2013
magazine
SOLIBRI MODEL CHECKER V9
is here!
- CASE -
putting people first with design
Community centers from
QUADRANT
OHIO STATE UNIVERSITY
audits 35 million square ft
using BIM
Kubus introduces its new
BCF PLUG-IN
SOLIBRI
2 01 3
5
10
Case Studies
20
5 JUUL | FROST Architects goes 100% BIM
JUUL FROST architects focus on using BIM in the development of university
campus and housing projects.
8 Skanska UK nurtures supply chain collaboration
Improving cost optimization and work flow by using quality information in a
timely process.
10 Quadrant supports the community through BIM Architectural bureau Quadrant uses Solibri Model Checker to help create
community centers in Holland.
14 KUBUS launches BCF Manager for both Revit and ArchiCAD
Kubus has developed the BCF plug-in to allow the easier sharing of items
within a building project team.
17 The Autocodes project continues to generate
momentum as it moves deeper into Phase II This project focuses on developing protocols for a range of services –
from retail to health care.
1 8 The Buckeye BIM initiative
Ohio State University uses BIM and Solibri Model Checker to audit 35 million
square feet of its space and buildings.
20 Case history: CMB BIM pilot project
CMB uses the Solibri Model Checker for disabled accessibility to improve
people’s lives.
18
22 CASE crafts solutions using Solibri Model Checker
Managing the business of building spaces that put people and small business first.
24 The changing data market– a UK perspective
A look at how the BIM revolution increases coordination within the UK construction industry.
Inside Solibri
26 Solibri Model Checker version 9
Find out about how Solibri’s latest release enriches the user experience for
its customers and partners.
30 The UK IFC/COBie trials
The UK sees the first stage trials of major UK contractors working together on common goals regarding IFC data.
Published by
Solibri, Inc.
Itälahdenkatu 21A
00210 Helsinki, FINLAND
Phone: +358 10 5486800
Email: info @ solibri.com
Editor-in-chief
Russell Anderson
russell.anderson@ solibri.com
Design
Jonna Nylander
jonna.nylander@ gmail.com
Cover picture
© 2013 Solibri, Inc.
All rights reserved. Contents may not be reproduced by
any means, in whole or par t, without the prior written
permission of Solibri, Inc.
Office Building in Helsinki,
Finland
Architect: Hannu Jaakkola
Architects Ltd
Visualization and BIM Coordination: Tietoa Finland Ltd www.tietoa.fi
Imagine.
RELIABLE INFORMATION ON DEMAND.
Heikki Kulusjärvi
The past year has been gone quickly and with great success for Solibri
and our partners. We see a smoother based design process as BIM continues to be increasingly wanted and required. As we move towards 2014
and beyond, we believe the speed and success that Solibri has felt will
continue to build throughout the business.
Today’s BIM authoring tools are mainly focused on creating building
information and design content. The actual utilization of this information
is taken care of by an increasing number of downstream applications.
These applications include cost estimation, energy analysis, building code
checking and facility management to name a few.
As BIM becomes more readily available, more integrated benefits will
be seen in all these areas. Like the actual building, the virtual building
can have a lifespan of many years. It is likely that in five years, BIM files
made today will be used extensively and the information in them will be
utilized for significantly more purposes. By having good BIM files today,
you are effectively future proof when it comes to tomorrow’s needs in facility management.
Solibri believes in offering you the right information to suit your need
– whether you are a designer, construction company or facility manager,
what you need is quality information, at the right time. That’s why in Solibri, we have a theme that is driving our solution and our focus as we
launch version 9 of the Solibri Model Checker. The theme is: Imagine.
Reliable Information on Demand.
We believe there is plenty of work to be done here by all of us. Solibri is
committed to work hard by providing solutions that will help our users to
highly improve the quality of the building process. Together we can make
this happen.
In this edition, we have articles showing examples of how successful
BIM projects have been made and managed using the latest BIM standards via BCF based communication. You’ll also see updates on Solibri’s
latest development in AutoCodes and COBie solutions. We have not forgotten to develop Area Calculation solutions either and we will have solutions
on this front coming shortly.
The new development of Solibri Model Checker has been focused on
putting the user at the center of the experience. We continue to further
enhance Quality Assurance and Quality Control. You will now be able to
find local rule content and add-ons on the Solibri Solution Center. Licensing and administration are now made easier than ever before.
CEO, Solibri, Inc.
heikki.kulusjarvi@ solibri.com
Enjoy your magazine and we look forward to hearing your thoughts.
BIM Equity
THOMAS GRAABÆK
JUUL | FROST Architects goes 100% BIM
IN ÖREBRO, SWEDEN
In the near future the city of Örebro will undergo a comprehensive development with
massive investments within the university campus and several housing projects among
others. A campus development competition made JUUL | FROST Architects (JFA)
become an integral part of the development process in Örebro. As part of this process
JFA is responsible for the design and development of a new Business Science Center,
student and researcher housing and a new School of Business building, containing a
large auditorium for lectures and the university’s official ceremonies.
T
he School of Bu sine s s i s a
100 % BIM projec t where all
development, sketching , de sign, design and subsequently
Facility Management is done with Building Information Modelling technolog y.
To ensure that all intere sted par tie s
can par ticipate in the project’s development and continuous progress, the
project team is using the IFC file format
as an open exchange plat form. This
make s the development proce s s not
just easier and more dialogue-based,
but also ensures that all building data
will be viable later, which is very important for the future building operations.
JUUL | FROST have been in charge
of BIM as the driving technolog y be hind the development of the School of
Business from the early project phase s. They have developed a CAD/BIM
manual, which sets the framework for
digit al collaboration. A s a re sult, all
project par ticipants are aware of the
demands for the modeling workflow and
exchange process.
To ensure the quality of IFC models
from the star t, the project team has exCASE STUDY
5
changed test models for coordination.
The variet y of BIM programs used by
counsellors of the project structures
the models and dat abases dif ferently, and this is obvious in the expor ted
files. Small tricks help on this coordination, such as correct classification and
“ locations boxes ” in the project’s point
of origin, so it is easily checked that
all models are placed correctly. Continuous model exchange, au tomated
quality control and model based communication has meant that many inconsistencies have been worked out much
earlier, than with the traditional collaborative process. This gave more time to
solve complex problems and reduce the
number of critical errors.
Weekly exchange / Bi-weekly Skype meetings
In the spring of 2013, the schematic
design phase has ended. We realised
that having the exchange process once
a week is suitable for the nature and
projec t phase st atus. We use Solibri
Model Checker (SMC) to combine, coordinate and ensure the quality of the
project par ticipants models. SMC is a
6
CASE STUDY
logical choice, because of the automated features and because it has a free
” viewer ” that works on all plat forms.
All te am memb er s c an op en quali t y
assurance repor ts from Solibri Model
Checker with the free viewer; identif y
the challenge s the team has to face
and comment on them. The comments
are expor ted via the BCF file format
and are added to the common model,
and in this way all team members have
a bet ter over view of the coordination
“
process. BCF files have the advantage
that all comments will be summarized
in a model, eliminating the necessity of
Excel sheet comparisons from the different team members. In this way errors
and comments are listed directly in the
individual BIM objects, which makes it
easy to locate and fix errors.
The common model (merged from
all discipline IFC models in SMC) was
exchanged ever y week and followed by
a Skype meeting ever y alternate week
This makes the development
process not just easier and more
dialogue-based, but also ensures
that all building data will be viable
later, which is very important for the
future building operations.
to evaluate the progress of the project
and inve s tigate the model together.
At the se meetings, both model- and
project-related changes were agreed.
These were complemented with actual
in-person meetings with the develop ment and design team when needed.
