Industry Foundation Classes

A short introduction

2011

1 Table of Contents
2 3 Introduction.....................................................................................................................................3 Summaries.......................................................................................................................................4 3.1 3.2 4 5 Franais....................................................................................................................................4 English......................................................................................................................................4

Contextofthestudy........................................................................................................................5 PresentationoftheIFCmodel ........................................................................................................5 . 5.1 5.2 5.3 Introduction.............................................................................................................................5 TheBuildingSmartorganization..............................................................................................5 BenefitsofinteroperabilityinAEC/FMindustry.....................................................................6 Cost..................................................................................................................................6 Morecomplexbuildings..................................................................................................6

5.3.1 5.3.2 6

WhatistheIndustryFoundationClassesmodel?...........................................................................7 6.1 6.2 6.3 GeometricDataModel............................................................................................................7 BuildingDataModel................................................................................................................7 Definition.................................................................................................................................8 Modelarchitecture..........................................................................................................8 TheEXPRESSschema.....................................................................................................12 TheSTEPFilesyntax......................................................................................................13

6.3.1 6.3.2 6.3.3 6.4 6.5 7

IFCCertificationProcess........................................................................................................14 Otherproducts......................................................................................................................16

InternationalFrameworkforDictionaries.....................................................................................17 7.1 7.2 7.3 7.4 WhatistheIFD?....................................................................................................................17 WhyuseIFD?.........................................................................................................................17 PrincipleoftheIFDlibrary.....................................................................................................17 Currentdevelopment............................................................................................................18

. InformationDeliveryManuals ......................................................................................................19 8.1 8.2 PrincipleoftheIDM ..............................................................................................................19 . IDMProcessMapping............................................................................................................19

TheoreticalStudies........................................................................................................................20 9.1 9.2 ReadtheIFCfile.....................................................................................................................21 Thebeamexample................................................................................................................21 Experiences ...............................................................................................................................25 . 1

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10.1 11 11.1 12 12.1 12.2 13

ExportwithRevit...................................................................................................................25 PracticalProject.........................................................................................................................25 ConfigurateurIFC...................................................................................................................25 Otherworks...............................................................................................................................28 Tradescoordinationonnumericalmodels...........................................................................28 Automaticsteelframemodeling...........................................................................................28 Bibliography ..............................................................................................................................30 .

2 Introduction
MyprofessionaltrainingtakesplaceintheOSIdepartment(OrganisationdesSystme dInformation),integratedwithintheInformationSystemManagementofOger.Thisdepartment aimstomanageallBIMrelatedoperations,forinternalproductionaswellascontractsforthirdparty companies. TheBIM(BuildingInformationModeling)isstillanewsectorinthebuildingengineering,soour missionsgenerallyincludedapartofresearchanddevelopmentinordertomasteringnewtools providedbytheinformationtechnology. Asastandardofexchangeforbuildinginformationmodels,theIFCtakespartofthisdevelopment processes,andOgerInternationalneedstounderstandthisnewtrendandseewhatpossibilitiesits implies.ItswhyIhavetoanalyzetheIFC,themarketofIFCrelatedsoftware,thepossibilitiesfor practicalapplicationsandgivethefirmabetterunderstandingofthismodelandhowitcanbeused.

3 Summaries

3.1 Franais
Entantquenouveaustandarddchangedemodlesinformatiques,lesIFC(IndustryFoundation Classes)prennentuneplacegrandissanteauseindesnouvellestechnologiesdeconception informatiqueetdemodlisationdubtiment. Ceformatouvertpermeteneffetlinteroprabilitentrediffrentlogicielsdeconception,dedessin, decalcul,degestiondebtiment,etdoncdamliorerlestransfertsentrelesdiffrentintervenants durantlaviedubtiment. Afindemaitriserceformat,ilestnecessairedecomprendresonfonctionnement,ainsiqueses produitassoci,lesIFD(InternationalFrameworkforDictionary)etlesIDM(InformationDelivrery Manual). MotsCl:IFC,IndustryFoundationClasses,modlisationinformatiquedubtiment,MIB,conception 3D,CAO,IFD,InternationalFrameworkforDictionary,IDM,InformationDelivreryManual.

3.2 English
Asanewstandardforexchanginginformationmodel,IFC(IndustryFoundationClasses)havea growingimportanceinthenewtechnologyofcomputeraidedconceptionandmodelingofbuilding. Thisopenstandardallowstheinteroperabilitybetweenvarioussoftwaresolutionsofconception, design,calculus,andmanagementofbuildings,andsoimprovestransfersbetweendifferentactors duringthewholelifeofthebuilding. Inordertomasteringthisformat,itsnecessarytounderstanditsarchitecture,anditsrelated products,IFD(InternationalFrameworkforDictionary)andIDM(InformationDelivreryManual). Keywords:IFC,IndustryFoundationClasses,buildinginformationmodeling,BIM,3Dconception, CAD,IFD,InternationalFrameworkforDictionary,IDM,InformationDelivreryManual.

