The
required reading discusses the problems and challenges with interoperability
between different BIM systems. Each BIM
application has its own file format which is usually not compatible with other
systems. If there was a universal file
format, then models could be exchanged freely to take advantage of the various
features that each BIM tool offers. This
free exchange would be useful throughout a building’s life cycle. The reading discusses Industry Foundation
Classes (IFCs), which attempt to solve the data interchange issues. IFCs are limited because they must be updated
frequently in response to changes in BIM software so they lag behind the
updates.
My second
reading also relates to data interchange and IFC issues. I read “The Role of IFC for
Sustainable BIM Data Management,” a research paper that presents the
results of a preliminary analysis into IFC data interchange. The authors are investigating the differences
in coding when importing and exporting IFC files from different BIM
applications. For the preliminary
investigation, this involved the files created from a wall component with identical
properties that was generated in both Revit Architecture and ArchiCAD. They created four IFC files by: exporting
from Revit, exporting from ArchiCAD, importing the Revit file into ArchiCAD and
exporting, and importing the ArchiCAD file into Revit and exporting. The coding of each file was analyzed to
determine any differences.
The
analysis showed that the number of lines in the code and the types of IFC
entities were different for each file.
About 78% of the coding entities are common to all four files, but only
54% of the entities are seen in the same quantity in each file. The analysis provides insight into how
different BIM tools generate files, for example, Revit created 2D axis
information. This insight into IFC file
generation shows the issues that still remain for interoperability. The data can be used to make data interchange
more efficient. More efficient data
exchange results in sustainable data that can be used throughout a building’s
life cycle, from the design to facility management. Sustainable data is an important part of BIM
design that saves time and resources.
It is good to see actual data of how the software is failing in this respect and how it costs the project. Data lost or corrupted is data that has to be repopulated by a user at some point. This work is redundant and costly. The question is whether the pressure of a free market will bring a resolution to this problem. I think not until data exchange is viewed as valuable to the software as parametric definitions will data interoperability be given the attention it needs. It will take time for BIM to become a necessity to all parties in a project. Once this is the case, data transfer will be imperative to the software.
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