As a step towards understanding the advantages and disadvantages of the most popular building classification systems, let’s look at how they are structured. OmniClass, used in AEC in North America, has 15 tables on varied facets of construction information. Uniclass 2015, the U.K. building industry classification system, has 10 tables.…
Category: Theory
Comparing classification systems I – The 2 Types
Designers often wonder which digital building classification to use in projects. Which is best? This is in fact a key question for the smooth exchange of information among a BIM project’s participants over the building’s entire life. Let me offer some context for the choice. This first post describes the…
The ‘Dimensions’ class of BIM object properties
Let’s look at the “Dimensions” class of BIM object property names in my proposed classification system. Like the crucial “Identification” property class, it should make it much easier to define your information needs and communicate those needs to others – with total clarity. What you have is a standardized list…
The ‘Identification’ class of BIM object properties
Here’s a look at the “Identification” class in the BIMAXON classification system for BIM object property names. This is in fact the most important class, since every BIM actor needs Identification properties for every use of a model. So the gains from standardization here are very big. In presenting 1st-level…
BIM object property names: 1st-level classes (and their usefulness)
In my last post about the urgent need to standardize BIM element properties, I promised to help do that. Here I begin to present the classification system for property names that I’m developing. I list my proposed 1st (entry) level of classes. Then I give an example of how they…
BIM workflow using SOI and GR instead of LOD. PART 1.
In this post, let’s look at some of the workflow implications of my proposed SOI approach to BIM data management, with the use of GR levels instead of LOD, by walking through a simple project to build a reinforced concrete column. 1. First we need to clarify the overall information-exchange…
Instead of LOD: The GR approach to BIM object detail
My last post introduced the notion of a BIM object’s GR or “level of detailed geometry in its 3D graphical representation.” Let me explain more, to clarify the advantages over LOD that the GR approach to levels of detailing offers in terms of both efficiency and data usefulness. What’s of…
SOI basics: Stages, Uses, LOD and Drop Points in light of BIM’s purpose
To better understand the set-of-information (SOI) approach to BIM data management I’m proposing, let’s review some key workflow notions in light of the purpose for which BIM exists. The purpose of BIM, in my view, is “to give each actor just the information they need at just the right time throughout a…
“SOI” – a potential revolution in BIM data management
In my last post I described how the standard LOD/LOI methodology is causing information overload in BIM and slowing workflows. Now I want to outline a new approach which has the potential to resolve these problems and improve life for all BIM participants. I call it the “Set of Information”…
LOD is wasting our time and holding BIM back
Everyone with an interest in BIM has struggled with LOD. Not just with the term’s subtleties of meaning and inconsistent use: “Does LOD here mean ‘Levels of Definition’ or ‘Level of Development’ or ‘Level of Detail’, and how does it differ from ‘Level of Information’?” But also with the practical…