Designing a Framework for Exchanging Partial Sets of BIM Information on a Cloud-Based Service

The rationale behind this research study was based on the recognised difficulty of exchanging data at element or object level due to the inefficiencies of compatible hardware and software. Interoperability depicts the need to pass data between applications, allowing multiple types of experts and applications to contribute to the work at hand. The only way that software file exchanges between two applications can produce consistent data and change management results for large projects is through a building model repository. The overall aim of this thesis was to design and develop an integrated process that would advance key decisions at an early design stage through faster information exchanges during collaborative work. In the construction industry, Building Information Modeling is the most integrated shared model between all disciplines. It is based on a manufacturing-like process where standardised deliverables are used throughout the life cycle with effective collaboration as its main driving force. However, the dilemma is how to share these properties of BIM applications on one single platform asynchronously. Cloud Computing is a centralized heterogeneous network that enables different applications to be connected to each other. The methodology used in the research was based on triangulation of data which incorporated many techniques featuring a mixture of both quantitative and qualitative analysis. The results identified the need to re-engineer Simplified Markup Language, in order to exchange partial data sets of intelligent object architecture on an integrated platform. The designed and tested prototype produced findings that enhanced project decisions at a relatively early design stage, improved communication and collaboration techniques and cross disciple co-ordination

Accelerating BIM Adoption in Ireland: A ten-year review of CitA BIM Gathering Proceedings

Digital construction interfaces have been studied extensively over the last few decades, with an ever-grow- ing catalogue of publications. The CitA BIM Gathering conferences have played a key role in bringing together the research and industry communities ina collaborative setting over the past decade in Ireland. In this paper the authors systematically review 10 years of papers published in the BIM Gathering pro- ceedings since the inaugural conference in 2013. A total of 175 papers involving over 200 authors have been reviewed and classified under the 2018 World Economic Forum (WEF) recommendations in respect to ac- celerating BIM adoption. The primary contribution of the review is to present the broad landscape of digital construction research. There is clear evidence at a high-level that the BIM Gathering proceedings collec- tively address many of the WEF recommendations. Nonetheless, an uncoordinated approach remains in implementing and monitoring BIM adoption in Ireland. The most influential studies related to articulating BIM benefits, data sharing, openBIM standards, and BIM skills. Fewer studies were evident on early col- laboration, procurement requirements, behavioural change and long-term commitment to support small to medium enterprises. While there are encouraging signs due to the Irish government introducing a require- ment for BIM on public sector projects in the near future and funding vital centres of excellence, there remains still a fragmented and uncoordinated approach to BIM adoption in Ireland

DBL SmartCity: An Open-Source IoT Platform for Managing Large BIM and 3D Geo-Referenced Datasets

The `smart city\u27 approach has been promoted as an effective way to manage urban environments. Information and communication technology in general, as well as `Internet of Things\u27 systems in particular, constitute an essential component of all smart city initiatives. However, many past and current smart city implementations place only an insufficient emphasis on the geo-spatial and 3D nature of data. In order to fill this gap, we present DBL SmartCity, an open-source smart city IoT platform that is based on open standards and designed from the ground-up to effectively store, manage, and present large sets of BIM and 3D geo-referenced data

On systematic approaches for interpreted information transfer of inspection data from bridge models to structural analysis

In conjunction with the improved methods of monitoring damage and degradation processes, the interest in reliability assessment of reinforced concrete bridges is increasing in recent years. Automated imagebased inspections of the structural surface provide valuable data to extract quantitative information about deteriorations, such as crack patterns. However, the knowledge gain results from processing this information in a structural context, i.e. relating the damage artifacts to building components. This way, transformation to structural analysis is enabled. This approach sets two further requirements: availability of structural bridge information and a standardized storage for interoperability with subsequent analysis tools. Since the involved large datasets are only efficiently processed in an automated manner, the implementation of the complete workflow from damage and building data to structural analysis is targeted in this work. First, domain concepts are derived from the back-end tasks: structural analysis, damage modeling, and life-cycle assessment. The common interoperability format, the Industry Foundation Class (IFC), and processes in these domains are further assessed. The need for usercontrolled interpretation steps is identified and the developed prototype thus allows interaction at subsequent model stages. The latter has the advantage that interpretation steps can be individually separated into either a structural analysis or a damage information model or a combination of both. This approach to damage information processing from the perspective of structural analysis is then validated in different case studies

Memos and Mega Projects: Applying Planners’ Perceptions of Their Software to a Framework for the Future of Planning