4 Context of the study

Buildingdesignandconstructioninvolvemanytradeswhichhavetocoordinatetheirworkduringthe wholeconstructionprocess.Synthesisbetweenallbuildingtradesisnowcompulsoryforevery project. Traditionally,coordinationbetweendesignofficeshappensthroughtwo(orthree)dimensional plans.Eachdesignerusestheseplansasabasisfortheirownstudiesthemreporttheresultontheir ownplans.Thisprocessimpliesthateachtradehavetoredrawtheirplansforeveryrevisionofthe buildingdesign,whichleadtoalossoftime,moneyandoftenerrorsormisunderstandingsduring thereport. Informationtechnologyspeedsuptheplansproduction,butdesignofficesgenerallystillhaveto redrawapartorthewholeplantobeabletoworkwithit. TheveryconceptoftheBuildingInformationModeling(BIM)istocreateaworkflowonwhichall involvedtradescanworkusingthesamemodelandwithouthavetorecreateitforthepurposeof theirownstudies. Successfulexperienceshavebeenleadduringwhichalltradesworkedonthesamemodeldrawnand processedbythesameBIMapplication.Butthissolutionquicklyshowedlimitedinitscapacities, mostlyduetolimitationsinherentinthesoftwaresolutionitself. Withtheincreasinguseofdigitalmodelinbuildingconstruction,interoperabilitybetweenthe varioussoftwaresolutionsbecamemoreandmoreimportant.Withthefactthanonlyonesoftware solutionorcompanycannotprovideforalltheneedsrequirebytheAEC/BMindustry(Architecture EngineeringandConstruction/BuildingManagement),differentapplicationsreleasebydifferent firmshavetobecompatiblewitheachotherinordertoavoidtimeconsuming,expensiveand inaccuratemanualdatacapture.

5 Presentation of the IFC model

5.1 Introduction
Inordertocreateamachinereadablelanguageforthebuildingindustry,BuildingSmart(formerly InternationalAllianceforInteroperability)hasdevelopedaconstructionspecificdatamodelnamed IndustryFoundationClasses.

5.2 The BuildingSmart organization

BuildingSmartisaninternationalorganization,createdin1995astheInternationalAlliancefor Interoperability(IAI)toimproveinteroperabilitybetweensoftwaresolutionsintheAEC/BMindustry. SupportedbymostoftheimportantBIMsoftwaredevelopersBuildingSmartnowbringstogether 5

morethan500membersfrom24countries,professionalsinconstructionsector,architects, engineersandsoftwaredevelopers. ThisorganizationdevelopedthreeStandardstosharestructuredbuildinginformation: theIFC(IndustryFoundationClasses)datamodelforexchangemachinereadablebuilding informationbetweensoftwaresolutions theIDM(InformationDeliveryManuals)defineprocessesfortheexchangeofinformation duringtheconstructionandthemanagementphasesofaproject. theIFD(InternationalFrameworkforDictionaries)definesastructureforaproductdatabase whichcanbelinkedtoanopenBIMmodel.

Thesestandardsaredefinedinordertoalloweachactoroftheconstructionprocessestosharethe correctdatainrighttime,whatevertheirbusinessapplicationsorprocessesare. Membersareregroupedin13chaptersdependingonlanguageorgeographicalarea.Forexample, MediaConstructistheFrenchspeakingchapterofBuildingSmart.

5.3 Benefits of interoperability in AEC/FM industry

5.3.1 Cost

In2007,astudyleadbyMcGrawHillConstruction,SmartmarketReport,statedthatproblemsof interoperabilitybetweensoftwaresolutionsduringDesignandConstructionphasesdirectlycost about3,1%oftheconstructioncost. In2009,theClubdesUsagersMdiaconstruct(FrenchChapterofBuildingSmart)andtheFFB (FdrationFranaiseduBtiment)evaluatedthecostofnoninteroperabilitysupportbyFrenchreal estateandconstructionindustry. Duringtheconstructionphase,directproblemsofinteroperabilitycostabout35foreachmof SHON(SurfaceHorsd'OeuvreNette)fornewconstructions.Theexploitationofcurrentbuildings withoutinteroperabilitycostabout2,3/mperyears. Theseestimationsonlytakeintoaccountthedirectcost,mostlyduetocaptureagaindatainnew softwaresolutionsanderrorsgeneratedduringthisrecapture.ButwithafullyintegratedBIM solution,itspossibletooptimizethedesignandconstructionprocessesfromthebeginning,and avoidmostdesignorplanningerrors,whichbaremostofcostoverrunintheAECindustry. 5.3.2 More complex buildings

3Dmodelandfreeflowofinformationbetweenalltradesinvolvedinaprojectallowrealizationfar morecomplex.Architecturalshapeslikedoublecurvedsurfacesorcomplexstructuresbecame 6

possiblethankstofullcollaborationbetweenalltradesandcompetences,eachactorbringingtheir knowledgeinthemodelwithoutdatalossormisunderstanding. Furthermore,byvirtuallybuildingthewholeprojectbeforestartingtheactualconstruction,planning orsupplydifficultiescanbeanticipatedandnegotiated,leadingtoprojectsdonemorequicklyand moreimportant,followingtheplanningallalongtheprojectlife.

6 What is the Industry Foundation Classes model?

Allcomputerprogramsneedanunderliningdatamodelinordertounderstandandorganizethedata ithandles.BIMsoftwareisnoexceptiontotherule. Twokindsofdatamodelsareusedtorepresentingbuildinginformation.

6.1 Geometric Data Model

Traditional2DCAD(ComputerAidedDesign)and3Dmodelingsoftwaresolutionsusepurely geometricdatamodels.Inthesemodels,informationisrepresentedasasetoflines,squares,circles for2Ddesignandasbasicsshapes(spheres,cubes,extrusions)for3Dmodeling. Inthesedatamodels,allinformationisgeometricanddefinedexplicitly.Forexample,alineis definedwithtwopoints,eachofthemdefinedbytheircoordinateinthemodelspace.Similarly,a sphereisdefinedbyapointandaradius. Butallthesegeometricentitiesarentlinkedtogethertocreateaconsistentmodelandremainonly geometricshapes.Themainadvantageofsuchageneralpurposegeometricmodel,itsversatility,is alsoitsmaindrawback,becausedomainspecificentitiesorpropertiescannotbeaddedtothe model.Thereisnointelligence"behindthebasicgeometricalshape. Withthiskindofmodel,awallissimplyrepresentedasaparallelepiped.Theapplicationdoesnot interpretitasawallandsodomainspecifictasksuchasawallschedule,forexample,cannotbe preformed. Limitstothiskindofmodelleadtothecreationofdataorganization,specifictotheAEC/BM industry.