T h e r e w a s u s u all y an u nw i ll i n g ness to share unfinished works within
the project team, and all team member s agreed to exchange their mod els as “ snapshots ”, and ever yone was
aware that they are seeing their coll e agu e s wo r k ”in p ro g re s s”, t h e re fore only selec ted areas of the models were validated. Örebro school of Business
Client : Örebropor ten
Period : 2011 - 2014
Area : 6,600 sqm
Sof tware platforms that cooperate in
the project:
• ArchiCAD 16 (IFC2 X3)
• Autodesk Revit 2013 (IFC2 X3)
• MagiCAD HPV 2011.11 (IFC2 X3)
• AutoCAD MEP 2011 (IFC2 X3)
CASE STUDY
7
Solibri UK Ltd
ALAN BAIKIE
New building for Bevis Marks in London (ar tists impression). Picture: Skanska
Skanska UK nurtures
supply chain collaboration
Skanska UK, headquartered at Maple Cross, north-west
of London, has an annual turnover of more than £1.16 bn
and 4,000 employees. Through its skills and experience in
construction and infrastructure development, Skanska delivers projects in healthcare, education, defence, transportation and municipal services, delivered through both private
and public investment. Specialist in-house teams provide
foundations and piling expertise, as well as mechanical and
electrical services for buildings and infrastructure. Skanska
also provides facilities management, so is truly involved in
the whole lifecycle of a building.
8
CASE STUDY
A
fund amen t al v alu e for t he
busine s s is a collaborative
approach to delivering projects. Skanska actively seeks
to maximise co-operative working, with
Skanska teams working direc tly with
s e le c te d p re fer re d sup p lier s . O n a
large project this may include several
hundred suppliers ranging from design
consultants through to fit-out specialists. As David Throssell, BIM Implementation Manager, comments “ We define
BIM as a collaborative approach that
ensures the right information gets to the
right people at the right time. Collabo ration means working together, sharing
and reusing information so that we enter
Skanska UK headquarters
it once and reuse it many times. This
avoids errors from rekeying data which
is of ten the reason the wrong information gets passed on.” With both public and private clients
driving the rapid adoption of BIM in
the UK, David saw some ver y specific
needs and oppor tunities emerging from
this transition. He continues “As an industr y we are used to looking at drawings , overlaying them, marking them
up and ‘reading them’. The currency of
design is changing rapidly and we are
receiving more models and data and
less paper. So, how do we ‘read’ these
models? How do we mark them up with
comments? How do we compare versions of models? How do we overlay
models? How do we interrogate the rich
data contained in the models? Can we
improve quality by carr ying out checks
on these models as this was never easy
with paper? ”
It was the se criteria that the BIM
team at Skanska used as the basis for
selecting Solibri Model Checker (SMC).
David sums up the team’s conclusions
as “ What we saw was a sof tware tool
that analyses 3D CAD Models. That analysis covers model quality (against project standards), model completeness (via
material take of f ), model compliance
(against national, local and client codes
and regulations), model integrity (checking validity of the modelling approach)
and model comparison (against different
versions of the same model). In other
words, all of our criteria and more.” Also impor tant in the selection process was the buildingSMART IFC (Industr y Foundation Classes) format which
provides for universal transfer of BIM
mo del s b e t we en di f feren t s of t w are
products. The IFC format, which is central to bringing models into SMC, also
suppor t s Skanska’s aspiration to be
sof tware vendor neutral with respect
to BIM. This neutral format will ex tend
the life of data. Another impor tant criteria was COBie (Construction Operations Building information exchange)
which is a data structure for transferring model data into FM (Facilities Management). As COBie has been specified
by UK Government for all future public
projects this was especially impor tant
to Skanska with its ex tensive por tfolio
of public projec t s. David note s “ So libri’s suppor t for COBie UK 2012 completeness, checking and creation of the
COBie spreadsheets and their willingness to help us develop COBie tools to
meet the UK Government BIM mandate
was a crucial part of our purchasing decision.”
Skanska has established both a BIM
Technical Working Group and a Solibri
User Group with representatives from
across the business. In addition to furthering BIM and quality-checking within
their teams, these representatives are
also encouraged to bring forward ideas
to simplify workflow and collaboration.
Increasingly the focus has moved to
working with the supply chain where
it is paramount to ensure each supply
chain par tner clearly understands the
data and qualit y required from them.
These requirements are described in
the project model auditing standards,
which forms par t of the BIM execution
plan on each project, and as David explains are a key par t of the on-going
relationship strateg y with supply par tners. “ In order to gain trust in the quality of information delivered by our supply
chain we looked at our BIM delivery processes and identified a set of validation,
audit and completeness checks required
at dif ferent stages in the project pro cess. With the help of Solibri and their
large tool box of rule-based checks we
have developed a set of model checks
which are easily understood by our supply chain and something we can monitor
and report against.”
Skanska has ver y clear goals from
what is required from the deployment
of BIM and the role the supply chain
has in suppor ting this. Skanska is aiming to increase productivity, reduce onsite waste, deliver projects with zero
defects and improve operational ef ficiency. Skanska recognises that achieving these goals is critically dependent
upon receiving best quality information
from its supply chain. With its teamwork
approach, coupled with a focus on both
its upstream and downstream supply
par tners, Skanska UK is well placed to
meet these goals by helping the supply
chain to work together by sharing and
reusing reliable project data.
The impor tance of quality data from
t he supply chain i s empha si s e d by
David: “An impor tant par t of collaboration is trust and to get the ‘right information’. We all need to check and validate
our information before we make it available to other s. Solibri Model Checker
is helping us to gain trust in information quality and therefore ensuring new
standards for collaborative working on
our projects. With high quality data our
clients can optimise their operational
costs year on year.” CASE STUDY
9
KUBUS BV
ROSA VAN TOUR
Quadrant supports the community
through BIM and Solibri Model Checker
A NEW COMMUNITY CENTER FOR THE MUNICIPALITY OF LOON OP ZAND
Architectural bureau Quadrant was hired by the municipality of Loon op Zand to
develop and design a new community center in the heart of Kaatsheuvel. The building
will be a home for a growing community because it is a part of a much bigger project:
a brand new vibrant city center.
10
CASE STUDY
S
everal par tie s are involved
in t he development of t his
project so clear communication was key. In 2010 Quadrant fully embraced BIM as a method of
working and since then they have not
looked back. A better workflow delivering improved internal and external communications was one of the main reasons for adopting BIM.
“ Working with BIM gives us an advantage over our competition and ensures
we can secure more contracts. That is
one of the reasons we choose Solibri
Model Checker - it breathes BIM. ” Rob
van der Velden, proje c t manager of
Quadrant
Par tie s involved in the communit y
center project:
Architect - Quadrant Architecten BNA,
Zeve nb e r ge n ( A rc hi C A D an d S o lib r i
Model Checker)
Structural engineering - Goudstikker
De Vries, Den Bosch (Revit Structure)
Building ser vices - Van Capellen Advies, Eindhoven
Building physic s advisor - Baar s Advie sbure au voor Bouw f y sic a & Bou wkunde, Eindhoven
General contractor - Heijmans Woningbouw Den Bo sch ( Revit Architec ture
and Solibri Model Checker)
HVAC contractor - Heijmans Utiliteit,
Den Bosch (Stabicad)
Multifunctional and cultural
These are the keywords for this project.
The diversity of people that live in Loon
op Zand is reflected in the diversity of
uses, which the building has to cater
for. The design goals were based upon
four pillars: municipality, living, working
and leisure. All these elements needed
to be incorporated into the community
center. The four pillars also represent
the dif ferent kind of uses of the new
center. Some of the municipality admin-
istration will be housed in the building
so there will be offices but with public
acce s s. Ser vice s of fered from the se
of fices include passpor t applications,
driving licenses and a variety of other
civil matters. The conference rooms will
be used for council and board meetings
but clubs, unions and associations will
also be able to use the se rooms for
their own purposes. In addition there
are a number of utility rooms which can
be used for a range of purposes including exhibitions, shows and performances. For these purposes the rooms need
the flexibility to be turned easily into
a theater. And to complete the experience for users the center will also have
a restaurant and bar.
Quadrant is a member of BNA
(Royal Institute of Dutch Architects)
Some 1500 agencies are united in BNA : the sector association for Dutch architectural agencies. BNA is a network promoting modern, creative entrepreneurship inspired by the power of architecture with respect for the social and
domestic environment.
CASE STUDY
11
The different uses of the center create additional complexity in the building
design. As an example, soundproofing
of the building was tricky. To minimize
the noise nuisance from activities in
the theater it had to be soundproofed
from the rest of the building. And with a
“
public librar y also in the same building
this was especially impor tant.
