Interoperability is a “hot
button” topic in the design and construction field with many companies joining
the initiative. The text defines interoperability as, “the ability to pass data between applications, and for
multiple applications to jointly contribute to the work at hand”. Whereas in the
past it seemed as though design software firms kept their codes, “trade secrets”,
private to ensure nobody stole their ideas and market share, now they
understand the growing need to coordinate alongside with various applications. Interoperability
aims to support
the cross-modeling of designs throughout the various engineering fields as we
recognize that each sub-part can have different software and design teams can
consist of people in various companies. In fact, The National BIM Standard (NBIMS) and buildingSMART (an industry consortium) aims to standardize the data required for software
interoperability.
Before, in order for a structural designer to
evaluate their system, all of the information would need to be manually entered
from another application and would lead to some sort of inconsistency. As BIM
(Building Information Modeling) systems increase in technological capabilities
the models themselves carry data from one software to another. Though, this
does increase the file size and may slow down older computers, the files shared
from one software can contain extremely important information such as material
properties, fabrication
lead-time, schedule to install, specifications, etc. Indeed these “building model repositories” will become a common
technology for managing BIM projects to help increase understanding and
functionality.
In the meantime, I hope to learn
more about the interoperability of software with both my project for the
Intelligent Building course and my senior design project. I plan to use
Autodesk software as they are leading the market in interoperability (though through
many acquisitions of smaller firms) with software suites such as: AutoCAD, Revit, Simulation, Green
Building Studio, Ecotect Analysis, Rendering in A360, Navisworks Simulate,
Seek, Buzzsaw, Showcase, and maybe others. Though it may
seem like Autodesk controls the market, one company will never have a monopoly.
I believe the future of BIM and construction is extremely interwoven
with the interoperability of a lot of various software.
REFERENCES:
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.
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