6.2 Building Data Model

Likeanyotherdomain,AECindustryhastocreateitsownobjectbaseddatamodelsthatarespecific totheconstructionandbuildingmanagementprocesses.Thesedatamodelsarebuiltaround buildingentitiessuchaswalls,doorsandtheirrelationshipstooneanother.Eachelementis entitledawholesetofproperties,includinggeometry,material,cost,planning 7

Thesemodelsalsohandlenonphysicalentitiessuchasrooms,orbuildinglevels,whichcannotbe representedinageometryorientedmodel,butarepartoftheverydescriptionofeverybuilding.For example,aroomisafullydefinedentity,includingitsrelationtowallsandceilingsthatboundit.

Figure1DifferencesbetweenGeometricandBuildingDataModel

Thedevelopmentofabuildingspecificdatamodelishardlynew.GrafisoftsArchiCADorAutodesks Revithavebeenusingsuchamodelsincethebeginningoftheirdevelopment.Butalltheirinternal datamodelareproprietaryandcannotcommunicatewitheachotherwithoutspecifictranslation scripts. InordertoachievedinteroperabilityamongallsoftwareusedintheAECindustry,asimilarbuilding datamodelhasbeendevelopedsince1995byBuildingSmart.Thismodel,namedIndustry FoundationClasses(IFC)isanonproprietarymodelandisintendedtobeusedbyallapplications thatareusedtodesign,constructandmanagebuildings.

6.3 Definition
6.3.1 Model architecture

IFCisamodelingdatamodel,inspiredbytheSTEPmodel(StandardforExchangeofProduct)and usingthesamelanguage,EXPRESS.

TheIFCmodeldescribesmachineunderstandablebuildingentities.Buildingcomponentsuchaswall, door,slabareavailablebutalsomoreabstractconceptssuchasschedules,costs,spaces,activities Theseentitiescanhaveanumberofpropertiessuchasidentity,material,cost,etc. TheIFCmodeldoesnotprovideadefinitionforanyobjectorconceptusedintheAEC/FMindustry, butprovidesgeneralconceptthatcanbedetailedbyincludingsetsofproperties.Thisconceptallows amuchmorecompactandbetterstructuredmodel.Currently,thelatestreleaseoftheIFC,theIFC 2.4sversionhas759entities,i.e.objectsandconcepts. Thearchitectureoperatesonagravityprinciple,whichmeansthatanentityatagivenlevelcanonly berelatedtoentitieslocatedonthesameleveloratalowerlevel. Thisarchitectureprovidesamodelwithallthequalitiesrequired: Modularstructure Frameworkforsharinginformation Easymaintenanceanddevelopment

Figure2Overallmodelarchitecture

Theyarefourconceptuallayersinthemodelwhichare,fromthelowesttothehighest: Resourcelayer:ThelowestlevelintheIFCsarchitecture.Resourcesarerepresentingbasics propertiesorgeneralpurposeconceptsthatcanbeusedbyanobjectinanupperlevelforits definition,suchasgeometry,material,measurementForinstance,alltheinformation concerningbasicconceptsofcostsiscollectedtogetherwithinthecostschema,the IfcCostResource.Anyclasseswithintheupperlayersthatneedtousethecostconceptwill refertothisresource. Corelayer:ItcontainsthemostabstractentitiesoftheIFCmodel.Itsdividedintwolevelsof generalization.TheKernelschemadefinescoreconceptswhichareusedinallhigherlevels entitiesinthemodel,suchasactor,group,process,product,relationship,andsoon.Thethree ExtensionschemadefineabstractelementsthatrelytotheAFCindustry.Forinstance,the ProductExtensionprovidesconceptsforgeneralbuildingelementsuchasbuilding,space,site, buildingelement Interoperabilitylayer:Itprovidesobjectsandrelationshipscommonlyusedandsharedby varioustradesduringthelifescycleofthebuilding.Forinstance,SharedBuildingElements schemadefinesentitiessuchaswall,beam,door,etc. Domainlayer:ThehighestleveloftheIFCmodelcontainsentitiesdefinitionsforconcepts specifictoeachtrade.Forexample,theHVACDomaindefinesconceptsforboilers,chillers,coils, etc.

6.3.1.1 Property sets: Someproperties,suchasthecrosssectionofabeam,areuniversal,andcanbehardcodedintothe modelasattribute. Butforthemainpartofproperties(=IFCPROPERTYSINGLEVALUE),whichcanbeseendifferentlyby differentactors,suchasnationalbuildingcodes,theyaredefinedinaseparatepropertyset (=IFCPROPERTYSET)thatcanbeattached(with=IFCRELDEFINESBYPROPERTIES)totheelementand behavejustlikeattributes. 6.3.1.2 Proxies ProxiesaredefinedtocreateentitieswhichwerentbeenincludedintheIFCmodel.Thesecanhave ageometry,attributesandpropertysetsjustlikeanyentitiesintheoriginalmodel 6.3.1.3 Example HereisanexampleofsomecommonelementsoftheIFCschema,withtheirproperties(inbrackets), thelayerswhereitbelongsandtheirplaceintheIFCinherencetree.

