OPEN INFORMATION ENVIRONMENT

FOR

COLLABORATIVE PROCESSES LIFECYCLE OF A BUILDING

THROUGHOUT THE

FINAL ACTIVITY REPORT

Project no: Instrument: Start: Period covered:

IP 026716-2 Integrated Project September 2006

Project acronym:

InPro

Thematic priority: 3.4.4.2 Duration: 51 months

from 01.09.06 to 30.11.10 Date of preparation: 18 January 2011

Dissemination: Partners: Authors: Revision:

Public TNO; NCC, P3, Max Bgl Rizal Sebastian, Peter Bonsma; Birgitta Berglund, Christina ClaesonJonsson; Erika Kuchar; Markus Pfitzner Final

Project co-funded by the European Commission within the Sixth Framework Programme (2002-2006)

COPYRIGHT
Copyright 2006 2010, The InPro Consortium, consisting of:

NCC: Bouygues: Hochtief: White:

NCC Construction Sverige AB, Sweden Bouygues Travaux Publics SA, France Hochtief Aktiengesellschaft, Germany White Arkitekter AB, Sweden

Client Forum: Swedish Association of Building Construction Clients (Byggherreforum), Sweden Granlund: Bauhaus: Lule: Maribor: AEC3: P3: CSTB: TNO: Dortmund: MaxBgl: YIT: J-CDS: Eurostep: Olof Granlund Oy, Finland Bauhaus-Universitt Weimar, Germany Lule University of Technology, Sweden University of Maribor, Slovenia AEC3 Ltd, United Kingdom P3 - Digital Services GmbH, Germany Centre Scientifique et Technique du Btiment, France Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research, The Netherlands Universitt Dortmund, Germany Max Bgl Bauservice GmbH & Co. KG, Germany YIT Kiinteisttekniikka Oy, Finland JAQAR Concurrent Design Services B.V., the Netherlands Eurostep AB, Sweden

This document may not be copied, reproduced, or modified in whole or in part for any purpose without written permission from the InPro Consortium. In addition to such written permission to copy, reproduce, or modify this document in whole or part, an acknowledgement of the authors of the document and all applicable portions of the copyright notice must be clearly referenced. All rights reserved. This document may change without notice. Disclaimer: The information in this document is provided as is and no guarantee or warranty is given that the information is fit for any particular purpose. The user thereof uses the information at its sole risk and liability.

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
1 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 2 2.1 2.2 PROJECT EXECUTION SUMMARY DESCRIPTION OF PROJECT OBJECTIVES PROJECT ORGANISATION WORK PERFORMED END RESULTS IMPACT DISSEMINATION AND USE DISSEMINATION USE 4 4 5 6 7 9 10 10 10

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PROJECT EXECUTION

1.1 Summary Description of Project Objectives

In the construction industry in Europe and around the globe, a major transformation is taking place in the use of ICT. Information exchange based on stand-alone documents and 2-dimensional drawings are being replaced by the use of multi-dimensional Building Information Modelling (BIM) for knowledge sharing and integration. Innovation in ICT moves alongside the changing way of working in the construction industry towards an integrated collaboration between the stakeholders for delivering buildings and infrastructures with optimal life-cycle sustainability. Within the life-cycle process, the early-design stage of a building project is the most crucial. Although this phase only takes a minor amount of time and cost of the whole project, the early-design stage determines a major impact. On average, by the time merely 1% of the project cost is spent in the early-design stage, up to 70% of the lifecycle cost has been committed in conceptual-design decisions. The early-design stage has, therefore, become the focus of the InPro project. The main objective of InPro is to radically transform the early-design phase of a building project (either in new building or renovation). This is achieved through: Business concepts and processes that provide incentives for model-based working and open collaboration between all stakeholders (Business pull) Smart, fully semantic ICT enabling an exchange, sharing and reuse of information throughout the building lifecycle (Technology push) Support actions for direct implementation in the European construction sector (Industrial transformation) The fulfilment of the project objectives at the end of the project can be described as follows: Project objectives Main achievements

We have developed the way and clearly demonstrated Main aim: To radically transform the Early-Design phase of that integrated and collaborative early-design is feasia building ble, practical, and beneficial for all stakeholders Objective 1: Business concepts We have identified the generic business solutions and and processes for model-based collaboration framework, and described the information working and open collaboration workflow key processes for open collaboration Objective 2: Smart, fully semantic ICT enabling an exchange, sharing and reuse of information throughout the lifecycle We have conducted advanced development of IFC standards and tools for immediate implementation while paving the way for the practical development of a fully semantic collaborative hub.

