3/30/06 BIM: How does the emerging BIM concept relate to specs? 50 th Annual CSI Show & Convention, Las Vegas 1 Welcome to The 50 th Annual CSI Show™ and

3/30/06 BIM: How does the emerging BIM concept relate to specs?50th Annual CSI Show & Convention, Las Vegas

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Welcome to The 50th Annual CSI Show™ and Convention

BIM: How Does the Emerging Building Information Model Concept Relate to Specs?

Susan McClendon, CSI, CCSExecutive Vice PresidentBuilding Systems Design, Inc.

Las Vegas, NV

March 28 – April 1, 2006


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Questions We Hope to Answer

• What is BIM?

• How can a specifier use a project BIM?

• How will electronic information retrieval (interoperability) work?


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What is BIM?

• The acronymn BIM refers to:– The concept of Building Information Models

as repositories for shared project information• “BIMs” in general

– The actual repository of shared project information for a particular project

• “The BIM”

– The process of developing building information for a particular project

• The term “modeling” used as a verb


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Visions of BIM as a Concept

• Different visions depending on your point of view:– Facility owners

• Hope for improved facility management operations and lowered costs

– Software vendors• Hope for increased sales

– Design professionals• Hope for improved production methods and lower

costs


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Facility Owner Vision

• Best represented by NIBS National BIM Standard Project Committee.– Founded late 2005– NIBS Facility Information Council– Many U.S. government facilities agencies– Private organizations– Software vendors

• Broad, life cycle view


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NBIMS Definition

• "A Building Information Model (BIM) is a digital representation of physical and functional characteristics of a facility. As such it serves as a shared knowledge resource for information about a facility forming a reliable basis for decisions during its life-cycle from inception onward.

• "A basic premise of BIM is collaboration by different stakeholders at different phases of the life cycle of a facility to insert, extract, update or modify information in the BIM to support and reflect the roles of that stakeholder. The BIM is a shared digital representation founded on open standards for interoperability.

• "The US National BIM Standard promotes the business requirement that this model be interoperable based on open standards."


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NBIMS Definition

• Key concepts:– digital representation of physical and

functional characteristics– shared knowledge resource– life cycle– open standards– interoperability

• No mention of 3D CAD or geometric model


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Software Vendor Vision

• “…parametrically-defined interacting building objects

• “…simultaneous 2D/3D/parametric viewing and editing

• “…integrated reporting of non-graphical data“• Tend to think that their software application will

function as the [single] repository for project BIM data

• Focus on the design and construction phases


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Design Professional View

• Torn between these two opposing views

• Need to do what their clients want

• Limited to software offerings available


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BIM as Repository

• Two fundamentally different ways to look at BIM as a repository for shared project data

• 1. SINGLE-PACKAGE concept

• 2. MULTIPLE-APPLICATION concept


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Single-Package Concept

• All data is actually stored in a single data structure manipulated by a single software application

• Contract documents produced as a “view”

Geometry, dimensions, location

Space program Design, regulatory criteria

Product info Specifications

Cost info Scheduling info

Submittals data Project record data

O&M data Occupancy data


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• Some specs-related solutions suggested as by-products of using 3D CAD:

1. Generation of the entire Project Manual as a “view” of the 3D model

• The “just push a button to get the specs” method

2. Elimination of specifications as text documents • Replaced by the property sets attached to objects

3. Automatic coordination of the specs and drawings• Presumably because the single location precludes the

need for coordination


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• 3D CAD Vendor View:– It’s the simple and obvious solution– They really do hope their software will solve

everybody’s other problems too

• They are handicapped by their:– Natural blind spot regarding data that doesn’t

fit in the geometric model– Lack of knowledge about specs


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• Design Professional View:– It’s the simple and obvious solution– They want to use 3D geometric models

• They are handicapped by:– Not understanding enough about specs– Lack of any examples

• No Single-Package solutions exist, so they haven’t had a chance to see how it might (or might not) work


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• Facility Owner View:– No opinion – do whatever works– See NBIMS definition – open source is best,

so reliance on a single vendor solution is bad– Too soon to tell

• Early testing has shown that the organization’s information processes usually change as a result of the analysis


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Multiple-Application Concept

• The most compelling argument for the Multiple-Application concept is the multitude of data types that need to reside in a comprehensive project BIM

• Many of the non-geometric data types require completely different software functionality, such as – Text management– Database searching, visual and text reporting


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Record documents


Specs

Contract Documents

Bidding DocumentsRegulatory criteria

Design criteria

Space program

O&M data

Submittals data

Scheduling data Cost estimating dataOccupancy

data

Project Record Drawings or Model

2D Drawings or 3D geometric model


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• BIM data resides in multiple locations accessed by multiple software applications– Current situation

