BIM - Building Information Model(ling)
From e-bouw.org wiki
TNO - Netherlands Organisation for Applied Scientific Research
TNO Built Environment and Geosciences
Business Unit Building and Installations (B&I)
Department Building Innovation (BI)
One of our pet notions at TNO is "Semantics". Clearly we could not do less for our wiki too. We set it up using [Semantic MediaWiki] a free extension to the well-known 'normal' [MediaWiki] used also for [Wikipedia].
Contents |
[edit] Introduction
"BIM" for Building Information Model(ling), is currently a hot topic, not to say "hype", in the Netherlands but also world wide. About every month there is some BIM conference or seminar and almost every software vendor uses the term in their marketing communications. It's however quite obvious that there exists many different, often incompatible, interpretations of this 'BIM' concept. Reason for TNO to use their 20-year long expertise and experience in ICT systems integration and the needed product and process modelling in the construction industry sector to bring some order in the chaos. One of the instruments for this is a BIM Framework as a 'Way of Thinking' about BIM that can help to bring overview and transparency in the many facets of the BIM topic.
Focus
This Semantic Wiki is strongly focussed on a specific topic being a combination of a specific Context (the "B" of BIM) and Scope (the "IM" of BIM):
Context
The context is primarily that of the Building Industry sector with a large variety of stakeholders such as:
- Owners, Investors & Users
- Project Developers
- Advisers
- Architects
- Engineers (structural, building services (HVAC, MEP), ...)
- Main contractors, Sub-contractors & Suppliers
- Facility Managers
- Local Government
- Building Software Vendors
that are involved in the design, build and operation phases of all types of construction artifacts such as:
- Buildings
- Residential Buildings (Houses/Homes)
- Utility Buildings (Offices, Technical Buildings like factories, Schools, Hospitals, Sport Complexes, Shops, Malls etc.), and
- Infrastructures (Tunnels, Roads, Fly-overs, Railways etc.)
Scope
The scope is that of "Information Modelling" in the broadest sense possible in the context as defined above. The framework we define later defines the scope in an explicit ways identifying dimensions relevant. Clearly BIM has both hard, technical (ICT) aspects and at the same time soft, human (collaboration) aspects which are strongly interrelated and typically to be handled in complementary ways to be successful (see the two possible images on the right).
In the more technical sense BIM has for TNO two main areas of activity:
Building ICT Development
- Advanced “Model-driven” or even more specialised to "Ontology-driven" applications
- Building Product Configurators
- Building Regulation Checkers
Building ICT Integration
- Supporting/enabling building processes/products & building concepts by improved communication forward and backward in the construction life-cycle and supply-chain.
[edit] BIM Benefits
A Building Information Model (BIM) provides for one logical place for all actual building project data (object with attributes & interrelations, 3D representations, visualisations etc.) where all relevant stakeholders can always and from everywhere get all what they need and put all what they do in a form that can be directly (re)used by any ICT application running on any ICT platform they have in place. In other words: a BIM makes "Virtual Construction (VC)" where parties "plug-and-partner" a reality.
Advantages for the construction process:
- Faster
- Less failure/rework time
- Better use of construction capacities and resources
- Cheaper
- Less failure/rework cost
- More reuse of information so less unneccesary costly re-invention
- Better
- Result can be evaluated againts explicit end-user requirements (client brief)
And ultimately for the resulting construction product:
- Higher Construction Volumes with higher profit margins
- Higher valued buildings & infrastructures for lower price
- More effective and efficient end-user processes:
- Better Business in Offices
- Better Care in Hospitals
- Better Manufacturing in Factories
- Better Learning in SChools
- More effective and efficient end-user processes:
In short (for buildings): Better Buildings Better Built (BBBB).
[edit] Methodology
To paint the 'BIM Landscape' we do two things.
First, we define a BIM Framework consisting of seventeen orthogonal Dimensions that describe in general the Building Information Modelling world constituting a "Way of Thinking" about BIM. It's our way to describe facts and (our) opinions about BIM.
- Applicability
- Scalability
- Transparency (& Integration Facet)
- Life-cycle & Supply Chain
- Abstraction
- Semantics ("smartness")
- Structure
- Flexibility
- Interoperability ("openness")
- Web-awareness
- Perspective
- Concretisation
- Disciplines (views)
- Facets (aspects)
- Integration Approach
- Accessibility
- Maturity (innovation life-cycle)
On the level of the Building Information Model we distinguish five more dimensions constituting a "Way of Modelling" for BIM:
- Archetype (Actor, Result)
- Instantiation (Meta-class, Class, Individual)
- Specialization (...,SuperClass, SubClass, ...)