Software powers the modern urban planning department. However, the majority of academic attention on software in the planning profession has focused on highly specialized land use models, ignoring the importance of common applications that most planners rely upon throughout their workdays. For example, email’s impact on planning has gone largely undiscussed in the literature despite its role as one of the most commonly used software by planners. This report has a twofold purpose: 1) create a protocol for interviewing planners about the software they use routinely; 2) synthesize needs and expectations of planners gathered during interviews with relevant literature on planning technologies into a framework for the future of planning software. The framework presented in this report unifies, for the first time, disparate fields of research on software related to urban planning into a single set of guidelines for developing the future of software for public agencies. This framework provides a research agenda for urban planning software systems that mutually strengthen one another, and a valuable conceptual overview of the diverse information systems involved in the planning profession. Eleven interviews were conducted with mid- and senior-level planners in local governments across Santa Clara County, better known around the world as Silicon Valley. Santa Clara County was selected as the study area for two reasons: well-resourced governments in the area can invest in modern planning software, and to question if the stereotype of the area’s technological leadership extends to its local governments. Senior-level planners were interviewed in a semi-structured format with the interview adjusted based on a short survey about the software most used in the individual’s professional role. Key findings from the interviews informing the framework include: Planners in local governments in Silicon Valley are transitioning into modern software tools, like electronic plan review and permit management systems. There is no special technological advantage in Silicon Valley among public agencies. Planners were eager to fully implement and adopt software features available to them, particularly features that would improve communication about project status with applicants; Planners were unafraid of software automation. Limited automation features available in electronic plan review systems were yet to be fully implemented, and planners embraced the time-saving potential; The volume of email burdened interviewees. This draws attention to the significance of generalized productivity software in the practice of planning; Planners had no immediate need for “big data,” despite the recognized importance of big data in the urban planning technology literature. Perceptions from planners about the software that they use informed key problems and set goals for the framework developed here. Extensive research into emerging software targeting the construction and engineering trades with relevance to planners, as well as software designed to assist creative knowledge workers, informed the development of the future framework for planning software. Features of the framework include: A planning data model that underpins land use codes, development guidelines, and planning department procedures, providing machine-readable logic that underpins rulebased systems in email, project tracking, permit management, electronic plan review, and staff reports; Template-based and data type-aware word processing that encodes standardized practices for writing documents and requires numeric data be stored and represented as such. Electronic plan review systems that assist in checking both objective zoning codes and subjective design guidelines using generalized adaptable rule language; Integrated BIM-GIS supporting both the plan review and permit management process by organizing and visualizing spatial and physical data about the built environment; and Predictable, structured times to respond to email from applicants and the public and process-integrated calendars that recover time for focusing on long-term planning efforts; The generalized productivity software that planners have been using for over thirty years is inadequate for the predicted era of big data generated by networked urban environments. Excel is not designed to support real-time analytics, Word is not designed to assist in describing or associating analytics with textual information, and no application has yet been designed to visualize or organize such data for engaging the public. This framework gives planners and researchers of planning technology insight into the range of software used by planners and develop an innovative class of software fit for stewarding the cities of the coming century

Knowledge-based automatic OpenBIM data exchanging framework supporting holistic building design

For complex building design, there are many factors required to be considered in order to achieve the best possible design. During the process, there are many different professionals using different tools, along with different information; it is therefore very difficult to enable efficient collaboration and decisions. Through a comprehensive literature review, the dissertation identifies that data exchange within the BIM context is still facing interoperability issues due to inconsistency in defining data exchange requirements. Moreover, the decision-making within the BIM context focuses on individual aspects, which are developed separately from each other and require end-users to have prior knowledge about other domains. Despite the effort to develop a multi-objective decision-making knowledge base, most research did not provide a method that can work in parallel with a BIM model, which can provide decisions based on the data collected from the BIM model automatically. Most methods require manual input to process the data in a BIM model. It hence requires a smart way to leverage diverse information sources to work together. Based on that, the dissertation determines the research motivation and formulates detailed research questions and hypotheses to establish an automatic data exchanging framework that combines both data exchange method and semantic web technology to eliminate inefficiencies in data exchange and improve the decision-making in the early design stage. A common data analysis (CDA) referencing various concepts such as the standardised Information Delivery Manual (IDM), model view definition (MVD) and the concept of the semantic intersection was designed to conclude “single truth of information” and “partial truth of information” data sets that form the basis for the proposed framework from a data processing perspective. Furthermore, the requirements needed for multi-objective knowledge were also investigated. Following the analysis, firstly, a data exchange method that can extract the critical data from a BIM model based on the IFC schema was implemented. Secondly, a multi-objective knowledge base is constructed, which can assist engineers who lack knowledge associated with sustainability and cost in comparing different design choices while considering design conditions to develop an ideal design in the early stage. The main outcome of the research lies in providing a multi-objective knowledge base that can closely connect with real-project data. Consequently, an automatic data acquisition method was developed to align the proposed knowledge base with the data exchange method to extract data from an IFC file and merge them with the data presented in the developed ontology automatically in order to eliminate the human involvement by decreasing manual input. It was shown that the proposed framework could provide different data sets and process the IFC-based BIM model correctly without data loss. The data acquisition method helped produce a more dynamic knowledge base that connects real project information to static information related to cost and sustainability efficiently. Consequently, this approach is proved to be more efficient than a manual approach by adding data to the knowledge base. The SWRL rules helped automate all the manual calculations and generate new facts based on the data in an IFC file. The built-in rules allow the end-user to review and compare different design alternatives by considering various factors at an early stage. All the developed tools and functions were tested and went through framework validation. This combined framework is unlike previous approaches where data and instances are entered manually one by one. It presents a more direct way to work with IFC-based BIM models in order to evaluate various aspects

