B2 - Chapter 3 – Interoperability

For this post I read chapter 3 from the BIM Handbook regarding Interoperability. Interoperability is characterized as having the ability to make various platforms/systems be able to function seamlessly together. In any building or construction project, it is essential for all parties (i.e. companies, business groups, drawings etc.) to work together to ensure the final product was designed and finalized without any conflicting information or techniques. The topic of interoperability has been raised almost since the creation of 2D drafting software. It was quickly realized that with the birth of multidisciplinary function, files, objects and models, that the file exchange format would become too large and complex.

To combat this and many other major problems at hand, the International Standards Organization (ISO) put together a committee to address the issues and develop new technologies. New products and languages were quickly created where an “object refers to a computer language concept that 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”. The chapter delves into much more technical terminology of how ISO’s standard (STEP) functions as well as the organization of the Industry Alliance for Interoperability. The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) was also established to allow for the sharing of data (building information, specifications, details etc.) that would be consistent when transferring across various applications.

Today, interoperability remains an important concept in all phases of design especially as technologies press forward to make the gap even smaller between disciplines and personnel working across different computing platforms while addressing the same project. Figure 3-1 (page 74) provides great examples of “specific domain uses from a single IFC project”.  I have had the opportunity to work on projects where I used programs that displayed all pertinent project information like Figure 3-1. I could not imagine collaborating with other team members or accessing information any other way. It was very interesting to read about the rapid and progressive growth of data by creating common exchange formats for images, 2D and 3D formats. The future of IFC is something I am interested in as I am a senior about to enter the engineering world. For example, the chapter discusses the “implications of IFC use” and how data models are becoming implemented to automatically check for building codes and for the review of designs. More stringent submittal requirements will need to be put into place to ensure checks of this magnitude can be carried out. Space method calculations have slowly been implemented by ANSI-BOMA (ANSI 1996) and are explained on page 83. I would not be surprised to see this technology used daily in firms in the very near future.

Eastman, Charles M. "Chapter 3: Interoperability." BIM Handbook: A Guide to Building Information Modeling for Owners, Managers, Designers, Engineers, and Contractors. 2nd ed. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2011. 99-149. eBook.


Comments:

Dmitriy Vonzyak - I agree that one major change that needs to occur, and is occurring, is companies sharing and coordinating directly instead of keeping things to themselves ("trade secrets"). I've experienced this first hand working for a firm that used Bentley ProjectWise to rapidly and effectively share and work on project(s). There were primary base files and certain people in various groups got access to specific parts of the project. Multiple programs (CAD and Microstation) were used for this project.

Taylor Castonguay - While I have used for numerous school projects (building and site design), I never came across the error you spoke of relating to scalability. I assumed that if the program was being used by students and especially engineering/architecture firms that they would be fully capable to handle large scale models and designs.