The BIM coordination of this project
is the responsibility of Quadrant, and
Solibri Model Checker (SMC) is used for
this coordination. The different par ties
working on this project are using differ-
Working with BIM gives us an
advantage over our competition
and ensures we can secure more
contracts. That is one of the
reasons we choose Solibri Model
Checker - it breathes BIM
12
CASE STUDY
ent sof tware products for design and
development, so coordination would
be a problem without the use of IFC to
transfer model files. SMC can impor t,
via IFC, the building models from the
different par ties so that all models are
checked against the same rule sets.
Let Solibri Model Checker do
all the hard work
Solibri Model Checker can be used at
any stage during the project, even at
the ver y early design. Because prob lems and clashes will be detected early
on, models can be adjusted easily. This
will avoid a lot of costly corrections either in later design or on-site.
“ In this project we used Solibri Model
Checker for clash control of the different
disciplines. The variety of purposes for
this building makes this a complex project. We’ve learned from past experience
there are a couple issues that tend to go
wrong when designing a model. With Solibri Model Checker we can easily insert
these issues into rule sets and check
our model. This works so much more
ef ficiently than visual 3D checks of the
model. And Solibri Model Checker helps
ou t wi th problems in the mo del you
haven’t foreseen.” Rob van der Velden,
project manager of Quadrant
Solibri Model Checker and
KUBUS working together
KUBUS developed a set of rules specifically for the Dutch market: the Star terskit NL. With this Dutch companies
don’t have to write their own rule sets
for their projects. Quadrant used the
s t andard Solibri Model Checker rule
set s in combination with the KUBUS
Star terskit NL. Then Quadrant modified
these rule sets to fit their own requirements for model checking.
In addition using SMC on this spe cific project, Quadrant also uses SMC
for all model checking throughout the
practice. To check against Dutch building regulations they modified and ex-
panded the Star terskit NL rule set to
meet their own needs. For cost estimating and quantity take of f the Information Take - Of f definitions (included in
the Star terskit NL) are being used on
every project.
er. Former rounds of visual checking
done by hand are now automated with
SMC. In addition to this advantage the
graphic representation of issues identified automatically makes communicating with ex ternal par tners faster and
more reliable. The final result benefits from
Solibri Model Checker
When asked how doe s Solibri Model
Checker benefit the final projec t re sults, Rob van der Velden, project manager of Quadr ant , answere d wi t h : “
We are more in control during the early
st age of de sign. D e spi te inc r e a sing
building complexity, especially in technical installations, we are able to specifically align design principles and space
requirements for technical installation.”
The Quadrant experience with So libri Model Checker is of a pleasant,
easy to use tool, which enables them
to gain and deliver information fast-
Project information
•
•
•
•
Communit y center (combined
assembly and office building)
5.300 m2 gross floor space
Current status: final design
Delivery: June 2015
ZEEP gets BIM commission from Rgd
ZEEP was commissioned by the Rijksgebouwendienst (Government Buildings Agency, known as Rqd) to advise on several
BIM related projects until the end of this year. Par t of the contract involved BIM coordination of the building for the Ministr y of Security and Justice, Foreign Affairs and Interior and Kingdom Relations (JuBi), which was delivered at the end
of 2012. For the purpose of the managing the maincontracting and maintenance, the cooperating par ties are currently
transferring the 132.000m2 building to a BIM model. ZEEP is thereby responsible for the coordination between these parties, clash control and conformance to the Rgd BIM standards.
“ When working with projects of this extension, visual checks on the quality of the BIM models are impossible. Using Solibri
Model Checker gives clear and unambiguous insights of the validity of BIM extracts according to the Rgd BIM standards.
ZEEP has an extensive experience with developing and applying rule sets within a various range of projects. Therefore we
are pleased with the commission from Rgd to review and lead these projects and involved parties.” Paul Bos, BIM manager
of ZEEP
In addition to the BIM coordination of JuBi, ZEEP also was asked by Rgd to judge other BIM ex tracts from DBMFOcontracts. The purpose, besides judging the extracts, is to develop and document the process of securing technical conformity to the Rgd BIM standards.
BIM advisors Hans Hendriks (BIMspecialist) and Paul Bos (ZEEP) developed a rule set for technical validation of IFC
models with the Rgd BIM standard. The outcome of this project was used for the current BIM standard.
CASE STUDY
13
KUBUS BV
ERIK PIJNENBURG
KUBUS launches BCF Manager
for both Revit and ArchiCAD
NEVER LOSE SIGHT OF ISSUES ANYMORE
KUBUS BV, a Gold Partner of Solibri, Inc. in the Benelux countries, has developed BIM
Collaboration Format (BCF) plug-ins for Revit and ArchiCAD. BCF provides an efficient
collaboration workflow for model Quality Assurance and Quality Control. Using this
approach enables issues found by Solibri Model Checker (SMC) to be easily communicated and located directly in the BIM authoring software. These issues can be shared
with the team members responsible which provides everyone with a better grip on the
development and the quality of the models. Round trips back to Solibri make it possible to view solutions, follow mark-ups and provide feedback on issues.
T
he BCF plug-ins provide a direct connection from a presentation in Solibri Model Checker
to the author of the model in
Revi t or A rchiC AD. Time c on suming
communication about problems found
by SMC and the suggested actions and
to-do-lists become a thing of the past.
This intelligent way of communicating issues between BIM sof tware appli14
CASE STUDY
cations is rapidly evolving into the standard for today’s construction industry.
An introduction to BCF
What is BCF, and why should you use it?
The origin of BCF
The BCF concept was introduced by
S o lib r i, In c . an d Te k l a C or p or a t ion
at a buildingSMART ISG event held in
Helsinki in 2009. The two companies
in t ro du c e d t he id e a of u sing op e n
standards to enable workflow communication between different BIM sof tware
tools. They developed an XML schema,
c alled Building Collaboration Format
(BCF), to encode messages that inform
a sof t ware package of is sue s found
in the BIM model by another sof tware
tool. The implication is that only those
is sues and not the entire BIM model
needs to be communic ated bet ween
stakeholders. This capability enables
a p owe r f ul an d op e n c oll ab or a t ion
between all par ties in the design and
build processes.
ed and not model files. In addition this
provides an improved communication
workflow separated from, but linked to,
the model and which creates an audit
record of issues and actions.
Official standard of buildingSMART
On most projects, several companies
and team members are involved. During de sig n rev iew s m any i tem s are
identified which need to be acted upon
by the various members of the project
team, typically using different sof tware.
Actual models are exchanged via the
‘ open ’ st andard IFC, which in recent
years has continued to reach maturity
in most sof tware applications.
But how do we transmit the issues
that have been found? Whilst IFC contains data like proper ties linked to the
building objects, it is not suitable for
documenting issues and workflow. BCF
of fers a communication workflow connec ted to IFC models. The idea is to
separate the “communication” from the
actual model.
The orig inal develop er s have tr ans fer re d t he owner ship and r ig h t s of
the BCF schema to buildingSMART for
adoption as an open standard and to
maintain it for the benefit of the whole
industry. Currently, in addition to Solibri
Model Checker, Magicad, Tekla Structures, Tekla BIMsight, DDS, and many
other BIM solutions suppor t BCF. Now,
with the KUBUS plug-ins, it’s also available to Revit and ArchiCAD users.
The BIM Collaboration Format has
been submit ted to buildingSMART
under the new “Af filiation Scheme” to
become an official buildingSMART specification.
T h e u s e o f t h e B C F p lu g - in s b y
KUBUS also ex tends to design-teams,
even if they work with the same sof tware, as team members can communicate design is sues with each other
t hroug h BCF – t he g re at advant age
being that only issues are communicat-
The essence of BCF
issues are found. Saved into an ‘Open’
file format like BCF with viewpoint s,
selected objects, snapshots and comments the goals are to be able to use
this Is sues file in any modeling sof tware and for the model checking sof tware to be unaware of which modeling
sof tware was used.
