BIM CDE version history vs a timestamp: what each shows

BIM CDE version history vs a timestamp at a glance

What a CDE records, in the vendors’ own words

Autodesk Docs. Autodesk’s help says that uploading a file with the same name and extension as an existing file in a folder creates a new version automatically. The version history panel shows all versions and their attributes, and a user can promote an earlier version to be the current one (Autodesk: View Version History). The panel can show who added a version and when. Autodesk support also notes that "Last updated" and "Updated by" fields can change when a file is first opened and processed for viewing, without any change to the content and without a new version, and that "Version added by" identifies who added the version (Autodesk support). File activity history, including version upload dates, can be exported (Autodesk support).

Aconex. Oracle’s Aconex help says the event log lists document events with the person, revision number, date and time, and that it shows activity from your own organisation’s perspective only. Document searches by upload date use server time (event log, search codes). Transmittals send documents to other organisations and are recorded in the audit trail (transmittals).

ISO 19650. The UK BIM Framework guidance describes information containers moving through work in progress, shared, published and archive states, with the archive acting as a journal of transactions (UK BIM Framework, Part C). Work in progress is information being developed by its originator or task team and not visible to anyone else.

Where the CDE is stronger

• Workflow. Status codes, approvals, markups, transmittals and who received what. A TimeBind does none of this.
• Names and roles. The platform ties each version to an account. A TimeBind names nobody.
• Whole-project audit trail. The event log and archive state cover many users and many files.

Where a timestamp adds something

• A record outside the platform. If your access ends at practical completion, or an administrator changes settings, the platform’s records are not in your hands. A certificate and the original files are.
• Work before it is shared. Work in progress is private to the task team. A TimeBind can date that set before it goes to the shared state.
• A fixed point for an issued set. A version number says which version. A fingerprint recorded on a public ledger shows that this exact set matched at that time.
• A record for people outside the project. An insurer, a lawyer or a competition jury may not have access to your CDE.

Check your appointment documents before you rely on either record. They often say who holds project information and for how long.

A practical routine

1. Before moving a set from work in progress to shared, or before an issue, make a TimeBind of the exact export (for example the IFC, the PDF set and the model coordination file).
2. Put the certificate and a copy of the files in your own project folder.
3. Issue through the CDE as normal. Note the CDE revision code in your records so the two can be matched.

Where the platform may be audited or disputed, discuss the approach with the project’s information manager first. See also Revit and BIM versions before issue and client revision rounds.

When a timestamp isn’t the right tool

• You need to manage who may see or approve a file. That is what the CDE is for.
• You need to show who uploaded a version. Use the platform’s own logs.
• You need a witnessed or certified copy. See blockchain timestamp vs notary.

Where a dated record adds to a CDE

A BIM common data environment shows who changed what inside the platform. A TimeBind adds a record held outside it, of the exact exported set at the moment you issued it. If the platform history is disputed, or a downloaded copy is edited, you can show the issued file existed by a date and still matches. It adds to your CDE records; it does not replace them.

General information, not legal advice. A TimeBind shows that this exact file existed no later than the recorded time and still matches its fingerprint. It does not show authorship, ownership, copyright status or how any court, tribunal, client or insurer will treat it.