B2- Chapter 3- The Interoperability of BIM

By reading the third chapter of the BIM handbook, I learned about the interoperability in BIM.

At first, all applications of the computer were run independently and could not be coordinated. When designing a building model, it is difficult to uniform information processing in many aspects. So The Interoperability of BIM was coming. In the design process, coordination is the key content in the construction industry.(Based on page 66) Whether it is the construction unit, the owner and the design unit, they are doing coordination and coordination. In the design, due to the communication between the professional designers, there is a collision problem between various professions. For example, when the pipes in the professional such as HVAC are arranged, since the construction drawings are drawn on the respective construction drawings, in the actual construction process, the structurally designed beams and the like may be located here when the pipeline is arranged. This hinders the arrangement of the pipeline, and the coordinated solution of such collision problems can only be solved after the problem occurs. BIM's coordination services can help deal with this problem, which means that the BIM building information model can coordinate the collision problems of various professions in the early stage of building construction, generate coordination data, and provide them.

Right now, there are four main implementations of BIM interoperability:

1. Direct, proprietary links between specific BIM tools

2. Proprietary file exchange formats, primarily dealing with geometry

3. Public product data model exchange formats

4. XML - based exchange formats

In addition to these four main ways, an alternative way to exchange data is through XML. XML is an extension to HTML, the language used to send information over the Web.(From page 68) XML Schemas in AEC Areas includes OGC (Open Geospatial Consortium), gbXML (Green Building XML) ,IFCXML and BLIS-XML. All interoperability methods must deal with version issues. When updating an application with new features, if the switch mechanism is not maintained and the standard version is poorly managed, the switchover may fail.

In the realization of the interactivity of BIM technology, IFC plays a key role, which is shared by the International Collaborative Alliance (IAI) for different professions in the construction industry and different software in the same profession to share the same data source to achieve data sharing and Data model standard for interactive standard building objects. The IFC standard is an open international standard for the expression and exchange of building product data, supporting data exchange and sharing throughout the life of a building. Support data exchange between application systems in the horizontal direction, and solve the data management of the whole life cycle of buildings in the vertical direction.(From page 81) Among them, IFC is an abbreviation of Industry Foundation Classes. The IFC standard is developed and maintained by the International Organization for International Interoperability (IAI). The organization has now been renamed buildingSMART International (bSI).

In the exchange and viewing of project information in BIM, there are two widely available formats, 3D PDF (Portable Document Format) developed by Adobe ® and DWF (Design Web Format) developed by Autodesk ®, which have many advantages.(From page 86)  On the one hand, all BIM design tools now support IFC fairly well, allowing basic exchanges to be made with adequate completeness and accuracy. Only a few exchanges allow editing; most only static viewing. There is a small movement for using IFC for analysis interfaces, but these too are just

becoming available. Various XML schemas are being used for different business exchanges. On the other side, formats such as DWF and PDF hold the potential to become richer and support exchange as well as viewing. (Both have XML capabilities.)

So, the introduction of BIM in the building information model to establish a collaborative model of engineering projects, in the coordination of engineering project management, can achieve specific results. BIM is a trend in the future. It is expected that relevant departments can construct a perfect operational coordination model to improve the dilemma of unsynchronized and inconsistent management information of today's construction projects.

Sources: Eastman, Charles M. BIM Handbook : A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers and Contractors, 2011. http://web.b.ebscohost.com.ezproxy2.library.drexel.edu/ehost/ebookviewer/ebook/bmxlYmtfXzM2NDIzOV9fQU41?sid=bc728db5-ac2a-463a-be02-b1d1edcfc78a@pdc-v-sessmgr02&vid=0&format=EB&lpid=lp_71&rid=0

Comment:

 Sean Reifer,

You succinctly explained the contents of Chapter 3. In the future of the AEC industry, program interoperability is important and plays a key role in every process in the construction industry. BIM has developed a number of corresponding technologies for this interactive system to support its applications. Although it is still in the development stage, it has a good prospect.

Kunlun Ren,

According to your blog, I know that the author introduced the history of 3D models, which makes me very interested. In addition, I understand that in the Revit software model, all drawings, 2D and 3D views and schedules are used to present information in the same virtual building model. I think this is a more intuitive display of the building model than the software used in the previous CAD, which is more convenient for the user.

Weiyi Tang,

Your blog looks very interesting. BIM design methods are shifting from simple warehouses to new complex buildings. This provides great convenience to the designer, the builder and the owner. For the introduction of IPD, I think that you describe it very well, so I quickly understand this new concept. It increases efficiency, reduces costs, and is easy to design.