Improved grip on quality
A BCF file contains information about
issues in the model, the status of these
issues, the person responsible, recommended or sug gested actions, and of
cour se whether ac tions are done or
not. The KUBUS BCF Manager plug-ins
for Revit and ArchiCAD elevate cooperation in the OpenBIM processes to a new
level. You will generate fewer errors and
you will achieve flawless communication. The plug-ins are available for Autodesk Revit 2014 and both Mac and
Windows versions of Graphisof t Archi­
CAD 17.
Communication = Control
Models are checked to identify actions
that need to be addressed and within
what timeframe, as required. Star ting
the communicating of these issues lies
with the checking sof tware where the
First results
Initial experience shows that the use
of BCF provides a much improved workflow as well as eliminating
the need to transfer large
BIM files over the Internet.
BCF focuse s on the pro cess and how to cooperate
with different BIM software
ins te ad of ju s t addre s s ing t he fe a ture s of on e
specific tool. CASE STUDY
15
A typical workflow when using the BCF Manager for Revit or ArchiCAD
1. In Solibri Model Checker – Check and export
Af ter running the desired checks in Solibri Model
Checker, create a presentation of the issues, assign team members responsible and sug gestions
on how to solve. Expor t the presentation to a BCF
file.
2. In Revit or ArchiCAD
– Lookup and investigate the issues
Open the BCF file with KUBUS BCF Manager. A
simple double click on an issue takes you directly
to the right view in the model within the model autoring sof tware. This shows the objects involved
in the same way as they were selected in Solibri
Model Checker. Never before have you able to understand an issue that fast!
3. Solve and comment
– Or assign to somebody else
Fix the issue, document your changes and set the
status to ‘Solved’. If someone else is responsible
just assign the issue to that person. You could
also ask for more information. Changes can be
saved to the BCF file again.
4. Create new issues
– For team members
With BCF for Revit or ArchiCAD you can create new
issues with just one click: the current 3D view is
grabbed and turned into an is sue with image,
viewpoint, selected objects, etc. Just add your
comment and assign it to the person responsible.
5. Send in your changes and additions
– Save back to BCF files
When you are done with the issues, save them
again as a BCF file and inform the project manager or other team members. You probably need to
provide a new IFC version of your model as well.
6. Check again in Solibri Model Checker
– For the next revision
You can update your presentation in Solibri with
the new BCF files adding comments, viewpoints
and even impor t your newly created issues. All information is actual and complete so provides a
great audit trail of who did what and when.
For more info about the KUBUS BCF Manager for Revit and ArchiCAD: www.kubusinfo.com
16
CASE STUDY
Solibri LLC
JONATHAN WIDNEY
The Autocodes project continues to generate
momentum as it moves deeper into Phase II
FROM THE US: AN AUTOCODES PROGRESS REPORT
F
ollowing the practice that we
established In the first two issues of the Solibri Magazine,
we want to use this space to
keep you up to date with this multiyear, but most strategic project that is
underway in the United States. In our
last is sue (2 /2012 ) we outlined five
(5) goals and planned deliverables for
Phase II of the AutoCodes Project. In
addition to providing you with a progress repor t on those goals, we will also
inform you of new activities and initiatives that have become par t of this effor t.
Goal 1 – Developing Protocols for Model
Authoring – Focus on Retail and Healthcare – This has evolved into the de velopment of Model Guidelines for the
Automated Code Checking Use Case. A
five month research project was just
completed (August 2013), resulting in
a repor t entitled ‘An Over view of E xisting BIM Standards and Guidelines’. This research was a necessity, if just to
avoid duplication of ef for t and potentially the creation of confusion in the
market, with regard to required model
content. This repor t, along with Building
Codes, Standards Developing Organizations (SDO) and Subject Matter Exper ts
(SME) will ser ve as the foundation for
the creation of a Baseline Modeling
Matrix and eventually a Model Guideline. This guideline is critical because
it is focused entirely on what content is
required in a BIM to suppor t the automated code checking process.
Goal 2 and 3 – Developing a Process
Transformation Protocol to assist plan
review organizations in their evolution
from paper-based processes to 2D/BIM
digital processes. Current Status – This
is still underway and is currently intertwined with our 3rd Goal, the development of a three (3) hour course for the
International Code Council (ICC). This
course has been developed, and now
delivered four (4) times, at major ICC
event s and is scheduled for several
more dates in the coming months. The
course consists of both a visual pre sentation and a par ticipant’s manual
(which can be used to meet Goal 2 as
a separate offering) and has been approved by the ICC for Continuing Education Units (CEU’s) in for t y-two (42)
states, to date.
Goal 4 – Continued Testing and Development of rulesets for Accessibility and
Egress – The major developments here
are two -fold. Firstly, where the group
was initially going to focus on the major
‘pain points’ in these two areas (Chapters 10 & 11 of the International Building Code (IBC)), it was determined that
it would be better to address the entire
chapters. This also requires that related chapters must be addressed, whenever they are mentioned (i.e. Chapters
2, 3, 4, 6, 8 & 12 to date). This is most
commonly due to dif ferences in building types, occupancy requirements and
the omnipresent exceptions. Secondly,
the ICC has provided excellent personnel with ex tensive experience to guide
the Solibri team as we review and analyze code statements and whether the
Solibri Model Checker rule set s both
execute the checks properly and meet
the ‘intent’ of the code itself. This is a
tedious and time consuming process,
but it adds tremendous credibilit y to
the use of SMC, for this purpose.
Goal 5 – Begin the testing and development of rulesets for Fire & Life Safety
– We have made progress in this area,
driven from three (3) directions. Firstly,
any references to this topic that occur
in Chapters 10 & 11 of the IBC. Secondly, we have been exploring our capabilities to include content from Occupational Safety & Health Administration
(OSHA) Par t s 1910 and 1926, which
specifically address Construction Site
Safety. Finally, we are also in discussions with the National Fire Protection
Administration (NFPA), as they are interested in our progres s and how we
might be able to engage.
The AutoCodes Project has held two
(2) Workshops in 2013, most recently
hosted by Target Corporation at their
Headquar ters in Minneapolis, Minne sota. These workshops allow our task
groups (currently 5) to make significant
strides toward meeting the above-stated goals. Phase II was anticipated to
last 18-24 months, and that remains
the expec t ation. Having said that, it
just means that Phase III will follow, as
this use case for BIM is a significant
under taking. But, it is a project that Solibri is uniquely qualified to lead. F o l l ow o u r p r o g r e s s o n t h e we b at
www.solibri.com
BIM
17
JONATHAN WIDNEY
Solibri LLC
The Buckeye BIM initiative
The Challenge: How can you conduct a high quality audit of more than 35 Million Square
Feet, on a major University Campus? The Solution: a Solibri led audit process
T
he main campus of The Ohio
State University (OSU), with a
student population exceeding
f i f t y - si x t hou s and ( 56,0 0 0 )
is located in Columbus, Ohio, and is
the 3rd largest university in the United St ates. The Facilities Information
and Technolog y Ser vices Depar tment
i s re sp on sible for audi t ing ex i s t ing
buildings, which includes maintaining
2D plans and conver ting each building from existing 2D designs into 3D
models, then conduc ting an audit of
the spaces within each structure. Currently, more than eight hundred (800)
buildings have been identified, equal18
CASE STUDY
ing more than 35 million square feet of
space to be audited.
The Buckeye BIM Initiative is a project that star ted in May, 2013 with a
planned end date in May, 2016. The
original plan c alled for a team com prised of student s and st af f to conduct a manual conversion (from 2D to
3D) and a subsequent manual audit of
model spaces. Another project deliverable was the creation of a Universit y
BIM Standard.
There are currently seven students,
all from the Knowlton School of Architecture, working in paid positions within
the Facilities Information and Technol-
og y Ser vices Depar tment, just for this
projec t. The se s tudent s are working
with st af f personnel (Tracy Palmer –
BIM Coordinator, David Pifher – Lead
Facili tie s Space Analy s t) , under the
leadership of Joe Porostosky – Senior
Manager of the depar tment.
