Building Information Modeling (BIM) & Industry Foundation Classes (IFC)

Alper DİNÇER

16 December 2008

Contents

What is BIM? What is IFC? Relationship between BIM and IFC Examples Results & Discussions

What is BIM?

What is BIM?

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process of generating and managing building data during its life cycle.

It uses three-dimensional, real-time, dynamic building modeling software to increase productivity in building design, construction and maintenance period

What is BIM?

What is BIM?

Working with : building geometry spatial relationships geographic information quantities properties

of building components.

What is BIM?

Similar terms as : 3D, object-oriented, AEC-specific CAD (by

Autodesk) Building Product Model (Professor Charles M.

Eastman) Virtual Building Virtual Building Environment BuildingSMART Virtual Design and Construction

What is BIM?

BIM is in the middle of Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) phases.

BIM according to American Institute of Architects as “a model-based technology linked with a database of project information”

What is BIM?

The 3D representation of models with building information gets the power of BIM.

CAD/CAM + Intelligence = BIM

What is BIM?

What is BIM?

What is BIM?

What is BIM?

BIM is a process which goes far beyond switching to new software. It requires changes to the definition of traditional architectural phases and more data sharing than most architects and engineers are used to.

What is BIM?

Associated General Contractors in US describe BIM as “an object-oriented building development tool that utilizes 5-D modeling concepts, information technology and software interoperability to design, construct and operate a building project, as well as communicate its details.”

What is BIM?

X, Y, Z 3D 3D + time 4D 4D + cost 5D 5D + sustainability + accessbility nD

What is BIM?

Advantages of using BIM  INTEROPERABILITY Improved visualization Improved productivity due to easy retrieval of information Increased coordination of construction documents Embedding and linking of vital information such as vendors for

specific materials, location of details and quantities required for estimation and tendering

Increased speed of delivery Reduced costs

What is BIM?

A report prepared by US National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) which is about “Cost Analysis of Inadequate Interoperability in the U.S. Capital Facilities Industry”. The report concludes that inadequate interoperability is results in $15.8 Billion lost annually.

What is BIM?

General Contractors or Construction Managers

What is BIM?

What is BIM?

What is IFC?

The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) are often talked about in the construction industry as an important resource for interoperability.

What is IFC?

1985-1990 CAD era

DXF – IGES (geometry based formats) 1990-1995 STEP-Exchange(-G) 1995-Today IFC

What is IFC?

AEC organizations have several industry based product models on EXPRESS language, which are as follows:

AP 225 - Building Elements Using Explicit Shape Representation (ISO 10303)

AP 241 - Generic Model for Life Cycle Support of AEC Facilities (ISO 10303)

CIS/2 – CimSteel Integration Standard, Version 2 (for structural steel)

IFC - Industry Foundation Classes (by International Alliance for Interoperability - IAI)

What is IFC?

International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI)

Autodesk and 12 US companies in 1995 IAI is the responsible organization of developing

Industry Foundation Classes The goal of publishing the Industry Foundation

Class (IFC) as a neutral AEC product model responding to the AEC building lifecycle

What is IFC?

Domains under the IAI, which are as follows: AR - Architecture BS - Building Services CM - Construction: CM1 - Procurement Logistics, CM2 - Temporary

Construction CS - Codes and Standards ES - Cost Estimating PM - Project Management FM - Facility Management SI - Simulation ST - Structural Engineering XM - Cross Domain

What is IFC?

STEP has following properties:  use of a machine readable modeling language instead of a file

format; the language emphasizes data declarations but includes procedural

capabilities for rules and constraints; the language has mappings to different implementations, including a

text file format, database schema definitions, and recently, XML schemas;

reference sub-models that are shared and re-used subsets of larger standard models for geometry, measurements, representation classification and other generic needs.

What is IFC?

Most important outcome of the STEP is EXPRESS modeling language.

EXPRESS adopts many object-oriented concepts, including multiple inheritances. Object refers to a computer language concept, which is broader than just representing physical objects. Thus objects can be used to represent conceptual or abstracted objects, materials, geometry, assemblies, processes and relations, among other things.

What is IFC?

The IFCs are defined in EXPRESS.

Implementations : ISO-10303-21, Part-21 or P-21 file SQL and object-based database

implementations XML implementations (ISO-10303-28

or Part 28 format)

What is IFC?

IFC was designed as an extensible “framework model”

Its initial developers intended it to provide broad general definitions of objects and data from which more detailed and task-specific models could be defined

IFC has been directed to address all building information, over the whole building lifecycle, from feasibility and planning, through design (including analysis and simulation), construction, to occupancy and operation

What is IFC?

Basic properties such as geometry, material, quantity, measurement, date and time, cost, actors, roles

Kernel schema defines core concepts such as

actor, group, process, product, relationship.

The Product Extension schema defines abstract building components such as space,

site, building, building element, annotation

The other two Extension schemas define process and control related concepts such as task, procedure, work schedule, performance history, work approval

This level comprises entity categories that are commonly used and shared between multiple building construction and facilities management applications. For ex: Shared Building Elements schema has entity definitions for a beam, column, wall, door

The highest level of the IFC model contains entity definitions for concepts specific to individual domains such as architecture, structural engineering, facilities management

What is IFC?

What is IFC?

What is IFC?

Example Worldwide Projects CORENET (by the Singaporean Building and

Construction Authority) BuildingSmart (by the Norwegian government and

construction industry) The General Services Administration (in US) Ifc-mBomb (in UK) IFC Model Server project (in Finland)

Example

.....

#9882=IFCCARTESIANPOINT((0.050813,-0.021048,1.01));

#9883=IFCCARTESIANPOINT((0.055,0.,1.01));

#9884=IFCCARTESIANPOINT((0.04037,0.,1.01));

#9885=IFCCARTESIANPOINT((0.037297,-0.015449,1.01));

#9886=IFCPOLYLOOP((#9882,#9883,#9884,#9885));

#9887=IFCFACEOUTERBOUND(#9886,.T.);

#9888=IFCFACE((#9887));

.....

#11117=IFCLOCALPLACEMENT(#22,#11116);

#11137=IFCLOCALPLACEMENT(#11117,#11136);

#11138=IFCBUILDINGSTOREY('0569RZjlT2WhKYZgDcscTZ',#16,'EG','Ground Level of the FZK-House, Institut fuer Angewandte Informatik, Forschungszentrum Karlsruhe','',#11137,$,'Erdgeschoss',.ELEMENT.,0.);

Example

Example

Example

DEMO

Example

Video Time!

Results

The IFC, as the only public and well-developed data model for buildings and architecture, is a de facto standard worldwide.

It is being picked up and used in a growing number of applications, in both the public and private sectors.

The IFC, as a data model standard, is very alive.

Results

There are still some missing points due to standardization.

Some parts of the AEC are still evolving in IFC and other parts of the IFC needs testing to prove their standardization.

There are also some problems with the translator software that some of them can transfer models to IFC properly.

Results

BIM and IFC are still emerging technology

They need some time to complete their evolution.

Thanks for attention!