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IfcRoot(GlobalID,OwnerHistory,Name, Description) IfcPropertyDefinition ifcPropertySetDefinition IfcPropertySet(HasPropertires) IfcPropertySetDefinition IfcRelationship IfcRelDefines IfcRelDefinesByProperties(RelatedObjects, RelatingPropertyDefinition) IfcRelAssign IfcRelAssociates IfcRelConnects IfcRelDecomposes IfcObjectDefinition IfcObject(ObjectType) IfcProduct(ObjectPlacement,Representation) IfcElement(Tag) IfcBuildingElement IfcWall(PredifinedType) IfcWallStandartCase IfcSpacialElement(LongName) IfcSpatialStructureElement(CompositionType) IfcSpace(HasCoverings,BoundeBy) IfcBuilding(ElevationOfRefHeight, ElevationOfTerrain,BuildingAdress) IfcBuildingStorey(Elevation) IfcProcess IfcControl IfcRessources IfcActor IfcGroup IfcProject IfcContext IfcProject

KernelElements ProductsExtensionElements SharedBuildingElements

Figure3Architectureexample

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6.3.2

The EXPRESS schema

IndustryFoundationClassesarebasedontheEXPRESSlanguage.Itisadatamodelinglanguage definedbothtextuallyandgraphically.Thislanguagecanexplainanydatamodelthatformally definesdataobjectsandtheirrelationships. Datatypes TherearesixtypesofdataintheEXPRESSlanguage: Entity Enumeration:Simplestringsdefinedinalist Defined:Furtherspecializesotherdatatypesdefinition Select:Defineachoiceoranalternativebetweendifferentoptions. Simple(String,Binary,Logical,Boolean,Number,Integer,Real) Aggregation(SET,LIST,BAG,ARRAY)

Theentitydatatypecanhaveattributesrelatingentitiestogetherinaspecificrole.Therearethree differentkindsofattributes,explicit(directvalue),derived(fromanexpression)andinverse(name andconstrainanexplicitvalue)attributes. Anentitycanbedefinedasasubtypeofoneorseveralotherentities,calledsupertype.Asupertype canhaveanynumberofsubtypes. Asanexample,hereistheEXPRESSschemaofafamily.The"father"and"mother"linksareOptional AttributeSymbols,linkingtheentity"Person"withentities"Male"and"Female".

SCHEMA Family; ENTITY Person ABSTRACT SUPERTYPE OF (ONEOF (Male, Female)); name: STRING; mother: OPTIONAL Female; father: OPTIONAL Male; END_ENTITY; ENTITY Female SUBTYPE OF (Person); END_ENTITY; ENTITY Male SUBTYPE of (Person); END_ENTITY; END_SCHEMA;
Figure4FamilySchemainEXPRESS

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Figure5EXPRESSGdatatype

6.3.3 The STEPFile syntax

TheIFCfileisatextformatdefinedbytheISO1030321standard,knowasSTEPFile,themost widelyuseddataexchangeofSTEP.ThesyntaxoftheIFCfilefollowthesameformat. TheIFCstructureiseasilyreadable,withoneentityperline,andcodelinkstoreachotherlines.An usualIFCtextfilelookslikethis: ISO1030321; HEADER; FILE_DESCRIPTION(('ViewDefinition[CoordinationView]'),'2;1'); FILE_NAME('','20110329T16:21:42',(''),(''),'AutodeskRevitStructure2011 1.0','20100615_2115(x64)',''); FILE_SCHEMA(('IFC2X3')); ENDSEC; DATA; #1=IFCORGANIZATION($,'AutodeskRevitStructure2011',$,$,$); #2=IFCAPPLICATION(#1,'2011','AutodeskRevitStructure2011','Revit'); #3=IFCCARTESIANPOINT((0.,0.,0.)); #4=IFCCARTESIANPOINT((0.,0.)); #5=IFCDIRECTION((1.,0.,0.)); #6=IFCDIRECTION((1.,0.,0.)); #7=IFCDIRECTION((0.,1.,0.)); .... #34=IFCPROJECT('23c3cizZTENPj2HHp24VPd',#33,'',$,$,'','',(#27,#28),#23); ENDSEC; ENDISO1030321; 13

 Thefileisdividedintwoparts: TheHEADERcontainsgeneralinformationaboutthefileanditscreation. TheDATAsectioncontainstheIFClines: #34=IFCPROJECT('23c3cizZTENPj2HHp24VPd',#33,'',$,$,'','',(#27,#28),#23); Instancename:#34.It'stheGUID(GloballyUniqueIDentifier)oftheentity Instancedescription:IFCPROJECT Instanceattributesbetween()

Attributevaluescanbedefinedintheentityorasareferencedinstance. Asanexample,here,'23c3cizZTENPj2HHp24VPd'istheGUIDoftheproject,#33istheOwnerofthe model,''isthenameoftheproject,$and$aretwounsetattributes,respectivelythedescription andtheobjecttype,''istheLongName,''isthephaseoftheproject,(#27,#28)isasetofreferences fortheRepresentationContextand,#23isareferencetoUnitsusedinthisproject.

6.4 IFC Certification Process

InordertoincreasereliabilityofmodelsgeneratedbyapplicationsclaimingsupportofIFC,Building Smarthassetupaprocessofcertificationfortheseapplications.Thisprocesshasbeenrecently updatedsoastoimprovethequalityofsoftwareinterfacesandtostrengthentherigidnessof certification.MajorCADsoftwaredevelopershavesignedinforthisnewIFCCertification2.0. 6.4.1.1 General workflow for certification AllthecertificationprocessismadethroughtheGlobalTestingDocumentationServer(GTDS). Candidatesusethisservertodownloadthetestfilesandreporttheirresults. Aftertheregistration,softwaredevelopersmustcreateexportfilesontheirownsoftware application.Thesefilesmustbedesignedsolelyfromscratch,basedonlyon2DDXFdrawingsand referencescoordinates.AllthismaterialisprovidedbytheBuildingSmartCertificationProgram. ThesefilescoversdifferentfieldsoftheIFCimplementation: Generaltest(forexampleforpersistenceoftheGUIDs,supportofcharactersets,etc) Entityspecifictest(abeamorawallforexample) Smallcomplextestcases(asmallhouse)