The manual process: Original 2D drawings were marked up manually (via 2D
laser measurer) for key space dimensions (i.e. Interior leng th & width of
building hallways, large rooms, auditoriums, classrooms, etc.), then the data
was entered into a spreadsheet and
then compared to the AutoCad draw-
ings for accuracy. If the results were
accurate within two percent (2 %), then
the AutoCAD drawings would be used as
backgrounds to create the Revit model.
If the re sult s exceeded t wo percent
(2 %), the entire building would be remeasured.
In order to suppor t this process, the
following materials were created:
• A fif ty-seven (57) page manual on
h o w t o m a n u a l l y c o nv e r t a 2 D
drawing into a model
• A twenty-two (22) page Audit Manual
(How to conduct a manual audit)
The results (manual process)
• Audits were conducted by full-time
st af f, and averaged 2-3 day s per
audit.
• The entire process required approxi mately one week per model.
The realization (or the AHA! moment)
It bec ame obvious that there has to
be a bet ter way to achieve the project
objectives, and to automate the audit
process, without compromising quality. Introducing a Solibri-led Solution
Af ter t wo web - b as e d f amiliariz at ion
se s sions, a review of the Univer sit y
Audit Proces s Template, and the cre ation of some custom rulesets focused
on spaces, floors and proper ties, the
team was introduced to a Solibri Model
Checker-led audit process. The focus
of this effor t was on model verification
and included the requirement for spaces to comply with naming conventions
that were contained in the OSU Space
Information and Management System.
The ultimate goal was to reduce the
amount of time and level of resources
required to conduc t audit s of all the
buildings on the OSU campus.
Progress report
• The 22 page Audit Manual has been
distilled to 5 pages
• The average model audit t ake s 5
hours (as compared to 2-3 days)
• AND, each audit delivers consistently
high quality results!
• The entire process now takes 1 day
(as compared to 1 week, at a mini-
mum)
• Approximately 2.5M f t 2 of space has
been audited, to date
•
savings ($), and makes it possible
for students to be involved in the
au di t in g p ro c e s s ( in t h e S o lib r i
Model Checker), thereby reducing
the cost per audit (both in time and
the actual labor cost of the person
doing the audit)
Much higher quality on a consistent
basis, and reliability
When Jo e Poro s to sk y was aske d to
define the greatest benefit of this automated process, he replied, “ Significantly reduced time to perform an audit,
and higher quality models as a result of
automated rule checking. Both are huge
for us.”
Our thanks to Joe, Tracy and David for
their contributions to this ar ticle, but
more impor tantly, for believing enough
in Solibri technology to adopt it as a solution to a very real world challenge they
were facing. Benefits
• The ability to audit as many as 850
buildings
• A new objective is established – to
re - audit the OSU Medic al C enter,
with the Solibri-led process, if just
to se e what was mis sed, or how
accurate the initial audit was
• What used to require full-time staff
2-3 day s to accomplish, c an now
be done in 5 hours. That represents
CASE STUDY
19
CMB S.r.l
AROLDO TEGON
Case history: CMB BIM pilot project
C
MB i s one of t he l ar ge s t
construc tion companies in
the Italian market, working
both in infras truc ture and
civil buildings (mainly hospitals). CMB
has been active in construction since
1908.
In recent years the CMB busines s
has moved from simple construc tion
contracts, both public and private, to
more complex forms of contracts, like
PPP and Conce s sion contrac t. Since
2000, CMB has become more and more
involved in the de sign, cons truc tion
and facility management processes.
CMB’s intere s t in the whole sup ply chain of design, construction and
f acili t y management proc e s se s had
continued to grow substantially and in
2012 the management of the company
decided to measure the impact of BIM
by star ting a collaboration with the University of Brescia and some of the most
impor tant sof tware companies involved
in BIM.
During 2012 CMB developed a se rie s of te s t s for f ield BIM and laser
scanning and developed par t s of 3D
models based on projects managed in
the traditional way. At the end of 2012
CMB decided to star t its “pilot ” project
of testing some of the main aspects of
BIM implementation within the management of a hospital project: CMB BIM
Pilot Project. CMB decided to star t the
pilot project as a “parallel activity ”, and
continued to use the traditional methods for the real management of the
Project with the aim of tr ying to make
comparisons between the traditional
and BIM methods.
The CMB BIM Pilot Project is based
on a Hospital Refurbishment and E xtension Project: the San Gerardo Hospital in Monza, close to Milan.
20
CASE STUDY
CMB BIM Pilot Project is almost at
the end of its first phase (120 day s)
with a lot of interesting results coming
from the te s t s developed. The se re sults include the construction of the 3D
model, quantity take of f, coordination
of designs, development of
2D deliverables and model
checking.
A mong o t her s of t w are
tested and utilized in the
pilot project, and thanks to
the collaboration with the
University of Brescia, CMB
de cide d to te s t Solibr i’s
product for model checking
and code checking, in order
to measure a series of
benchmarks in the Design
Validation process. Providing an optimized and well
coordinated design has been one of the
main goals of the CMB BIM Project.
CMB is currently analy zing the re sult s but the management of the
c omp any i s alre ad y s c he duling im provements to its proces ses and the
J u n e 2 0 1 3 , A n a l y s i s o f c i rc u l a t i o n f o r a w h e e l c h a i r
measure s being te s ted as a second
phase of the BIM Project.
Solibri Model Checker – solution for model checking and code checking
Thanks to Prof. Angelo Camillo Ciribini
and his students of the Universit y of
Brescia, CMB had the oppor tunit y of
testing Solibri Model Checker (SMC) in
the Design Validation Process.
Thanks to Silvia Mastrolembo, a Civil
Engineer just graduated at the University of Brescia, SMC has been used to
check the 3D model developed by the
BIM team, in order to analyse the quality of the model (model checking) and
the compliance to codes (code checking) such as acce s sibilit y for people
with some form of disability (e.g., people who use wheelchairs).
“ We tested Solibri and its way of offering automated reports ” (the following
figures are abstracts from the CMB BIM
Pilot Project).
J u n e 2 0 1 3 , a p a t i e n t i n a w h e e l c h a i r c a n n o t m a k e a 3 6 0 ° ro t a t i o n , a s re q u i re d b y l a w, d u e
t o i n s u ff i c i e n t s p a c e .
Conclusions
“ The CMB BIM Pilot Project is still in a
development phase but we c er tainly
can say that the use of Solibri Model
C h e c ke r h a s a l r e a d y d e m o n s t r a te d
a p owe r f u l an d ve r y wo r t hy t r i b u te
to the proc e s s of de sign and mo del
validation.”
J u n e 2 0 1 3 , a n a l y s i s o f i n t e r f e re n c e b e t w e e n d u c t s a n d p i p e s
June 2013, tolerances: an example of integrated design: the installation model built in
compliance with the structural one.
CASE STUDY
21
Case Design, Inc.
MICHAEL MCCUNE
CASE crafts solutions using
Solibri Model Checker
CASE is a Building Information Modeling (BIM) consultancy that helps the building industry identify, implement
and manage the technologies and business practices
that enable more effective coordination, communication
and collaboration. CASE focuses on applying an appropriate technology strategy in order to address the goals
of the project and in their most recent efforts to improving project delivery have been deploying Solibri Model
Checker (SMC). The following text contains two examples
where CASE has been exploring the limits of SMC.
Validating design requirements and model/
data compliance
WeWork designs, builds, and operates
co-working communities for small busine s se s and entrepreneur s. The suc cess of the co-working spaces means
the business has been growing rapidly
and will continue to do so thereby subs t antially expanding their inventor y.
The internal design team needed to design and deliver this space while being
confident that it would meet their high
quali t y and per formance s t andards.
Their existing methods of deliver y lef t
much room for uncer tainty and failed
to supply the data needed for efficient
22
BIM
real estate asset management during
their operations phase.
CASE helped WeWork design a new
delivery process based on robust building information model authoring and
model checking. By using Roles built
into SMC, the design team now uses
classifications, rulesets, and information takeof fs on ever y project, which
provides them with much needed de sign insight and compliance confirmation. All model content and data generated during design now drives checks
for spatial coordination, accuracy and
compliance towards WeWork standards
and, in some cases, even local code requirements.