Objective 3: Support actions InPro knowledge has been adopted in strategic develfor direct implementation in the opments by BuildingSMART, in the research agenda of European construction sector ECTP, and in the action plan of main construction companies Additional objectives: A public Almost a full day of the well-visited BuildingSMART indemonstration and an active ternational conference in September 2010 was dedicatcollaboration with software ed to InPro demonstration; joint R&D with Autodesk, manufacturers Solibri, Synchro, IDA have taken place in the framework of demonstrations

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1.2 Project Organisation

InPro stands for Open Information Environment for Knowledge-based Collaborative Processes throughout the Lifecycle of a Building. It is one of largest collaborative R&D projects in building and construction co-funded by the European Commission within the 6th Framework Programme (FP6), with over 13 million Euros project budget. The project officially started on 1 September 2006 and ended on 30 November 2010. In more than four years period, 20 partners from 9 different EU countries were involved. The project was driven by 5 European major construction companies in collaboration with construction client associations, architects, ICT and consulting companies, universities and research institutes.

1.2.1 CONTRACTORS INVOLVED

Participant no 1 2 3 6 7 8 11 12 13 14 15 17 18 20 21 22 23 24 Participant name NCC Construction Sverige AB Bouygues Travaux Publics SA HOCHTIEF Aktiengesellschaft White Arkitekter AB Swedish Association of Building Construction Clients (Byggherrarna) Insinritoimisto Olof Granlund Oy Bauhaus-Universitt Weimar Lule Tekniska Universitet Univerza v Mariboru AEC3 Ltd. P3 Digital Services GmbH Centre Scientifique et Technique du Btiment Nederlandse Organisatie voor Toegepast Natuurwetenschappelijk Onderzoek TNO Universitt Dortmund Max Bgl Bauservice GmbH & Co. KG YIT Kiinteisttekniikka Oy JAQAR Concurrent Design Services B.V. Eurostep AB Country Sweden France Germany Sweden Sweden Finland Germany Sweden Slovenia United Kingdom Germany France The Netherlands Germany Germany Finland The Netherlands Sweden

1.2.2 COORDINATOR DETAILS

Christina Claeson-Jonsson NCC Construction Sverige AB Gullbergs Strandgata 2 405 14 Gteborg Sweden Email: christina.claeson@ncc.se Web: www.inpro-project.eu

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1.3 Work Performed

As an integrated research project, the activities for research, development, demonstration, and knowledge dissemination in InPro were carried out interactively and interdependently, as shown in the following scheme.
Develop innovative business concepts Develop collaboration framework and methods Review existing ICT tools and develop novel tools and open standards Develop and evaluate a prototype of OIE

Integrate innovations on business-pull side and technology-push side Demonstrate the OIE with key processes of construction companies Develop a training platform, a business course, and university curricula Disseminate the knowledge and contribute to future standardization Develop short and longterm exploitation plans

InPro consisted of ten work packages (WPs), organised in four groups correlating with the InPro Objectives and Output. Business concepts, developed in WP1, created incentives for the construction sector to focus on Early Design. WP2 aimed at structuring the Early Design processes, for collaboration, communication with stakeholders, and designing with a lifecycle perspective, all based on key processes identified directly by the industry. The Business Processes are supported by ICT solutions, consisting of an Open ICT Platform (WP4) which was integrated with a number of crucial ICT Processes developed in WP3. InPro did not involve development of new ICT solutions. It only addressed integration of existing ICT via adaptation of existing software functionalities to make them more compliant with the suggested business processes and open standards. The business innovations were integrated with its supporting technologies in WP5 into the Open Information Environment, which was then demonstrated and validated through a number of full-scale pilots in WP6. Finally, WPs 7, 8 and 9 started an industrial transformation and created a focus on early design through Training, Dissemination/Input to standards, and Exploitation/Protection of knowledge, respectively. The management of this fairly decentralised project is located in WP10.