BIM communication waste

Developments in Information and Communication Technology can bring about significant improvements in the efficiency of the Architecture, Engineering and Construction and Facilities Management industry. Building Information Modelling (BIM), is a term which encompasses a type of software but more importantly a set of processes which, at their core, support an approach for integrated project delivery enabled by interoperable software systems. The last three years have seen intensified and coordinated adoption of BIM in the UK mainly as a result of the mandate of the UK government. One facet of these developments is the growing need for BIM collaboration tools which can interoperate effectively with the various BIM software systems, support the required standards and codes of practice and provide for requirements of construction project information production and management such as model-based workflows, model-based communication, model-based procurement, role-based data access and role-based privileges. The pre-requisites for collaboration can be broadly divided into two categories: (1) coordination of information and responsibilities, and (2) communication. This research recognizes the strong focus of recent and ongoing efforts to provide for coordination and aims to support the communication aspect. Additionally, successful collaborative practice results from (1) the "softer" or "human-aspect" issues: collaborative culture, software training and adherence to protocols as well as from (2) the provision of appropriate, intuitive and configurable collaboration tools and, more generally, digital collaboration environments. This research focuses on the latter. Despite efforts from a variety of software-as-a-service (SaaS) collaboration tool vendors to achieve dominance in the market, there is still uncertainty as to what type of solutions would best support BIM collaboration. Additionally, there is considerable variation in software configurations and a lack of a universally applicable method for evaluating the communication capabilities of BIM collaboration tools in a meaningful way. Vendors lack a robust conceptual framework to guide the long-term development of their tools and evaluate them. The process of requirements engineering, which in this context involves a diversity of stakeholders and involves projects at different BIM maturity levels would benefit significantly from a robust, context-specific conceptual model-ontology. The aim of this research is to produce a context-specific conceptual model-ontology which can support the discourse of requirements engineering and provide a robust and widely applicable framework for evaluating the communication capabilities of BIM collaboration tools. It is anticipated that this would help reduce BIM communication waste . To meet this aim, BIM collaboration tools were studied from five perspectives: 1.Users: their opinions, requirements and requests were collected through an online questionnaire survey. 2.Vendor: their perspective was captured through semi-structured interviews. 3.Schemata for interoperability: effectiveness of tools and schemata was evaluated through analysis of software by data fidelity study and scenario-based testing. 4.Tool use: patterns of digitally-enabled communication were explored through an analysis of communication data and meta-data collected from a collaboration tool. 5.Tool improvement: a successful approach in improving a collaboration tool was examined through the development of a context-specific requirements engineering process. This process was evaluated through semi-structured interviews with collaboration tool implementation consultants. Each perspective helped produce more specific requirements from the model as well as elements of the model itself. The end result was the Model for communication waste in BIM process interactions (WIMBIM). WIMBIM has the BIM process transmission as the fundamental unit of analysis and focuses on BIM communication waste and how it results from sub-optimal collaboration tools and schemata. The ultimate purpose of WIMBIM is to support the development of technology which would reduce this waste. This model was converted into a communicable format and was related to BIM standards to aid contextualization and gap identification. To evaluate the validity and utility of this model, interviews with BIM experts were conducted, and the proposed model was found to be a valid approach to address aspects of BIM waste, which is not usually examined and could potentially complement the existing model for BIM maturity. Additionally, the model provides a useful lens for further academic research into BIM collaboration tools

A BIM-based workflow concurrently generating quantitative and qualitative output — a focus on energy performance and architectural representation

The integration of quantitative building energy performance simulation with qualitative architecture representational 3D data can facilitate performance-based decision making in the early phase of building design process. However, there are some problems that delay decision making until the late stages of design. Many interrelated parameters can affect building energy performance. Unlike design options conventionally created based on offered values of ASHRAE 90.1 or NECB, design alternatives with lower energy consumption can be suggested through the configuration of various parameters. A systematic strategy is needed to support performance-based quantitative evaluation. Due to the complexity of integration of interrelated energy simulation parameters with qualitative architecture representations, this approach is not being adequately accomplished in current architecture/energy-performance practices. There is a lack of an effective integrated workflow between architects and engineers to simultaneously represent visual qualitative 3D data related to quantitative energy performance-based data of each design alternative. In addition, exchanging data between the architectural model and the energy model in large-scale evaluations is a time-consuming and error-prone process. Collaborative platforms are not sufficiently being used in current practices to facilitate geometric and physical data-sharing through a single environment. In this regard, there is no clear integrated design workflow between architectural needs and engineering needs. The objective of this research is to propose a workflow to facilitate decision-making at the early design phase by automatically generating the quantitative energy performance data and qualitative visual representations of each design alternative, in order that architects and engineers can collaborate within a common platform of communication. This proposed workflow will be implemented through the utilization of a case study, within the collaborative platform of Building Information Modeling (BIM). Numbers of 1296 quantitative energy-performance results and their related qualitative 3D designs have been generated automatically through the BIM platform. These results support architects and engineers with a variety of “best performance-based design solutions,” while involving them simultaneously in the design process from the early phase without needing to perform the error-prone and time-consuming process of energy model data re-entry