Blockchain and the lifecycle of components—An approach

Abstract

Buildings involve multiple participants and materials that must work together throughout their life cycle, from initial planning to decommissioning and recycling. This can create safety concerns, particularly with regard to critical components. Detailed documentation and tracking of product characteristics are necessary, as well as outlining the related obligations of the parties involved. Currently, this problem is often addressed by numerous contracts and paper-based building documentation. Blockchain technology could prove to be a future-oriented solution to such use cases. Additionally, so-called Smart Contracts, which are custom-designed applications running on the given Blockchain platform, can be an appropriate way for documentation in the construction and facility management process since they allow distribution of their execution to the entirety of the involved Blockchain participants. Based on this approach, this paper presents a platform solution that provides up-to-date product information on various components. The outcome is a system that facilitates digital documentation on a secure legal foundation, with an interface tailored to the specific terms and conditions of each partner involved in the construction and maintenance process.