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Business pull WP1 Business Concepts 1.1 Best practice * 1.2 Improved business concepts * 1.3 Key performance indicators 1.4 Strategies for take-up WP2 Early Design Processes 2.1 Key use cases 2.2 Collaboration processes * 2.3 Capturing stakeholder values * 2.4 Lifecycle design processes

Technology push
WP3 ICT Processes * 3.1 Info management applications 3.2 Early design applications * 3.3 Neutral information structures WP4 Open ICT Platform 4.1 Requirements * 4.2 Specifications 4.3 Implementations

WP10 Project Management

WP5 Integration 5.1 InPro Open Information Environment 5.3 Performance evaluation 5.2 Barriers and opportunities 5.4 Cooperation with the ECTP InPro Open Information Environment WP6 Demonstration 6.1-5 Demonstrator tests

WP7 Training & Education Training platform Business courses University curricula

WP8 Dissemination & Standards Website, events, etc Scientific publications Input to standards Industrial transformation

WP9 Exploitation Exploitation strategies IPR Long term management

* = elements of fundamental research

1.4 End Results

Until the completion of the project at the end of 2010, InPro has successfully developed new BIM-oriented collaboration frameworks, tools, and business concepts which enabled project teams to design, visualise, and communicate the essence of a complex facility to all stakeholders effectively and efficiently. For the early-design stage, InPro has provided solutions to key challenges, among others: complex geometry, multi-disciplinary decision-making, and design logistics. InPro generated the necessary knowledge to facilitate the construction industry to take a significant step to progress with BIM (refer to the implementation stages as described in the article by Bilal Succar in the Proceedings of CIB World Conference, 2010).
Data creation Data exchange Data management

Object-based

Model-based Network-based

InPro enables European construction industry to progress with BIM

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Regarding business concepts and processes, the outcomes of the InPro project encompass strategies, methods and instruments for an open collaborative working in the earlydesign stage, e.g. in terms of capturing stakeholders values and translating these into key performance indicators, design change management, and integrated procurement. The main results on ICT development can be illustrated by the following scheme.

The InPro Open Information Environment (OIE) with the BIM collaboration hub as the central part is the key ICT development to support and integrate different aspects and processes in the early-design stage. The InPro Open Information Environment is characterised by: an open and flexible collaboration between all stakeholders; designing from a lifecycle perspective, based on n-dimensional BIM; a simulation-driven decision support system which is capable of taking into account the consequences during the building life-cycle; an early planning of design, construction and information workflow key processes based on computer enabled simulation of smart digital prototypes. Next to InPro OIE, the main results of ICT development are: Definition of information workflows in InPro key processes Object versioning & change management Open-source software toolbox for processing IFC data IFC-based solutions to connect different applications IFC clash detection and requirements validation IFC improvements and combined use of standards

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1.5 Impact
With the focus on BIM, InPro results cover the aspect of collaborative processes for integrated design (the so-called business pull) as well as the corresponding ICT developments (the so-called technology push). The technical results can be summarised as follows. For ensuring a successful collaboration, InPro knowledge should be implemented both at the corporate level as well as at the supply-chain level. Each of these results can be implemented separately in a company or building project. Nevertheless, the InPro Open Information Environment (OIE) as a complete system is able to support the four crucial aspects in a collaborative early-design work: a) Open collaboration; b) Lifecycle design; c) Smart decision-support; d) Early planning of the building and operation phases. The implementation potential of InPro results have been demonstrated through proof-ofconcept in the industrial context of 5 large construction companies in the InPro consortium. Partial and full-scale building demonstrations were carried out to validate the practical impact of the results. This included: Demonstration of key process on approval workflow between the client, contractor, and subcontractor Demonstration of design coordination between the architect and mechanical, electrical and plumbing (MEP) designer Demonstration of construction scheduling and facility management Demonstration of energy performance analysis Demonstration of cost management Furthermore, for encouraging and facilitating the transformation in the European construction industry, a number of business and academic training courses have been organised during the InPro project. The training materials remain available and accessible for future use to educate project managers, architects, engineers, and skilled workers, and students. The wider impacts of InPro are a significant contribution to realise the vision of the future European construction industry by achieving: reduced life-cycle costs of sustainable buildings that are adaptable to the users changing needs over time; efficient processes for design, construction and use, which in turn increase the competitiveness of European construction industry at large; environmental friendly construction which reduces the waste of materials, energy, and time; new opportunities for construction labours and SMEs in the European Information Society; solutions and tools to support emerging business concepts, such as Partnering, Private Finance Initiative (PFI)/Public Private Partnership (PPP), and performance-based contracting; a breakthrough and the widespread use of advanced ICT in construction.