The automation of compliance
checking has allowed WeWork’s team
to monitor key per formance metric s
throughout the project. They are now
able to verify design requirements like
accept able storefront sizes, corridor
widths, and tenant experience requirements on demand. Model checks also
directly deliver critical data on program
validation, cost, energ y code, occupancy requirements, and quantity surveys.
Prior to CASE’s involvement and without
the assistance of Solibri, these tasks
would be time-consuming and as a result would not be addressed – leaving
room for uncer tainty. Model checks are
now done multiple times per week instead of just at major milestones. This
give s WeWork’s team a much higher
level of confidence in the data derived
from the models, which in turn provides
access to critical project per formance
metrics much earlier in the process.
Tracking issues via the BIM
Collaboration format (BCF)
A common problem in most sof tware
used for multi-par ty coordination is the
lack of suppor t for issue management
and is sue tracking. Is sues are of ten
only generated from three-dimensional
geometr y collisions. When the model
is updated, the geometr y typically receives a new Global Unique ID (GUID)
R u l e s e t s a re u s e d t o v a l i d a t e a d e s i g n re q u i re m e n t b e t w e e n w o r k s t a t i o n s a n d p o w e r, d a t a ,
and user experience.
linking the model to the issue tracking
system built into the exchange por tal.
CASE customized a popular sof tware
bug tracking platform, Atlassian’s JIRA,
to instead help the team track issues
within a building information model.
Team member s now have the abilit y
to download specific is sues from the
exchange por tal as a BCF and open it
inside their native authoring sof tware.
CASE’s unique value proposition is
an abilit y to work acros s discipline s
and technologies in order to identif y
core problems and develop comprehensive strategies. They work with project
teams to determine the appropriate
technolog y strateg y and scope for each
deliverable, with the intent to minimize
redundancy and rework while maximizing return. They do not sell technolog y
– they craf t solutions. Of ten the solutions they craf t leverage Solibri Model
Checker both for its robust model validation methods and for it s abilit y to
integrate with a variety of workflows.
CASE continues to look for ways they
can help their clients maximize the potential of Solibri Model Checker and expects it will continue to be a growing
tool in their offering to clients. R u l e s e t s a re u s e d t o v a l i d a t e ro o m re q u i re m e n t s . I T O s a re u s e d t o g e n e r a t e re p o r t s f o r
c o n f i r m i n g g o a l s i n e ff i c i e n c y a n d c o s t .
Issues found using Solibri Model Checker
a re l i n k e d t o a n i s s u e t r a c k i n g p o r t a l u s i n g
C A S E ’s B C F M a n a g e r.
and the sof tware can lose track of the
issues – of ten creating a new issue for
the new GUID and incorrectly marking
the old issue as “resolved”. In order to
overcome these issues, CASE has employed Solibri Model Checker to help
streamline their issue management and
tracking process.
As BIM Manager on a project, CASE
deployed alternative web -based technologies for project issue tracking and
collaboration. Their project model informat ion exchange por t al provide s
the project team online access to the
individual issues and related details, in
addition to including access to higher
level metrics on issue statuses, resolution times, and bot tlenecks. The exchange por tal also allows the team to
share comments on specific issues and
assign the responsibility of resolving issues to team members.
SMC allows CASE to c atch is sue s
per t aining to more than simple geo me tric clashe s and when geome tric
update s occur, the is sue s are never
lost. The issues are then expor ted out
of SMC as a BIM Collaboration Format
(BCF) file. Capitalizing on these functionalities, CASE utilized its Sof tware
Development team to build a BCF Manager that consumes a BCF – directly
BIM
23
Solibri UK Ltd
DAVE JELLINGS
The changing data market
– A UK PERSPECTIVE
As the construction industry increases its knowledge of Building Information Modeling (BIM), there is a growing realization that it will drive a fundamental change in the
way that data is deployed across the entire lifecycle of building projects. This article
explores why and how the change is happening, what this means to traditional thinking
and why open BIM is an essential part of that process.
A process, not a technology
When speaking at the launch of the
‘ Model T ’, Henr y Ford famously stated
that “ If I had asked people what they
wanted, they would have said a faster
horse ”.
Henry understood that the motor car
would completely revolutionize transpor t globally, but that his vision was beyond the comprehension of the masse s. He had a dif ferent mind- set and
when we conceptualize new processes
such as BIM, we need to approach it in
the same way.
In ver y basic terms, BIM is a business process that enables all involved
in a project to have access to the information they need, when they need
it. Sounds simple, but to achieve this
ne c e s si t ate s a comple tely dif ferent
thought proce s s to that traditionally
used.
Fundamental essentials are:
• Trust between all par ties
• Willingness to share knowledge
• Realization that work under t aken
will be much more visible to others
than before
Without these it is almost impossible to
deploy BIM effectively.
Until recently the stor y of BIM has
been largely viewed as technolog y led.
Traditional 2D proces ses focused on
the production of line drawings to rep24
BIM
resent buildings and the advent of 2D
CAD simply replaced the drawing board
with a terminal. The arrival of 3D systems aided projec t visualization, but
still had drawing production at its core.
In Henr y’s parlance, all the technolog y developments did was to develop a
faster horse.
Today’s data rich building information models are unlike any thing the
construction industry has seen before.
They promise numerous benefits over
traditional processes, but these will not
be realized unless the processes themselves change. (The BIM CAD tools we
see today are still being used primarily
to produce drawings).
Data now and tomorrow
Currently, the vast majority of construction projects produce data in isolation
– for example, in design, the structural,
architectural and MEP drawings are created by separate disciplines. Design of
course, is only one element of a much
wider process that includes cost, program, health & safety, facilities mana g e m e n t , su s t ain ab ili t y, re gul a t o r y
compliance and COBie, to name just
some of the key requirements of a mod-
FEDERATE IN RELATION TO BIM
Data sets formed into a Building
Information Model, within which
the owners of each Data Set keep
some internal autonomy, while
facilitating interrogation in a controlled and visible environment.
ern day project. Each trade provides a
data set, which is interrogated in order
to ex tract the information required to
co-ordinate with other data sets to develop a wider project specification that
will enable the facility to be built and
managed.
It is therefore not surprising that the
development and application of supporting technologies has focused on better
and faster ways of producing these data
sets.
The BIM process requires that data
is brought together, (federated), to enable interrogation to take place in a more
controlled and visible environment. This
in fact is the high level driver behind the
UK Government BIM strategy defined as
Level 2 BIM (a series of discipline specific models with the provision of a single
environment, COBie, to store shared data
and information) and Level 3 BIM (the
multi-domain or federated model).
Moving forward
Today, most businesses are striving to
achieve Level 2, but some are already
seeing the advantages of moving be yond this and are federating models to
utilize the inherent benefits. Obvious
examples include collision detection,
co-ordination, constructability and time
lining.
Fo r in du s t r y t o r e alize t h e v a s t
p o tent ial of op en BIM, a change i s
needed. The current priority for data
creation will become one of data application/exploitation.
Knowing that tomorrow’s busines s
necessitates a move beyond the need
to create data
more ef ficiently
(already done
well by technolog y providers), to
an environment
where data is fully exploited, is easier
said than done. Technolog y providers
face a challenge that will be instrumental in the success of this transition. What needs to happen?
Data exploitation is not new and many
o t her indu s t rie s, including f inanc e,
media and manufacturing, access and
exploit data to great ef fect. These industries have found way s of federating and quality assuring that data. The
technolog y to access and exploit data
already exists and is very effective.
The problem in the construction industr y is that federating and qualit y
assuring data has not yet been fully developed. Consequently, existing technolog y available to access and exploit
data is not wholly effective.
Consider a construction project as a
jigsaw puzzle, with the individual pieces
being the discipline specific data sets
described above. The total project information is represented by the picture
emerging from the completed puzzle.
For the picture to be visible, the individual pieces of the puzzle have to be
created in such a way to allow them to
fit together; it is not sufficient to collect
all the data in one place and cut out a
random shape. Fur thermore, the data
in the ‘piece’ has to follow the same
conventions as the other pieces for example, same scale, same color codes
and if tex t is used, same language. In
other words, the individual pieces (data
sets), have to abide
by three basic rules
an d b e c re a te d s o
that:
1) content is in the same format
2) model components follow the same
naming conventions
3) they can interlock seamlessly with
the other pieces
C on s e quen t ly, s t and ard s are ne e d ed to provide guidance that ensure s
pieces are created in a usable format.