Oncethesefileshavebeenexported,thesoftwaredevelopermustchecksaccuratepointsinorderto certifythegoodresultofhisexport. 14

TheImportCertificationreliesmoreorlessonthesameprinciple,withIFCfilescreatedforthis purposebyBuildingSmartandcheckedaftertheirimportinthesoftwareapplication. Theexportandimporttestfilesaremanuallychecked,bothbyaselfcheckbythesoftware developerandbyacountercheckbythecertificationtester. Currently,allthesesoftwaredevelopershaveregistertocertificatetheirimplementationoftheIFCin thesesoftwareapplications,withfirstofficialcertificationsexpectedbyautumnof2011.

Software Developer Archimen Autodesk Autodesk Autodesk Bentley Systems Data Design System Design Data Gehry Technologies Graphisoft NEMETSCHEK Allplan NEMETSCHEK North America NEMETSCHEK SCIA Plancal Progman Solibri Tekla VIZELIA

Software Application Active3D AutoCAD Architecture AutoCAD MEP Revit Architecture Bentley Architecture DDS-CAD MEP SDS/2 Digital Project ArchiCAD Allplan Vectorworks Scia Engineer nova MagiCad Solibri Model Checker Tekla Structures Facility on line

Exchange Requirement - (*) Architecture BuildingServices Architecture Architecture BuildingService Structural Architecture Architecture Architecture Architecture Structural BuildingService BuildingService - (*) Structural - (*)

Export/Import Import Import & Export Export Import & Export Import & Export Export Import & Export Import & Export Import & Export Import & Export Import & Export Import & Export Import & Export Export Import Import & Export Import

6.4.1.2 Some tests Tounderstandthesetests,IhavemyselfsentsomefilestotheGTDSwhereanautomaticchecking toolfromKarlsruheInstituteofTechnologycheckstheIFCcodetofindoutsomebasicalproblems, butdoesnotcheckthefileswiththenewCoordinationViewVersion2.0. WithfilescreatedwithDigitalProject,thecheckingdoesnotfindmanyproblems,butthesoftware cannotreadIFCfilesmadeinRevit.

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Figure6OverviewoftheGTDSwebinterface

6.5 Other products

Arealfreeflowofinformationneedsnotonlyastandardizedexchangeformat,butalsoadefinition ofwhatandhowweexchangeinformation.Threefactorsareneeded: 1. Anexchangeformatusedtodefineinformation(DigitalStorage) 2. Aspecificationofwhichinformationtoexchangeandwhentoexchangeit(Process) 3. Auserfriendlyreferenceinordertoknowwhatinformationisactuallyexchange (Terminology) TocreatethiscompleteOpenBIMstandardizedsolution,BuildingSmartalsobuildsandmaintains tworelatedspecifications,theInformationDeliveryManualIDMandtheInternationalFramework forDictionariesIFD.

Figure7InteroperabilitythroughStandards

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7 International Framework for Dictionaries

7.1 What is the IFD?

Standardizedunderstandingofwhattheexchangedinformationactuallyis

7.2 Why use IFD?

WhiletheIFCformatdefinesanexchangestandardforbuildinginformationbetweendifferent softwaresolutions,itdoesnotdefineallpossibleconceptsusedintheAEC/FMindustry.Building descriptionintheIFCformatreliesmainlyongeometries,withassociatedpropertiessuchasthetype oftheobject,thematerial,thenameoftheobjectMainsconceptsaredefinedasIFCcomponent, suchasIfcWallorIfcSpace,butmostofpropertiesaredefineasplaintextstring. Asanexample,theoccupationofanIfcSpace(aroom)isdefinedbythearchitectasKitcheninhis designapplication(Revitforexample).Inordertocalculatethestructure,anengineerneedstoknow therightdesignloadforeachroom,andthustheoccupationofeachroom.Thereceivingapplication, whichhelpstheengineertocalculatethestructure(Robotforexample),willunderstoodthe meaningofKitchenwithdifficulty,evenifKitcheniscorrectlyspelled.Withmostcomplicated concept,orbetweendifferentlanguages,itbecomesvirtuallyimpossiblewithoutusingtheIFD.

7.3 Principle of the IFD library

TheaimoftheIFDlibraryistodefinetheseconceptsandtermsandgivethemauniqueidentification number,orGUID(GloballyUniqueIDentification).Stringslikenamesareunderstoodbytheuser whiletheunderlyingGUIDisunderstoodbythecomputer. TheIFDlibraryworkswiththeIFCformatandprovidestheIFCmodelwithconceptsusedinthe AEC/FMindustrytocreateacompleterepresentationofabuilding. TheIFDlibraryiscurrentlyindevelopment,andaimsatreplacingthedefinitioncurrentlystoredin theIFCmodel. ContentswithintheIFDlibraryareorganizedintwotypes: Concepts(labeledasTerms)definethingsthatcandistinguishfromother.Conceptsarelabeled byNamesandlinkedthroughanamingrelationship.Oneconceptcanhavemanylabels (synonymsordifferentlanguages)andoneNamecanrefertovariousconcepts. Characteristics(labeledasProperties)aretheconceptswhichcannotberelatedtoothers.Their meaningisprovidedthroughadescription.ThereareonlyafewtypesofCharacteristics: Behavior,Environmentalinfluence,Function,Measure,PropertyandUnit. 17

 Conceptsarerelatedtootherwithrelationships,dependingonthecontext.Forexample,whatwe seeasadoorcanbedifferentconcepts,dependingonhowweareusingit.

