Soon, electrical contractors will head to a job site and ask one simple question: which PIID are we working on today?

The persistent infrastructure identity (PIID) framework isn’t a new software or, really, a challenging concept. It’s a permanent digital identifier for every structure in the United States, assigned by the Unified Modular Infrastructure Platform, or UMIP, based in Pilot Point, Texas. There are 190 million PIIDs in UMIP’s registry, covering all the buildings on any given parcel in the country.

UMIP established the framework in March 2026.

For example, a residential property might include the home, but also an unattached garage and a pergola. That’s three PIIDs. A school campus might include four outbuildings in addition to the school building. That’s five PIIDs.

But it’s not a reason for consternation for contractors. Nothing about their work will change, according to Trevor Vick, UMIP’s founder and CEO. 

“The most important point is that electrical contractors do not need to change the way they work,” Vick said. “PIIDs are not intended to replace Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud, CMMS platforms, Owner Insight, ERP systems, estimating software or any of the tools contractors already use.

“The change comes from existing technology providers adopting PIIDs into their platforms. PIID is a system-agnostic, complementary identity layer that integrates with the software contractors already rely on every day. Rather than introducing another application or workflow, it simply provides a common infrastructure identity that existing systems can reference,” he said.

Vick said PIIDs are crucial because historically, knowledge about every aspect of a structure, including the electrical system, has remained inside dusty project folders or proprietary software. In other words, the knowledge is fractured, difficult to find and can create major challenges when it isn’t clear what work was completed 20 years ago or more.

A PIID, then, centralizes all that information, which benefits every professional working on a structure. A panelboard installed today becomes part of the existing PIID record, which will become crucially important years and decades down the road.

Electrical contractors are already creating valuable infrastructure intelligence in the built environment, Vick said. What PIIDs do is preserve that knowledge as part of a building’s permanent history—which can be called on before a contractor arrives at a job site.

“Every commissioning report, infrared inspection, arc flash study, panel replacement, generator upgrade, EV charger installation, maintenance event and service call creates knowledge that can benefit future contractors, owners, insurers, engineers and facility managers,” Vick said.

“Ultimately, PIIDs aren’t about asking contractors to do more work,” he said. “They’re about ensuring the valuable work they’re already doing continues to create value long after the project is complete.” 

In other words, he said, buildings shouldn’t lose their memory every time software changes. 

“We believe that’s ultimately the problem persistent infrastructure identity is solving,” he said.