The nominated standard in the UK is
BS1192 and the document ation pro duced from this
standard to control the process
is commonly
called a [BIM]
Execution Plan.
BS 1192 is the British Standard that
establishes the methodolog y for managing the production, distribution and
quality of construction information, including that generated by CAD systems,
using a disciplined process for collabo ration and a specified naming policy.
Note the key words highlighted in
this def ini tion – they repre sent the
challenges that have to be overcome.
Production of data requires that it is
created to a set of rules (e.g. CAD stan-
dards) and use s a specified naming
policy for content. (An example of this
would be the UNICLASS specification).
Distribution of dat a require s col laboration be t ween s t akeholder s to
ensure it can be transferred between
the numerous sof t ware technologie s
t ypically used in a construction project. This in turn requires an open and
neutral file format to enable data transfer and interoperability between those
technologies. This is the role played by
IFCs and the process of interoperability
is known as open BIM. Quality is a key step that is missing
from most projec t s. This is bec ause
qu ali t y c o n t ro l /a s sur an c e no r m all y
t ake s place at the specif ic dat a set
level.
To be ef fective it has to take place
at the federated data level when the
pieces of the jigsaw produce a finished
picture. It is the picture that needs to
be quality assured.
Where does Solibri fit in this story?
Solibri Model Checker is in a unique position to contribute to the solution.
Firstly, it can federate models and
imp or t ant ly, quickly re sp ond to any
changes in the developing standards
for production, distribution and classifications.
Secondly, the core functionalit y of
Solibri Model Checker is quality assurance. The ability to validate models for
constructability/compliance and adapt
or create new rulesets for developing
applications, makes it the ideal solution that provides high quality data.
Thirdly, t he Infor m a t ion Take O f f
capabilities of Solibri Model Checker
facilitate ef ficient and ef fective data
interrogation of the model – the first
step in the growing demand for data exploitation.
In order to realize the enormous benefits of BIM, industr y has to embrace
data exploitation – a major challenge.
B y providing t he link b e t we en dat a
creation and data exploitation, Solibri
Model Checker delivers the solution. BIM
25
Solibri, Inc
HEIKKI KULUSJÄRVI
Solibri Model Checker version 9
IMPROVING EASE OF USE AND LICENSE DOWNLOADS
October sees the launch of Version 9 of the Solibri Model Checker. The focus of this
launch is putting the user at the center of our solution. Local rulesets are enhanced.
They are now easier to find and configure to suit a personal need. The user can now
also prescribe different rulesets for different parts of the build where the information
needing to be checked increases as the build develops. It also allows our partners
to offer more easily their rulesets for others to benefit from. We also want to make it
easier for our users to download or upgrade their licenses by introducing a cloudbased licensing system.
W
e hope you’ll find Version
9 to be the most innovative sof t ware we’ve de signed. It will continue to
keep the Solibri Model Checker (SMC) an integral par t of the work flow for any
building construction. We’re also confident you’ll be get ting more reliable in-
Solibri Solution Center on the web with some local rulesets
26
SMC9
formation on demand, helping you save
time and maintaining quality control.
Easy access and management
When dis cu s sing wi t h p ar t ner s and
customers, we found local content to
be increasingly impor tant. For the UK,
COBie regulation has led to a need for
specific rulesets, clas sifications and
add- ons. To help such needs, we are
introducing the Solibri Solution Center.
Users will be able to more easily access
new rulesets to aid their work. In time,
it will also allow par tners to add rulesets for specific needs (e.g. building
site safety) that can be downloaded by
others. We foresee the Solibri Solution
Center will soon be a place that offers
the late s t downloads for suppor ting
Quality Assurance and Quality Control
process.
This same Solution Center can
also be accessed within Solibri Model
Checker. This enables users to focus
on those rulesets and add-ons that are
made available for them.
Cloud-based licensing
Time and effor t can now be saved with
our improved cloud-based licensing. We
now offer users and administrators direct access to licenses and any selected add-ons. Infrequent updates are enabled more easily and you do not need
a separate license server. Licenses can
also be purchased online and may be
used instantly.
Similarly our corporate level customers will benefit from more flexible licensing options. Solibri Solution Center
allows our customers to manage their
users easily and new features can be
added on the fly. Licensing is now a one
step and smooth cloud-based process.
“
Version 9 puts the user and
their needs at the heart of the
Solibri Model Checker. The tool is
easier to use, has more, relevant
information and can be tailored to
suits your needs. With cloud-based
support regarding licenses and
add-ons, we believe Solibri further
strengthens it’s position as the
market leading solution for Quality
Assurance and Quality Control.
Enhanced rule systems
When discus sing with our user s, we
noticed the need for different rulesets
depending on the phase or level of the
development of the design. In the early
stages, rulesets can cover basic quality
needs like spatial arrangement. During later development phases, our users
need more demanding rule set s that
deal with the complexity of the situation.
Version 9 allows self-configurable rulesets. This allows bet ter control and
maintenance of rulesets and fits much
bet ter to the developing need of the
Example of self-configurable ruleset for apartment building and public building.
SMC9
27
Ducts interfering with the suspended ceiling
user. The same thing is true for checking building codes as par t of rulesets
for specific buildings (for example, hospitals, residential or of fice buildings).
Version 9 can be better shaped to suit
your specific user needs.
O n t h e r i g h t h a n d s i d e a l l re l a t e d i s s u e s a re s h o w n
Improved checklists and
information provision
T h e p o s i t i o n o f s u s p e n d e d c e i l i n g i s t h e a c t u a l p ro b l e m , n o t t h e d u c t i n t e r f e r i n g t h e s u s p e n ded ceiling
28
SMC9
Get ting more reliable information for
the user can also be seen with the improved checklists. You can now have
‘remember to check’ rules. Rules that
are there to help remind of tasks that
improve QA/QC but may not be directly
related to the BIM file at first. Combining that with deeper analysis of a
par ticular problem now with Version 9
allows more problems to be found early
in the build process (e.g. an example
below showing air duc t s inter fering
with suspended ceilings).
With the latest SMC version you are
able to check what else is happening
with the components involved. Like in the example looking for issues where the suspended ceiling is
involved we can discover that the ac-
S h o w i n g a l l c o m p o n e n t s t h a t a re re l a t e d t o t h e s a m e i s s u e a s t h e s e l e c t e d c o m p o n e n t
tual problem is that the suspended ceiling doe s not have enough clearance
with the slab on top of it. Based upon what we see above, it is
easier for users to find the real problem
when interference is found by the SMC. Instead of repor ting hundreds of interferences, we are able to find the one
problem that caused the issue.
Faster and easier issue handling
The user now has the possibility to automatically include content to is sues
written by selecting the default content
box. They can then add issue descrip tions. This is e specially useful when
working with building code s as most
of the comment can be produced automatically by SMC.
You can include rule name, description, categor y name, is sue name and
description to default comments automatically from Settings
Finally, you can now associate Hyperlinks with rulesets. This enables easy
creations of hyperlinks to BIM s t an dards or building code, again allowing faster access to shared information.
Ver sion 9 put s the user and their
needs at the hear t of the Solibri Model
Checker. The tool is easier to use, has
more, relevant informat ion and c an
be tailored to suits your needs. With
cloud-based suppor t regarding licenses
and add-ons, we believe Solibri fur ther
streng thens it’s position as the market leading solution for Quality Assurance and Quality Control. P i c t u re h e re i s s h o w i n g a s a m p l e o f t h e s e n e w h y p e r l i n k s c re a t e d o n t h e r u l e s e t l e v e l a n d l i n k s
c re a t e d a u t o m a t i c a l l y t o i s s u e s re p o r t e d . E x a m p l e d i re c t s t o I C C b u i l d i n g c o d e w e b p a g e s .