Figure8Differentconceptsforadoor

AcomputerusedtheedifferentconceptsthroughtheirGUID,whichprovidedauniqueidentification forthem. Theseconceptsallowanarchitecttodefineadoorasawaybetweentwospaces(firstconcept), whileastructuralengineerwillseeitasanopeninginastructuralwall(secondconcept)anda carpenterwillseeitasanassemblyofadoorleafandadoorframe(twomoreconcepts).Allthese conceptsarelinkedtogetherandcanbeunderstoodbyspecializedsoftwareapplicationineach trade.

7.4 Current development

CurrentlyonlyDutchandNorwegianshavecreatedtheirownIFDlibrary.Dutchareleadingaproject toharmonizedthesetwoprojectsandcreateasharedglobalandmultilingualdictionary. Thecoreofthesesystemareobjectorienteddatabased,storedoncentralizedservers,basedonthe EXPRESSstandard.ThisstandardallowsusingtheEPMTechnologysEDMServer,aproprietary solutionforstorageofthisstandardizedformat.Severalbrowserarebeingdevelopedtoexplored concepts,definitionsandpropertiesstoredontheseservers,suchastheBrowsalizerdevelopedby buildingSMARTNorwayandStandardsNorway.

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Figure9OverviewoftheBrowsalizerinterface

8 Information Delivery Manuals

8.1 Principle of the IDM

BuildingInformationModelingalloweachtradestodescribeanddisplaytheinformationrequiredfor thedesign,constructionandoperationofconstructedfacilitiesintoasingleoperatingenvironment. Bybringingtogetherthedifferentthreadsofinformation,itallowtoreduceandeveneliminating exchangeofpaperbaseddata.Toreleasethebenefitsofthisworkflow,informationfromeveryone mustbeavailablewhenitsneeded.Forthistohappen,eachactorinvolvedinthedesignor constructionprocessmustworkinacommonintegratedworkflow.Hereisthegoalofthe InformationDeliveryManual(IDM). TheIDMprovideacommonreferenceforprocessesanddataexchangewithinaBIMworkflow.It aimstodescribepreciselybuildingconstructionprocessesforbothBIMusersandBIMsolution provider.

8.2 IDM Process Mapping

TheIDMstandardisaprocessmap,usedtounderstandtasks,activities,actorsandinformation involvedintheAEC/FMindustry.ItusestheBusinessProcessModelingNotationorBPMNtodraw thisprocessmap. Asanexample,here'sanoverviewoftheTopLevelStructuralEngineeringProcessMap: 19

 1. Activitiesareshownwithina"container"knowsasa"swimmingpool"indentifiedbytherole oftheconcernedactor. 2. Activitiesaredividedbydepartmentknowsas"swimlanes"indentifiedbyarole. 3. Activityisrepresentedbyaroundedrectangle,usuallynamedbyanactionandanobject.An identifierisgiveninayellowbox. 4. Activitiesinthesameswimmingpoolarelinkedbyarrow 5. Adashedlinearrowisusedtopassinformationtoanotherswimmingpool. 6. TheEndEvensoccurattheendoftheprocess 7. TheStartEvenoccuratthebeginningoftheprocess 8. Gatewaysareusedtocontrolthesplittingandjoiningofsequenceflows,theyrepresent decision. 9. An"Exchangerequirement"definethedatainvolveinthecommunicationbetweentwo differentswimmingpool.

9 Theoretical Studies
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9.1 Read the IFC file

TheSTEPlanguageismadetobeeasilyunderstoodbothbyacomputerandanhumanreader. Relationsbetweenelementsarewrittenclearlyina.txtfile.Butwhendealingwithawholebuilding model,theIFCfilecancontainedthousandoflines.Asanexample,thestructuralmodelofoneofthe buildingoftheCanopDesHallesprojecthadaboutonemillionlines. TounderstandtheIFCstructureofsuchmodelandtheexportingprocessbothinDigitalProjectand Revit,IfirstcreatedanapplicationinordertosortandextractspecificelementoftheIFCtextfile.

Thisapplication,developedinVB.NETcreateinanExcelspreadsheettheinheritancetreeforanyIFC entitiesspecifiedinthemessageboxshownabove. Thisapplicationreadtheparentlineandfindallthereferenceforchildrenentities(#andanumber). ThenitfindtheIFCfilethechildlinethemselves,andinsertthembelowtheparentlineinthenext row.

#39=IFCBEAM('000000003m54skdly000tg',#89,'Beam.1','0.4572x0.6096',$,#42,#10,$); #89=IFCOWNERHISTORY(#88,#84,.READWRITE.,.ADDED.,1303296957,$,$,1303296957); #42=IFCLOCALPLACEMENT(#41,#69); #10=IFCPRODUCTDEFINITIONSHAPE($,$,(#11));

Thisoperationisappliedlinebylineoneachrowuntileverychildarefounded:
#39=IFCBEAM('000000003m54skdly000tg',#89,'Beam.1','0.4572x0.6096',$,#42,#10,$); #89=IFCOWNERHISTORY(#88,#84,.READWRITE.,.ADDED.,1303296957,$,$,1303296957); #88=IFCPERSONANDORGANIZATION(#87,#85,$); #84=IFCAPPLICATION(#86,'V1R4SP7','DigitalProject','DigitalProject'); #42=IFCLOCALPLACEMENT(#41,#69); #41=IFCLOCALPLACEMENT($,#69); #69=IFCAXIS2PLACEMENT3D(#62,#75,#76); #10=IFCPRODUCTDEFINITIONSHAPE($,$,(#11)); #11=IFCSHAPEREPRESENTATION(#71,'Body','SweptSolid',(#17));

Thisapplicationallowmetoquicklygenerate,analyzeandcompareinheritancetreesforspecificIFC entities.