- Decomposition (..., Composite/whole, Component/Part, ...)
- Concretisation (Functional Unit - Technical Solution)
For each main dimension we identified a set of relevant Dimension Points. These dimensions and their points span the relevant "BIM Landscape" that we can 'slice' in many ways.
Second, we identified Actors and Results which can positioned and described having in mind the BIM Framework.:
- Actors, including:
- Initiatives (like programs and projects)
- Parties (like organisations, companies, universities and research institutes)
- Groups (like business units, departments, teams, work packages)
- Persons
- Results: from those Actors
- Concepts
- Specifications
- Implementations
which are connected via the interrelationships:
- Actors
- HasParts: zero or more Actors
- HasResults: zero or more Results
- Results
- HasParts: zero or more Results
- inverse of Actor's "HasResults": via Wiki service "What links here"
All Actors and their Results can be positioned and compared using the BIM Framework.
[edit] BIM Framework
[edit] BIModelling Dimensions
Applicability
- Generic
- Industry Segment: AEC/LSE (“typically large, complex, multi-stakeholder products”)
- Industry Sector: Construction (“all related to the Built Environment”), Mechanical, Process Plant, ...
- Product Type: Buildings, Infrastructures, Automative, ...
- Product SubType: Housing, Offices, Hotels, Tunnels, Fly-overs, …
Scalability
- Built Environment
- Construction Object
- System
- Component
- Material
Transparency
- Business Concepts
- Business Processes & Products
- ICT Functionalities
- ICT Technologies
These dimension points can be interpreted as a stack of 'innovation layers'. Each layer is also associated to a certain 'Integration Facet":
- Collaboration
- Coordination
- Communication
- Connection
The two bottom layers for ICT can be explained using the concept of the 'Meaning Triangle'. ...Architecture <> ICT Infrastructure
Life-cycle & Supply-chain
- Building Process
- Brief Design ("Business Case")
- Concept Design (Dutch: "VoorOntwerp (VO)")
- Detailed Design (Dutch: "DetailOntwerp (DO)")
- Build/Construct
- Operational Process
- Exploitation
- Management
- Maintenance
The combination of the first two design processes (Brief Design + Concept Design) are typically referred to as "Early Design".
Abstraction
- Meta versus Normal
- EDM/PDM/PLM/Collaboration versus CAD/Cost Estimation/Time Scheduling/LCA
- Meta-information
- Information
Meta-information is 'information about information' and related to
- EDM, PDM, PLM, CM (Content Management), Workflow
- Standards for meta-data like the Dublin Core Meta-data Initiative (DCMI) and OMG's PLM Services standard
For 'normal', non-meta Information one has to think about:
- CAD, Cost Estimation, Time Scheduling, …
- IFC, Ontologies/Object Libraries
Semantics
- Analogue ("paper")
- Digital ("electronic")
- Visualizations ("pixels")
- Documents & Drawings
- Semantic (object) Models
Documents and drawings are often referred to as 'representations', visualisations as 'presentations' ... of the actual real world objects.
Structure
- Structured
- Unstructured
Related to needed level of Human (Mis)Interpretation. Relevant for all semantic levels.
Flexibility
Interoperability
- Closed
- Proprietary Open
- Open Standards
Openness is directly related to the level of (in)dependence from:
- User (Group)
- Software Vendor
- ICT Operating Platform
- ICT Applications
Perspective
- Data
- Storage
- Functionality
- Services
- Objects (in the 'Object-Oriented' sense)
Concretisation
- Requirements
- Specifications
- (Software) Implementations
Disciplines
- Architectural
- Structural
- Building Services (HVAC & MEP)
- Cost Estimation
- Time Planning
- Construction
- Maintenance
Typically different disciplines (involving different stakeholders groups) have different 'views' on the product or, said otherwise, are interested in their own 'aspect' of the product.
Facets
- Amounts & Materials
- Shape
- Time
- Cost
- ...
Integration Approach
- Data Exchange
- Data Sharing
- With file exchange (import/export)
- With direct access (API)
With data sharing one can differentiate further based on where the primary data is (at the originating applications or on the model server where the data is shared).