• The data locations are accessible to all who need the data– Not usually true but relatively easy to do

• The software applications can interchange data without human intervention– Future goal, necessary for effective use


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• International Alliance for Interoperability (IA) promotes multiple-application concept

• IAI Ifc model has standardized interoperability for a sub-set of all data needed in a BIM

• Much spec-related data is housed in “user-defined” data structures

• No standard terminology for user-defined data


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Interoperability Principles

• Translation of data between similar applications– CAD to CAD, word processing to XML files– Goal is replication without loss of data

• Communication of data between dissimilar applications– CAD to specs, specs to CAD, CAD to cost

estimating, estimating to scheduling, etc.– Goal is to inform, for coordination, accuracy,

completeness


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Interoperability Principles

• Different applications perform different functions• Each does not contain all the data of the others,

only the data it needs for its purposes• What happens after communication depends on

the software application– Some “execute” – automatically change their own

data based on the incoming data– Some “advise” – notifying the user that there may be

a coordination problem


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3D CAD vs. BIM

• A BIM could use 2D CAD, or even digitized paper drawings

• 3D geometric modeling is more useful

• 3D geometric model is not the entire BIM

• Lots of different technologies

• For specification purposes, the CAD technology doesn’t really matter as long as it can store useful data


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PART 2

HOW CAN A SPECIFIER USE A 3D MODEL?


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Using a 3D Model

• Retrieve information that helps identify what to specify

• At present, retrieving relevant information requires a human to read the data– Except for one interoperability-style application

• Printed reports can be generated by some applications

• Otherwise, the specifier will have to use the 3D software itself


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Using a 3D Model

• What specification-related data do 3D model software packages store?

• Elements– Walls, roofs, doors, windows, equipment, specialties,

etc.

• Element properties– Identification – names, id numbers, etc.– Dimensions – length, thickness, height, width– Locations – X, Y, Z coordinates– Visual Characteristics - colors, textures, gloss,

rendering characteristics– Element-specific properties – e.g. fire rating


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Using a 3D Model

• Some 3D model software packages also store:– Material properties other than visual

characteristics• Manufacturer name, model name, other

identification

– Components of composite elements• e.g. the layers in a wall or roof• Tied to the material names for visual purposes


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3D Geometric Model Software

• “Object”-Based: – Building elements are handled as objects,

with associated properties

• But…– Products as specifiers understand them

(materials and equipment) are NOT usually handled as objects in the 3D model

– Materials, as understood by the software, are properties of surfaces, used primarily for visual rendering


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Object Example

• Exterior wall made of brick on stud backup– Autodesk Revit models this as:

• Wall Element (with properties)• Internal layers identified• Layers labeled with a “material” identification• “Materials” can have identity properties as well as

visual properties

– Schedules list:• Counts and quantities of elements• Counts of “material” instances


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• Autodesk Revit wall object insert tool


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Object Example

• Graphisoft ArchiCAD handles this example in the same way as Revit, except:– No internal layers are identified– Users may add database records attached to

the element for:• Text description of internal components• Computational parameters for quantity take-off• Identification purposes

– Printable Schedules list any element or property stored in database


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Graphisoft ArchiCAD window object insert tool


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Object Example

• Bentley Architecture handles this example in the same way as Revit, except:– Internal layers are not defined, but can be

user defined– Users may add any type of property desired– Printable Schedules list any element or

property stored in database


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• Bentley Architecture window insert tool


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Spec Info NOT in 3D Models

– Individual bricks, studs, sheathing panels, and such are NOT modeled as 3D objects

– Things like doors and windows, which we tend to think of as products, are handled as element objects

– “Materials” are not objects, just sets of properties, almost entirely for visual rendering

– Most packages print lists of element names but not usually their properties

– Some packages print lists of “materials” used


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Autodesk Revit Materials settings


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Relevant Features

• What is the 3D software’s built-in Library?– How many elements does it include and of what

types?– What types of element properties are offered?– How does it handle products and their properties?– How complete is the information in the properties

fields?– Can your add your own elements?– Can you add your own properties?– Can you use blank pre-defined properties for other

purposes?


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Relevant Features

• Are there print-outs for specifier use?– What kinds of predefined and customizable schedules

or lists are there?– What types of objects and properties are shown on

the schedules or lists?– For composite elements, can the internal components

be reported?– Can the text labels, tags, or keynotes be printed in a

report?– Can the schedules or lists be printed out without

placing them on a 2D drawing sheet?