9.2 The beam example

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 TounderstandhowanyobjectisdefinedintheIFCmodel,IhavelookintheexportedIFCfilesof beamsofdifferentshapefromdifferentsoftware. Abeam,likeanyotherAEC/FMobjectisdesignasanobject(IfcBeam)withanId (IfcGloballyUniqueId),aName(IfcLabel),aposition(IfcObjectPlacement),ageometrical representation(IfcProductRepresentation)andoptionallyatype(IfcBeamTypeEnum). TherearetwocategoriesofgeometricalrepresentationintheIFCmodel. Simplegeometricalshapecanberepresentedwithtraditional3dmodelingoperations,suchas extrusion,rotation,sweptalonganaxis...Thesegeometricalrepresentationsretainstheelements' parametersvalue,suchasthickness,height,referenceaxis...Theseparametersareeasilymodifiable, sotheshapecanbeedited.Thisistheformusuallysupportedbystaticanalisysprogramwhich supportbasicshapeHowever,complexshapecannotberealizedwiththesemethods. TheBoundaryrepresentation(BREP)canrepresentanyshapebyassemblingtrianglestocreatethe boundarysurfaceoftheobject.Ifthisrepresentationcanreproducepreciselytheshapeofany object,theelement'sparametersarelostandtheimportedobjectisnoteditableanymore.

Figure10Slantedwal

Here,thiswallcanbeseenasanarchitecturalwall,whereitsshapemustfollowtheotherwall,but alsoasgeometricalrepresentationofastructuralelementwhichdon'tneedtobeslantedtobe structurallyrepresentative.

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Figure11Slabwithslantededge

Wehaveherethesamechoicebetweenanextrudedgeometryeasilyeditableandamoreprecise surfacebasedrepresentation.

Figure12Chainedbeams

Incaseofachainofelements,anextrudedrepresentationwilljusteshoweachbeam,withtheiraxis andtheirlenght.Wewillnotbeabletomodifyasurfacebasedrepresentation,buttheshapeofthe interseerctionwillbecorrectlyrepresented. ThedefinitionmethodofabeamissimilarinRevitandDigitalProject.TheIFCBEAMentityownan IFCPRODUCTDEFINITIONSHAPEwhichgeneratethegeometricalrepresentationofthebeam.Forany straitbeam,thisgeometryiscreatedbyextrudingaprofilealonganaxis.Theprofileisgenerally defineasanassemblyoflinesandcurveswhichcreateaclosedprofile. Furthermore,RevitaddsinthisIFCPRODUCTDEFINITIONSHAPEtherepresentationoftheaxisofthe beam.

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Differentwaystodefinethegeometricalshapeofabeam:
IFCBEAM GlobalId IfcGloballyUniqueId AsGUID OwnerHistory IfcOwnerHistory Name IfcLabel AsString Description IfcText AsString ObjectType IfcLabel AsString ObjectPlacement IfcObjectPlacement IfcLocalPlacement Representation IfcProductRepresentation IfcProductDefinitionShape IfcRepresentationItem IfcBooleanResult IfcBasedSurfaceModel IfcShellBasedSurfaceModel IfcSolidModel IfcManifoldSolidBrep IfcSweptAreaSolid IfcExtrudedAreaSolid IfcRevolvedAreaSolid IfcSweptDiskSolid Tag IfcIdentifier AsString PredifinedType IfcBeamTypeEnum AsEnumeration

Themodelincludevariouspossibilitytocreatevariousrepresentationshapesfrommeshes, extrusion,revolution,sweep,booleanoperationonsolidoranyothercreationmethodallowin3D modelingsoftware. 24

ThebasicelementofallgeometricalshapesistheIfcCurve,withcanbeastraightline,acircle,an ellipse,aparametriccurve,apolyline,aBziercurveoracurvegeneratefromasurface. Theonlylimitationseemstobecomplexsurfaces,with2dimensionalcurvatureandgeneratefrom2 ormore3Dsplines.Nevertheless,thesekinkofcomplexshapescanbeapproximatewithmesh basedsurfaces.

10 Experiences

10.1 Export with Revit

OneofmyfirstexperienceswiththeIFCexportwastocreateanIFCfilewithRevitthenimportitinto anewRevitproject.Herearethefirstresultsoftheimportofawall: Awallstillhavehisbaseconstraintoalevel(Level1forinstance)buthavelosthisupper constrain.Itnowdefinedasawallwithaspecificheight. WallalonestayasawallsystemfamilyasweimporttheIFCfileinRevit WallwithahoststaysasawallsystemfamilyasweimporttheIFCfileinRevit.Thehoststaysas aLoadableFamily,buttheFamilyNameislost,onlytheTypeNameiskept

11 Practical Project
11.1 Configurateur IFC
OneofthemostadvancedIFCbasedprojectisthe"ConfigurateurIFC",developedsinceMay2009by thegroupSaintGobain,specializedinbuildingmaterials,inpartnershipwiththeCSTB(Centre ScientifiqueetTechniqueduBtiment),apublicresearchcenterforinnovationsinbuilding construction. AfterhavingdiscoveringitduringapresentationoftheCSTBproducts,IhavemeetM.Ortas, responsibleforthedevelopmentoftheConfigurateurIFCatSaintGobain,whohavehelpme understandit. TheConfigurateurIFCisa"Smart"constructionproductscatalogmadebySaintGobain.Itgenerate automaticallypartitioningwallsandliningswithmetalframe,glasswoolinsulationandplasterboard onanIFCmodel The"ConfigurateurIFC"hadtwofunctionsordinaryrealizedbyahumantechnician.Firstly,itfindthe bestinsulationsystemdependingonlocalregulations,expectedthermalefficiencyandgeneral configurationofthebuilding.Thenitinstantiatethissystemwiththecorrectsupportframelayout, dependingonroomshapeandopeningsposition.

