A term that entered BIM vocabulary through UK building-safety reform (following the Grenfell Tower inquiry): the Golden Thread is the requirement that safety-critical information about a building - fire strategy, structural design, materials, later changes - stays accurate, accessible, and unbroken from design through construction and for the entire life of the building.

It is less a specific document than a principle: information created during design must not get lost or become out of date by the time a building is occupied. BIM and a well-run CDE are the practical tools that make a Golden Thread achievable - a spreadsheet in someone's inbox is not.