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Meaningful Information Retrieval

• Depends on whether the 3D model’s data structure will hold the data needed– All of those reviewed have some deficiency

• Depends on how the specification application reacts to the incoming data– Does it “advise” or “execute”?


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• Depends on the completeness of the 3D model’s data– Usually not the specifier’s responsibility– Built-in library objects usually have a lot of

blank properties– If the user adds elements with only graphical

representation, then only a label, tag, or keynote will identify it

– An office-master object and product library will probably be necessary


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• Start by using the “out of the box” tools to retrieve information

• Prove to yourself that the 3D model can hold the information needed by the specifier

• A software solution will not be any more satisfactory than the manual method


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PART 3

ELECTRONIC INFORMATION RETRIEVAL


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Interoperability

• What type of interoperability should be promoted between 3D model packages and specifications?

1. Get information from the spec to prepare the model

2. Get information from the model to prepare the spec

3. Compare information from both, to correct errors

4. Look up information in completed documents


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Passing Information From the 3D Model

• Should we want to generate the spec from the information in the 3D model?

• Could specs as text documents be eliminated?

• Is there enough information in the 3D model to serve as specifications?

• If we wanted to could we put enough data in the 3D model to generate the specs?


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• Because the 3D geometric model contains objects representing building products with attributes that define their properties, some people think:– This is sufficient information to generate a

specification– We could just click on an object in the model

to view the specs, no text document required– We could just push a button and out comes

the entire project manual


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• But specs as text documents can’t be eliminated• Human-readable, legally-enforceable documents

are required for Contract Documents– As long as Design-Bid-Build, Fixed-Price is a viable

contracting method, text documents will be required– Stable text documents, not just text regenerated on

the fly from a database– Electronic copy will be acceptable in the future, but it

will still be visual images of the stable text documents


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• Is there enough information in the 3D model to serve as specifications?– No, product names and properties are not sufficient

information for Contract Documents– Other types of information needed:

• Quality assurance and quality control• Workmanship• Auxiliary products never shown on the drawings• Acceptable sources• Substitution limitations• Contract administration procedures• Other contractual issues


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• If we wanted to could we put enough data in the 3D model to generate the specs?

• In theory, all the “other” spec data can be stored in little bits in the database and assembled into a text document based on built-in criteria

• The 3D CAD software would need to be a text manager– Very complicated software– Functionality currently not provided– Functionality served adequately by other software– Why not just interoperate instead?


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Generating Specs from 3D Model

• But wouldn’t it be reasonable to have the geometric data “drive” the preparation of the spec?– Assume that we accept that all the “other”

spec data is not stored in the model– And that the model data constitutes “inputs” to

a specification application– Is this reasonable? Do we want it to happen

this way?


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• We could assume that– The product names and properties in the

project model are COMPLETE and CORRECT

– The specification application is properly set up and can use the drawing information

– Issues that are not mentioned on the drawings are dealt with by built-in assumptions or criteria


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• Comprehensive model data is likely to be very difficult to achieve– A persistent problem in 2D CAD is that the drafter can

draw it but doesn’t know what it’s supposed to be made out of

– Back-tracking to fill in the missing data is often so time-consuming it is never done

– In 3D geometric models the anticipated user is higher level than a drafter, but a similar problem exists

– Comprehensive libraries of 3D objects are not available

– Ready-made 3D objects are minimally populated


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• Without comprehensive model data, the specification application doesn’t have enough inputs to complete the spec

• Ok, we could be happy with what we do get and finish the spec in the normal manner

• But, what if the model data is wrong? Do we trust the input?


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Example of Using Model Info to Generate Spec

• E-Specs with AIA Masterspec®

– Based on Multiple-Application Concept– Third-party add-on to Autodesk AutoCAD,

Architectural Desktop, or Revit– Reads the drawings or model for text strings– Matches text to input side of Masterspec checklist– Executes the checklist based on selections from the

drawings– Edits out text that doesn’t apply– Regenerates spec after changes to the model– Manual coordination of subsequent changes


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• e-SPECS® with Masterspec® checklist interface


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Passing Information TO the 3D Model

• Spec application could output product name lists, keynote lists, etc.

• Software could show the 3D model maker which things are already specified

• “Advise” style interoperability only


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Comparing Information

• The Single-Package concept does not resolve the coordination issue

• Whenever more than one person works on one set of data errors can occur, simply because they can’t read each others’ minds– e. g. one person builds an object in 3D CAD

but doesn’t assign any properties– Or another person concerned with properties

assigns the values to the wrong object


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Comparing Information

• Should we expect automatic coordination?– Without intervention by a human– Assumes a directionality to the information

flow– Suggests CORRECTION not

COORDINATION– Should the drawing information correct the

spec information; or vice versa?


