BIM chapter 3 was interesting, but very difficult to read and absorb the information. Despite that, I learned several important points from it, which both answered some questions I had and awaked an interest in the future of BIM (regarding the interoperability). It has been clear for a while to me, and it was once more verified, that interoperability still remains one of the “hot topics” in AEC industry, as it is transitioning to BIM. There are quite a few exchange formats, but most of them are very “user” or “project” specific (translating object based model to an energy analysis). Based on this reading assignment as well as my personal experience of discussing the matter with industry professionals, there still is a need for a full interoperability of fully editable models both ways. This raises several issues, concerning proprietary programming and BIM platform developers need to remain competitive, which the reading assignment did not elaborate on.
Articles chosen:The assigned reading concentrated on the technical (software) interoperability, whereas the article I chose expanded the interoperability definition to also include as an activity, which includes change in how AEC industry conducts its business. Interoperability is not only technological concern, but different AEC industry branches, instead of avoiding direct contact with one another, now have to collaborate throughout the design process, changing their manner of business, in addition to new software implementations. In truth, BIM interoperability has to address all technical concerns, AEC cultural adaptations, business practices, and new legal issues. This article raises a very valid oint (without answering it), that there is a strong need to determine the actual (productivity and financial) value of BIM interoperability.
This article is of the type I have been searching this entire term – an actual BIM model conversion from IFC to usable working model test. ASHRAE Headquarters building was renovated, and they used this opportunity to test BIM for energy modeling. This was to be done by converting a 2-year old model from one BIM platform to another using Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs). At the beginning, the progress of converting the model, cleaning it up and modeling Load Calculations seemed promising, but after the model was run, the result were unreasonably low. After a careful investigation, they discovered, that even though exterior element such as doors and windows were converted (visually) the new BIM software was not able to recognize it for the analysis purposes. At the end the following conclusions was reached by the design team: “The effort to clean up the IFC model far exceeded the time to create a new native BIM model”. While this is not good news, it was refreshing to read about the reality of IFC capabilities as it relates to today’s industry. I only hope, that as more similar examples emerge, the development and improvement of IFCs will grow, because it has some great potential for the future of BIM.
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