Classification Manager tool, it was the Uniclass or Omniclass number. The value set and the parameter itself do not need to be a number parameter. |
DESCRIPTION PARAMETER | This is the second parameter that is filled out. This can be blank. This is called the “DESCRIPTION PARAMETER” because in the original Classification Manager tool, it was the Uniclass or Omniclass description. |
As a minimum, ensure the title in cell B1 of each parameter tab matches the corresponding lookup sheet name and at least one of the parameters to be set in B5 or B6 are correct.
Once the header is configured, it’s time for the unique datapoints for each asset type. using our TfNSW example, we need to do the following:
- In the “Unique Code” tab, list all the individual elements with user-friendly descriptions derived from the master classification library.
- Set up the header row for each parameter tab, specifying the parameter to be filled and any secondary parameters or lookup values.
- Ensure the title in cell B1 of each parameter tab matches the corresponding lookup sheet name.
When completed, your “Unique Code” worksheet should look similar to this:

Which once loaded into the Standardised Data Tool will appear to the end user with a clean interface to select the relevant data points for the Facility, Spaces, and Elements:

When setting up your configuration spreadsheet, consider the following:
- In the “Unique Code” tab, list all the individual elements with user-friendly descriptions. The first two columns don’t need to contain the unique code itself, and the data doesn’t even need to be unique. This flexibility allows you to provide easily understandable descriptions for the end-user.
- Create separate tabs for each parameter you want to populate. In each tab, the reference or lookup code should be in column A, while the data to be imported into the parameter should be in column B. The “Level” and “Revit Category” columns can be used to specify the hierarchy level and target Revit category for each value.
- Set up the header correctly for each parameter tab.
- Ensure the title in cell B1 of each parameter tab matches the corresponding lookup sheet name. Note that this title doesn’t have to exactly match the worksheet tab name in Excel, as parameter names can often be too long. However, it’s best to keep the names as similar as possible for clarity.
With the configuration complete, load it into the Standardised Data Tool and test thoroughly. Spot-check the output data against your expected values and refine the configuration as needed.

Investing time upfront to properly configure the Standardised Data Tool pays dividends in the long run. With custom configurations aligned with client-specific data standards, you can ensure consistent, accurate metadata across your BIM deliverables. The efficiency gains and enhanced data quality are well worth the effort.
I encourage you to explore how the Standardised Data Tool can be applied to your own projects’ metadata requirements. With a bit of planning and configuration, you’ll be well on your way to mastering metadata management in your BIM workflows.
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