Defining default content to be added to issues
automatically
SMC9
29
Solibri UK Ltd
DAVE JELLINGS
The UK IFC/COBie trials
In the Solibri 2012 magazine, we reported the UK government’s requirements to deploy
COBie – Construction Operations Building Information Exchange – for asset reporting
on all its projects by 2016. It was also reported that under the direction of the OPEN
BIM Network, leading contractors were to embark on a series of field trials to ascertain
how effectively IFC could be used as a communication format to produce this information. This report presents the results of the first stage of these trials and summarizes
the on-going activity.
The first stage trial
Eig h t m ajor UK C on t r ac tor s - B AM,
Carillion, Laing O’Rourke, Mace, Skanska, Willmot t Dixon, Wates and VINCI
– agreed to par ticipate in the trial with
the principal objec tive : “To validate
and check the suitability of an IFC file
according to a ‘COBie Data Drop’ and
also generate the corresponding COBie
repor ts from the IFC file in the form of
an E xcel spread sheet.” As an inde pendent par tner RIBA Enterprises NBS
suppor ted the trial by providing guidance on the scope, management and
required outputs. NBS provided a neutral BIM, designed by HOK Architects,
to be used for the purposes of the trial
and created using National BIM Library
objects.
During the trial, the eight par ticipating Contractors were free to use any
technolog y they wished providing it was
capable of fulfilling most/all of the primary requirements:
• impor t and expor t IFC data
• check the qualit y of the dat a for
conformance to COBie definitions
and standards of accuracy as well
as other conformance requirements
such as Building Regulations
• Enable rapid and concise repor ting
of non-conformance of model data
30
BIM
• Cre ate C OBie D at a Drop s in t he
prescribed spread sheet format.
Solibri Model Checker (SMC) was identified as a solution that can meet all of
the above criteria and each Contractor
was introduced to SMC and encouraged
to include SMC during the trial. IFC/COBie trial report
An early summar y of the trial results
was presented at a major Government
conference in October 2012 and this
was followed by a fully detailed repor t
from NBS early in 2013. The full repor t
can be found at the following addresses:
w w w.thenbs.com/pdf s/IFC_ COBie - Re port-2012.pdf
w w w.t henb s .c om/topic s/B IM/C O B ie/
index.asp
Key findings
Objectives
To test whether the buildingSMART IFC
file format was capable of suppor ting
the creation of COBie datasets. The objectives of the trial were to:
• Validate and check the suit abilit y
of an IFC file for the generation of a
‘COBie data drop’.
• Validate and check the generation
•
of the corre sponding COBie dat a-
sets from the IFC file.
Uncover any issues with the use of
IFC for COBie in real business envi-
ronments.
Methodology
As a star ting point, a test model was
provided by NBS. The IFC output of this
model was delivered to vendors. The
vendor s re - created the model in native format and expor ted the resulting
design in IFC - the dif ferent authoring
tools providing three separate IFC models.
The t r ial wa s under t aken in four
phase s. The contrac tor s c arried out
the trial using technologies suppor ted
by the Government’s BIM Technolog y
Alliance.
Outputs
Following completion of the trial, contractors met to discuss issues faced. Despite being competitors, group member s were happy to work together to
ef fec t change. Topic s included sof tware, the impor tance of IFC as an open
standard, the role of government and
changes sought – extending beyond the
confines of the research objectives
The UK Government has clearly stated that the COBie spread-sheet will be
the required format for construction information in the UK. The group saw this
as the right choice.
The group shared the view that the
government is not introducing a re quirement for any additional information from the supply chain, instead it is
asking for the existing information to be
standardised in a well-structured format. This will only be possible through
collaboration.
The suitability of IFC/COBie
The trial identified the following areas
where fur ther work needs to be undertaken.
1. buildingSMART mus t ensure their
cer tification programme effectively
enforces the quality of the expor ted
COBie data.
2. The BIM Task Group must work with
exper t groups to suppor t the delivery
of struc tured dat a template s, for
B I M l i b r a r y o b j e c t s i n t h e U K
market.
3. Sof tware vendors need to improve
their open standard (IFC) impor t and
expor t functionality.
4. The market requires complete flexi bilit y to choose what sy stems are
used to generate COBie data. Inno-
v a t io n s h oul d n o t b e s t i f l e d b y
mandating a process to achieve the
required data.
5. Wi t h level -t wo BIM t here will b e
multiple models. Data will need to
link a c ro s s t h e m. T h e s o f t w are
vendor s and dat a provider s must
c o ll ab o r a t e t o d e v e l o p t o o l s t o
ensure that this information c an
e a s i l y b e c o o r d i n a t e d w i t h i n a
project.
6. A s an open st andard, IFC c an be
backward and for ward compatible
and so allow future building, mainte-
nance and retrofit. IFC can future
proof building information. Without
an open standard, future building
maintenance or refurbishment will
d angerou sl y rel y on t here b eing
current sof tware to suppor t old files
in proprietary file formats.
7. T h e f u t u r e n e e d s o f F a c i l i t i e s
Managers are required to inform the
content of the COBie dat a drop s
f a c i l i t y m a n a g e m e n t m u s t b e
8.
considered as early as the briefing
process.
There is currently a lot of manual
wor k t h a t h a s to b e done when
creating the Excel output. If additio-
nal manual work is required then
the industr y wants to be sure that
the COBie output will be used and
valued through the construction and
maintenance process.
Microsoft Excel
Microsof t Excel provides a view of the
structured info of COBie data. Par ticipants saw this as the “lowest common
denominator” data format. The important point of COBie is that it is a hierarchal relational dat a schema – Microsof t E xcel is simply one means of
storing the data.
The group believed that the COBie
dataset in the form of a spread-sheet is
simply a view of the information within
a complex BIM model. They also believe
that the IFC 2 x3 data-transfer schema
could be used to enable communication between dif ferent sof tware applications, for example between BIM and
FM systems.
• Test various technologies and work
flows to produce COBie outputs.
• Ensure that trial activities incorpo rate current def ini tions of COBie
dat a requirement at various drop
points and CIC work stages (COBie
demand matrix), using the current
IFC schema.
• Use real life models provided by trial
client par tner Gatwick Airpor t Ltd
• Federate architec tural, struc tural
and MEP models as par t of the trial
• I d e n t i f y p r o b l e m s , u n c o v e r e d
during the trial, with existing techno-
log y, s t andards and work f low (or
use of the same) that inhibit ef fi-
cient working.
• Rev i ew an d c o mmuni c a t e t h o s e
p ro b l e m s w i t h re l ev an t s our c e s
via official and ad hoc communicati-
on channels.
• Present to industr y those solutions
deemed to be best in class.
The results of stage two will be presented at an industr y event on November
12 th 2013 in London. They will be also
be presented in a future edition of the
Solibri Magazine. Industry guidance
T he g roup fe l t t h a t c l e ar guid anc e
about the content of COBie data drops
needs to be provided to the UK cons truc tion indus tr y. In par ticular, the
industr y needs guidance about naming conventions and the classification
systems within COBie. The industr y is
looking for standardisation and guidance about naming and classification
is a pre-requisite for it. This guidance
should be developed through industr y
wide consultation.
IFC/COBie trial stage two
Given the succe s s of the early trial,
during 2013, the par ticipating contractor s (now 11 – Sir Rober t McAlpine,
Lend Lease and Brook field Multiplex
have joined) are under taking new work
with federated data from architectural,
structural and MEP models. The ‘live’
models have been provided by Gatwick
Airpor t Ltd.
The objectives of the 2013 trials are
to:
• Use IFC as the primar y schema for
data exchange.
BIM
31
Solibri UK Ltd.
Solibri, Inc.
Solibri LLC
Itälahdenkatu 21A
00210 Helsinki, FINLAND
Email: sales @ solibri.com
Phone: +358 10 5486 800
17470 N. Pacesetter Way
Scottsdale, Arizona 85255 USA
Email: sales-us @ solibri.com
Phone: +1 480 305 2120
Queen Anne House,
35 Oxford Street, Newbur y,
Berkshire RG14 1JG, UK
Email: sales-uk@ solibri.com
Phone: +44 (0) 844 854 9250
www.solibri.com
www.solibri.com
www.solibri.com