Initiating The Building Information Model From Owner and Operator Criteria and Requirements

Abstract

Computer-aided design and modeling software vendors have agreed that a Building Information Model (BIM) is essential to reducing the cost and errors/omissions during the design and construction documentation process. However, this does not address the issue of interoperability throughout the facility life-cycle. The Architectural Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry has been making a substantial effort over the past several years to create a standard facility modeling format that better enables different software applications to interoperate. This emerging standard, known as the Industry Foundation Class (IFC), is being developed by the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI) and can be found in recent releases of commercial AEC software. This effort has focused on design and construction applications and has just begun to touch the surface in modeling the needs of owners and operators. The Engineer Research and Development Center, Construction Engineering Research Laboratory (ERDC-CERL) is currently developing a set of facility ‘architectural’ programming tools, called Facility Composer (FC), to support the capture and tracking of facility criteria and requirements during planning charrettes. Planning Charrettes are key to capturing the stakeholder’s (owners and operators) requirements in the early phases of project development. As the facility program, criteria and requirements are chosen during the charrette process, these tools populate the IFC object model. This object model can then be used for downstream analyses such as cost, sustainability, and force protection. As this model matures it can be used for the life-cycle of the facility.