Accessibility
The accessibility of information is determined by many subfactors:
- Wiredness
- Wired
- Wireless
- Mobility
- Fixed
- Semi-mobile (‘nomadic’)
- Mobile
- Coverage
- Personal Area Network (PAN)
- Local Area Network (LAN)
- Metropolitan Network (MAN)
- Wide Area Network (WAN)
- Performance
- Narrowband [0-1 mbps]
- Broadband [1-100 mbps]
- UltraBroadband [>100 mbps]
- Quality of Service (QoS) w.r.t Service Level Agreements (SLA)
- -, +/-, +
- Cost
- -, +/-, +
- Power Consumption
- -, +/-, +
Clearly a goal like 'Ambient Access' wants the best of all for all these subfactors.
Maturity
- Vision & Mission
- Roadmap & Strategy
- Research
- Development
- Take-up
- Use
[edit] BIModel Dimensions
Archetype
- Product
- Material
- Space
- Process
- Actor
Instantiation
- Meta-Classes
- Classes
- Individuals
inverse: classification
Specialization (subclassing)
inverse: generalisation (superclassing)
Decomposition (hasParts)
inverse: composition (partOf)
Concretization
- Requirements (as-required; including as-allowed; problem, needs, FU, function ...)
- Specifications (as-proposed or more specific: as-designed ("what", TS) + as-planned ("how"))
- Implementations (as-realized; product, solution)
Related to the FUTS-principle where FU stands for a set of requirements and TS for a set of specifications.
The functional unit describes the demands, wishes and constraints (what is allowed). The technical solution describes the possibilities.
[edit] Actors
Actors can be initiatives (like programs or projects), parties (like organisations, companies, universities or research institutes) or individual persons dealing with or related to BIM.
We identified the following Actors.
[edit] Results
Results are the outcomes of the Actors above. They can be reports, papers and theses, specifications, implementations (software applications/tools) or even training materials.
We identified the following Results.
[edit] R&D Integration
- Within NL
- VISI <> COINS
- EOD <> VISI
- Within Europe/Worldwide
- ISO 12006-3 <> SWOP PMO
- NL <> Europe/Worldwide
- COINS <> PMO
- COINS <> IAI IFC
- VISI <> BPMN/BPEL
[edit] Acronyms
Here, we only collect general acronyms. Acronyms associated with actors or results are directly indicated at the article names. An optional context of the acronym is given in brackets.
- AEC - Architecture, Engineering and Construction
- API - Application Programming Interface
- BIM - Building Information Model and/or Building Information Modelling
- BoM - Bill of Material
- BPI - Business/Building Product/Process Innovation
- BREP - Boundary REPresentation
- BS - Building Services
- CAD - Computer Aided Design
- CoP - Community of Practice
- CP - Collaborative Project [FP7]
- D - Dimensional
- DB(MS) - DataBase (Management System)
- DO - DetailOntwerp (NL term for Detailed Design phase w.r.t. product details)
- DTF - Domain Task Force (OMG)
- EDM - Electronic Data Management
- EC - EU Commission (sometimes "EUcie")
- EU - European
- FA - Focus Area [ECTP]
- FP - Framework Programme [EC]
- FS - Functional Specification
- GIS - Geographical Information Systems
- (G)UI - (Graphical) User Interface
- HVAC - Heating, Ventilation, Airconditioning and Cooling [BS]
- ICT - Information and Communication Technology
- ID - Integral/Integrated Design (NL: "Integraal Ontwerpen")
- INF - INFinity
- INT - INTernational [this Wiki]
- IP - Integrated Project [EC]
- KBE - Knowledge Based Engineering
- LCA - Life-Cycle Analysis/Assessment
- LSE - Large Scale Engineering
- MEP - Mechanical, Electrical and Plumbing [BS]
- NEN - Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut
- NC - Normcommissie [NEN]
- OS(S) - Open Source (Software)
- PDM - Product Data Management
- PDT - Product Data Technology
- PLM - Product Life-cycle Management
- PM - Product Modelling
- PTF - Platform Task Force (OMG)
- QTO - Quantity Take-Of
- R&D - Research and Development
- SIG - Special Interest Group [OMG]
- SC - Sub-Committee [ISO]
- SE - Systems Engineering
- TC - Technical Committee [ISO]
- TF - Task Force (OMG)
- UO - UitvoeringsOntwerp (NL term for Detailed Design phase w.r.t. construction process details)
- UR - User Requirement
- VC - Virtual Construction (sometimes VB - Virtual Building))
- VO - VoorOntwerp (NL term for Concept Design phase)
- WP - Work Package [EC]
- WWW - World Wide Web
[edit] More Info
English TNO Built Environment and Geosciences
De BouwInformatieRaad (BIR)
Regieraad Bouw
PSIBouw
Baanbrekers in de Bouw (opleiding)