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DISSEMINATION AND USE

2.1 Dissemination
During the project a total number of 52 deliverables were produced. 10 of these were public and available for all from the InPro web site (www.inpro-project.eu). Public versions were made of 19 deliverables. These are also available from the web site. During the project, a total of 142 dissemination activities of various forms took place. See the tables below. All publications can be found on the web site.

2.2 Use
Below a summary of the publishable exploitable results that the project has generated can be found. Concurrent design method for building and construction Implementation of concurrent design method in the construction sector, using knowledge gained in the InPro project. It will be further developed and exploited especially by J-CDS through their consultancy. Contact: Martin Fijneman, J-CDS, martin.fijneman@j-cds.nl

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Supporting tool for capturing stakeholder values/requirements mapper Software tool for mapping of client requirements to structured objects. The tool will be further developed for commercial use by J-CDS. Contact: Martin Fijneman, J-CDS, martin.fijneman@j-cds.nl IFC interface A plug-in for Microsoft Project: an application for explaining new great functionalities in IFC 2x4 and for practical use in combination with BIM and scheduling. The tool will be further developed for commercial use by TNO and RDF (cluster member). Contact: Peter Bonsma, TNO/RDF, peter.bonsma@rdf.bg Open IFC tools and 4D BIM editor Because of the worldwide lag of freely (in source code) available software for processing and visualisation of IFC data a set of such components was developed in Java from scratch. To support key process 4 "model based scheduling" a full blown 4D Editor with interface to MS Project was developed on top of these components. It reads/writes/visualizes topology, geometry, quantity, schedule, cost and 4D information based on IFC2x3. The tool is available through buildingSMART and the open IFC tools web site. The tool can be further commercialised on request by Hochtief. Contact: Jan Tulke, Hochtief, jan.tulke@hochtief.de IFC implementation guide for energy analysis As part of deliverable D19, an IFC2x3 implementation guide had been developed for key processes. For KP3, energy analysis, the IFC2x3 "Implementation Guide for Definition of Space Boundaries for Energy Analysis" had been developed and made publicly available as an InPro white paper. The InPro white paper has been submitted to buildingSMART, a world-wide non-for-profit association to support building information modeling based on open standards. AEC3 will use the knowledge to perform additional services to software companies that want to support IFC implementations. Income is expected from certification of software and potential validation of information delivery in projects. Contact: Thomas Liebich, AEC3, tl@aec3.de IFC support for model-based scheduling As part of deliverable D19, an IFC2x3 implementation guide had been developed for key processes. For KP4, model-based scheduling, the "Discussion paper on IFC support for model-based scheduling" had been developed and made publicly available as an InPro white paper. The InPro discussion paper has been submitted to buildingSMART, a worldwide non-for-profit association to support building information modeling based on open standards. It led to considerable improvements of the international standard ISO16739 (IFC). AEC3 will use the knowledge to perform additional services to software companies that want to support IFC implementations. Income is expected from certification of software and potential validation of information delivery in projects. Contact: Thomas Liebich, AEC3, tl@aec3.de