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Figure13Theautomaticallyinstantiatedinsulationsystem

ThisConfigurateurIFClinkstogethervariousdatabasearoundanIFCmodelshownontheopen sourceIFCmodelviewerdevelopedbytheCSTB,EveBIM. Afteranalyzingdimensionsoftheroomandassociatedthermalparameters,itsearchthecorrect systemintheSaintGobain'sproductsdatabase.TheseproductsaredescribedfollowingtheDTH format(DictionnaireTechniqueHarmonis).Thisformat,developedwiththeAFNOR(Association FranaisedeNormalisation)bySaintGobain,aimtostandardizedthedescriptionofbuilding constructionproductinordertomaketheircharacteristicsunderstoodbyanysoftwaresolution usingtheserules. Varioussystemsarecheckedtobeconformwiththeregulationdefineinspecificformatinasecond database. ThenitwritetheIFCfiletomergeintothemodelthenewpartitioningwallswiththecorrect propertiesandquantities.

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Figure14ConfigurateurIFCprinciple

ThedevelopmentoftheConfigurateurIFChavebeenmadeinrelationwithBuildingSmart,andhad allowedtofindsomelackintheIFCdefinition.SomenewIFCclasses,suchasIfcExternalCoverings, arecurrentlyinstudyafterimprovementremarksfromtheConfigurateurdevelopmentteam.

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12 Other works
Duringmyinternship,IhavebeenpartofotherprojectsalongwithmystudiesabouttheIFCmodel. Heresashortpresentationoftheseworks.

12.1 Trades coordination on numerical models

OneofthecurrentprojectsofOgerInternationalisonatoweratMonaco.Thecontractinvolvesthe coordinationofthestudiesofdifferenttradesontheprojectusinganumericalmodelofthebuilding. Themainsubjectisthedetectionofclashesbetweendifferentobjectsdesignbyeachcontractors.To doso,drawingsfromeachtradeareintegratedintoacommonRevitmodel.Thenaclashdetectionis realizedwithinNaviswork,asoftwaresolutionfromAutodesckwhichdetectinterferencesbetween geometricalrepresentationofobjectswhichmakethemodel.Itproducesalistofreportsdetailing clasheswiththeirparameters(GUID,position,elementsinvolved). Butthisreportsarentenoughaccuratetobeusefulforthesynthesiswork.Wehavetolocateonthe commonRevitmodelthepositionofeachclashandextractadetailedplanofitsarea. Inordertoautomatethisprocess,IhaverealizedanaddonforRevitwhichextracttheinformation linkedwitheachclashanduseittocreatedetailedplansoftheareainvolved,withitslocationonthe model. NavisworkhavetheabilitytoexportclashreportsonaXMLformat.Bystudyingthesefiles,Iwasable tocreateaVB.NETapplicationthatreaditandextractrelevantinformationabouteachclash. OneIhavethisinformation,IusethepositionscoordinatestohighlighttheclashintheRevitmodel, andcreateautomaticallyadrawingofthearea. Otherinformation,likesIDsofelementsinvolveintheclashallowmetodisplaythecorrectviewof themodel,whereallelementsarevisibleandwellframedontheplan. WithanExcelapplicationdevelopedbymycolleague,itbecamepossibletoplacethisplanesonan Exceldatasheet,withallrelevantinformationabouttheintersection,andthencreateautomaticallya fullyreportforeachclash.

12.2 Automatic steel frame modeling

OurscopeofworkontheMidfieldTerminalCompleximpliestocreateamodelofthesteelstructure fromtheroof.Thisstructurefollowsthecomplexshapeoftheroofandismadeofabout250parts eachwithonemainbeam,abouttenpurlins,and30TopHatpurlins.Thenumbersofelements madeittoolongtodrawitpiecebypiece. 28

Torealizeit,Ihavefirstlydrawnthewireframeofthemainstructure,supportingeachofthe250 mainparts.ThepointofthiswastocreatereferenceswhereIcaninstantiatethesameelement250 times,byusingoneofthefunctionsofDigitalProject.Thiselementwillbemadeofamainbeam,a variousnumberofpurlinsandTopHatpurlin,insulationandtheroofcladding. ButifDigitalProjectcaneasilyadaptdimensionsofelementsdependingofthereferences,itcannot actualcreatenewones.IhavetodevelopaVBAapplicationwhichcreatesthecorrectnumberof purlinsandTopHatpurlins,dependingonthespanofthemainbeam.Thisapplicationmeasures thelengthofthemainspanandcalculatesthecorrectnumbersofpurlinstomakeup,givensome rulesforplacingthem. Ifinallycreateacommonelementwhichcanadapttoitsposition,andusinganotherBVAscript, placeitoneachlocation,followingthewireframestructure.

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13 Bibliography
ThomasLiebich,JeffreyWix,(October27,2000)IFC2xTechnicalGuide LachimiKhemlani,(March30,2004)TheIFCBuildingModel:Alookunderthehood.AECbytes http://www.aecbytes.com/feature/2004/IFCmodel.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Industry_Foundation_ClassesWikipediaspage,March1st,2011 http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ISO_1030321WikipediaISO1030321spage,December29th,2010 BuildingSmartshomepagehttp://buildingsmart.com/ OfficialtechnicalspecificationonIFChttp://www.iaitech.org/ IFC2x3ReferenceGuideforArchiCAD15Grafisoft2011 IFDLibraryWhitePaperhttp://www.ifdlibrary.org IDMLearningGuidehttp://www.iai.no/idm/index.html,February18,2011

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