Today, we will discuss the advantages and disadvantages of BIM application as well as the commonly used international BIM standards. BIM offers an indispensable platform that assigns properties to points, lines, and surfaces from previous drawings. This ensures all team members share project information in a systematic and structured way, enhancing the project workflow and providing comprehensive building information data. BIM significantly expands and improves the ability to interpret engineering drawings. By utilizing BIM models, the need to manage countless drawing files is greatly reduced, as BIM contains all the necessary information for building management and operation.
Application of BIM: BIM is primarily presented to all engineering participants through 3D visualization. The BIM model simulates the entire lifecycle of construction projects in a virtual environment, incorporating aspects such as time (4D), cost (5D), and building functionality (6D). Key features of BIM include:
- A single, unified building model;
- Parametric component design;
- Bidirectional associations;
- Integration of related information;
- Rich additional functions, such as sunlight simulation and various analyses;
- Facilitation of information sharing and collaborative work.
Leveraging these features, BIM enhances engineering efficiency and quality—achievements that were challenging with traditional CAD technology, which mainly relies on two-dimensional drawings.
However, when introducing BIM into a project, issues may arise due to inconsistent file formats during information exchange with other participants such as raw material suppliers, subcontractors, or at project interfaces. The market offers many types of BIM software, each with its own file format, making cross-software file opening difficult. Even within the same software developer’s ecosystem, multiple BIM solutions can create exponential costs when exchanging data among them.
Software upgrades compound this issue, as the large number of applications results in excessive costs and time-consuming updates. If data formats change due to version upgrades or other reasons, all related software and methods must be updated simultaneously. To address this, many companies have developed BIM software data standards that support interoperability and facilitate data exchange between different BIM tools. When different software is used at various project stages, message exchange or long-term storage requires a standardized exchange format to enable seamless data communication—this is where BIM standards come into play.
Commonly used international BIM standards include the following:
1. Industrial Foundation Classes (IFC)
Developed by the predecessor of BuildingSMART—the international organization IAI (Industry Alliance for Interoperability)—IFC is a set of standards for building data integration. It defines an archive-standard exchange format for Building Information Modeling, specifying how information is provided and stored during each stage of the construction lifecycle. IFC records various component attributes and accommodates data such as geometry, calculations, quantities, pricing, and professional disciplines including architecture, structure, electromechanical systems, and terrain.
2. Information Delivery Manual (IDM)
Different companies and departments define the characteristics of equipment and building components involved in a project. To resolve software incompatibility and improve work efficiency, IDM defines the processes requiring information exchange throughout the construction lifecycle. It identifies the IFC functionalities needed for these processes, describes expected results, specifies the roles of message senders and receivers, and outlines the detailed file exchange protocols using IFC as the standard format.
3. International Framework for Dictionaries (IFD)
Given the diversity of languages and cultures worldwide, project participants often come from various countries and backgrounds. To ensure consistent understanding of exchanged information, each concept must be uniquely defined on a global scale. IFD assigns a globally unique identifier (UID) to every term and message, allowing IFC messages to be linked with unique identifiers. For example, in a standard dictionary, the Norwegian word “dor” and the English word “door” might both translate simply as “door.” However, in technical architectural terminology, “dor” in Norwegian actually means “doorframe,” while “door” in English refers to the actual door. This distinction is critical for precise communication in construction projects.
In conclusion, this covers the advantages and disadvantages of BIM application and the internationally recognized BIM standards. I hope this article has been helpful to everyone!
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