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Lookup Functions

• Functionality that finds relevant information in other application

• Usefulness depends on stage of project and activity involved; e.g.– Prior to completion of documents, information

may not be available– After completion, facility management people

need to see project RECORD data, not contract documents


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The BIM Today

• To include the specs in a project BIM:– Use any appropriate method of sharing traditional

spec files with all parties– Use the human-readable text files that are needed for

contractual purposes– Use a commonly available format such as PDF, RTF,

or OpenDocument format– File location, accessibility, and format compatibility is

all that matters – not much of a problem– A standard file naming and locating protocol would

help


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Electronic Information Retrieval

• Identifying items is not enough

• The meaning must be understood on both sides of the communication

• For a machine to understand, either – Terminology must match, or

• Requires agreed upon terminology• OmniClass is being developed to form a basis

– The connections must be hard-wired • Limits usefulness to the particular application


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2D/3D CAD & Word Processing

2D/3D CAD Section XX XX XX

Wall Type 1

Wood Door in Metal Frame

Brick Veneer on Stud Backup

Product Name

Property (not in model)




Product Name


Not in specPART 1 - GENERAL

PART 2 - PRODUCTS

PART 3 - EXECUTION

Different section

Graphical Object

Keynote or Label

Could be 2 or 3 sections

Pointers to File Names Only


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Meaningful Interoperability

• Only way to achieve meaningful interoperability is to:– Be able to identify individual items of

information within a specification section– To the same level of detail as in the 3D model

• Word processing files will not do it

• Product properties as well as product names


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3D Model & DB-Based Spec

3D Model Section XX XX XXGeometric or Graphical Object

Element Name

Component Name

Product Name

Component Name

Property

Property

Property

PropertyProperty (not in model)

Property


Property

Product Name

Property

Not in specPART 1 - GENERAL

PART 2 - PRODUCTS

PART 3 - EXECUTION

Model “drives” spec incompletely


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Meaningful Interoperability

• Uses the principle of coordination rather than correction

• Provides information that each application MAY use automatically if it wishes

• Provides information that the user of the application may tell the application to accept if he decides it is correct and trustworthy


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Intermediate User Interface

3D Model Section XX XX XX

Geometric or Graphical Object

Element Name

Component Name

Product Name

Component Name

Property

Property

Property

PropertyProperty (not in model)

Property (should be in model)


Property

Product Name (not needed in model)

PART 1 - GENERAL

PART 2 - PRODUCTS

PART 3 - EXECUTION

Not In Spec

Another Section

This Section

Coordinate, Don’t Correct


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Conclusions

• Is a project BIM the same thing as the project 3D geometric model?

• No.

• But within the BIM all data storage mechanisms should be able to interoperate


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Conclusions

• Should the project specs reside in the BIM?

• Yes

• By definition, specifications should be part of the BIM, because they need to be shared

• They don’t need to reside in the 3D geometric model


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Conclusions

• What can a specifier do with a 3D model?

• Retrieve information that helps identify what to specify

• If manual retrieval results in sufficient information, then electronic interoperability might be meaningful


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Conclusions

• Will use of BIM eliminate specs as we know them?

• No

• Not enough data in 3D model

• Never will be enough data in model

• Contract documents still required


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Conclusions

• Should we want the 3D model to drive the generation of the specs?

• Not really

• We need coordination more than correction

• Why assume the 3D model is more correct than the specs?


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Conclusions

• Is the increasing use of BIMs and 3D models likely to change specification practice?

• Undoubtedly

• Specifiers will need to know how to get information out of 3D models

• Eventually, electronic interoperability will do the retrieval automatically


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How to Proceed

• If your office is using a 3D geometric model software package– Be kind to the project manager who tells you

“everything you need is in the model, go get it”– Learn about the printed outputs available, even if they

are not normally generated for the 2D drawings– Learn about the built-in library of objects and the

office standard library– Learn about the standard data fields offered for each

object – try to get the relevant fields printed on your output reports


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How to Proceed

• To promote development of further interoperability, share new knowledge with industry groups. In particular, the NBIMS project committee needs to know about:– The information flow between the 3D model and the

specs– Points or interfaces where specification information is

used by other applications– Disconnects -- where specification information could

have been used by other applications but wasn’t seamlessly transferred


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Finally

When someone tells you they want

the specs put into the BIM,

you now know how to react

Visit Building Systems Design, Inc.

at www.bsdsoftlink.com

http://www.bsdsoftlink.com/