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Energy-related client software implementation Software implementation for further development and to be made commercially available by Granlund. Contact: Tuomas Laine, Granlund, tuomas.laine@granlund.fi 7 industrial training modules InPro developed seven industrial training packages. Packages 1, 2 and 4 to 7 are courses and package 3 is a handbook to be used for individual studies or as a book of reference. The courses are mainly half day or full day events and are focusing on problem-solving and exercises including real-life examples rather than theories: Package 1 - Client Requirements Workshop how to capture and assess values and requirements in briefing process (in early design phase) using a collaborative IT platform (e.g. transformation of goals and requirements into technical parameters). (Responsible Client Forum) Package 2 - BIM Collaboration Hub Basics how to work with basic functionalities related with BIM collaboration hub (e.g. import/export, handling of requirements, link to design, validation of design against requirements). (Responsible Eurostep) Package 3 - Open BIM Guidelines how to use BIM / IFC taking into account issues like energy and scheduling (including the case of different IFC client software). (Responsible AEC3) Package 4 - BIM-Based Collaborative Processes how to deal with approval and collaborative workflow on a same digital model (e.g. digital simulations, mapping of tasks and responsibilities, information validation). (Responsible Bouygues) Package 5 - Energy Analysis how to use and manipulate BIM for predicting the use and cost of energy in buildings and assessing heating and cooling demand based on comfort criteria. (Responsible NCC) Package 6 - Smart decision-making tool a systematic approach to evaluate the performance of virtual building designs and analyses. (Responsible LTU) Package 7 - Cost Management how to assess the financial consequences of changes in design and between different design alternatives and thus provide input to technical and operational brief (e.g. estimate investment and lifecycle costs, highlighting important issues, BIM, perform quality check). (Responsible YIT) The courses are available from inpro.itcedu.net. Several project partners will continue to give courses using the training modules after the end of InPro. More information can be found on the projects web site (www.inpro-project.eu). Contact: Package 1 Package 2 Package 3 Package 4 Package 5 Package 6 Package 7 Sven Fristedt, ClientForum, sven.fristedt.ekeroe@bredband.net Vino Tarandi, Eurostep, vaino.tarandi@eurostep.com Thomas Liebich, AEC3, tl@aec3.de Pierre Benning, Bouygues, p.benning@bouygues-construction.com Stefan Dehlin, NCC, stefan.dehlin@ncc.se Thomas Olofsson, Lule, thomas.olofsson@ltu.se Tapio Hirvonen, YIT, tapio.hirvonen@yit.fi

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5 academic learning modules Material and curricula have been developed for university courses. The five InPro learning modules cover knowledge necessary to understand and to be able to work in the InPro way. The following learning modules have been developed: Module A - Smart Decision Making Framework - to provide an understanding of the Smart Decision-Making Framework, which has been developed in the InPro project, as an approach of creating decision making support in a model based design process. Module B - Model Based Energy Design - to provide an understanding and knowledge of how to perform energy analysing in an integrated BIM driven design process. Module C - IFC Object Versioning - to provide a thorough understanding of the advantages of using an object versioning approach within a collaborative building information modelling environment against using the traditional document management systems. Module D - BIM Technologies and Model Based Working - to provide an understanding and the ability to use 3D CAD, BIM and application interoperability Module E - InPro Business Model to provide an understanding of the theoretical framework of the InPro business concept and awareness about individual, project specific aspects The courses are available from inpro.itcedu.net. The courses will be available from the InPro universities through their regular course programs. Contact: Module A Module B Module C Module D Module E Thomas Olofsson, Lule, thomas.olofsson@ltu.se Stefan Dehlin, NCC, stefan.dehlin@ncc.se, Jutta Schade, Lule, jutta.schade@ltu.se Mohamed Nour, Bauhaus, Mohamed.nour@daad-alumni.de Nenad u Babi, Maribor, Nenad.babic@uni-mb.si Mike Gralla, Dortmund, mike.gralla@uni-dortmund.de

Training platform The course material is available from a training platform (inpro.itcedu.net). It is available for public use. Contact: Nenad u Babi, Maribor, Nenad.babic@uni-mb.si BIM handbook The BIM handbook by buildingSMART has been substantially extended to cover process as well as project management and organisational issues. It can be accessed through http://www.bim-guide.org. Contact: Thomas Liebich, AEC3, tl@aec3.de

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ISO 16739 (IFC 2x4) standard The new release of the openBIM standard IFC includes several improvements made possible by the work of the InPro consortium. The IFC2x4 standard is published by buildingSMART international and is publicly available. It has also been submitted to the International Standardization organization ISO for the second edition of ISO16739. The standard will be further developed through a new project in which AEC3 is a participant. Contact: Thomas Liebich, AEC3, tl@aec3.de IFC 2x4 implementation guidelines IFC 2x4 implementation guidelines are publicly available and will be further developed through AEC3s new project. Contact: Thomas Liebich, AEC3, tl@aec3.de Model-based scheduling Jan Tulke, Hochtief, finalised his doctorate thesis at Bauhaus University during the InPro project. The thesis is available from the Bauhaus web site. Contact: Jan Tulke, Hochtief, jan.tulke@hochtief.de Energy simulation and life cycle costs Jutta Schade, Lule, finalized her licentiate thesis at Lule University during the InPro project. The thesis is available from the Lule web site. Contact: Jutta Schade, Lule, jutta.schade@ltu.se

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