The American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) is working to bring that vision to reality by developing a three-step interoperability strategy to evaluate data exchanges and integrate structural steel information into buildingSMART's Industry Foundation Classes (IFC). IFC is an open and neutral data exchange format that covers multiple disciplines across the construction industry.
AISC has been at the forefront of advancing interoperability through open standards since adopting the CIMSteel Integration Standard (CIS/2) in 1998 as an open standard for the structural steel industry. Since then, however, the landscape of software interoperability and integration has changed dramatically and even after a decade of progress, the issue is not solved. In addition, CIS/2's "steel-only" format has meant that other solutions were needed as other disciplines began demanding data exchange.
These cumulative changes have led to AISC's new strategy to advance interoperability across the construction industry: assess and enhance data exchanges available today and integrate that knowledge into IFC, a common data schema that makes it possible to hold and exchange data between different proprietary software applications. Although IFC has yet to address some details of a building's life cycle, and does not yet cover the depth of data that CIS/2 encompasses, the IFC schema aspires to cover every aspect of design, procurement, manufacture and assembly, and operations and maintenance.
Acknowledging that raising IFC to the level required by the structural steel industry will take time, AISC has adopted a three-part strategy, outlined as follows:
- Short term: Ensure model data can be exchanged as needed by the structural steel industry, regardless of the nature of the exchange or format used
- Medium term: Promote IFC and make the format more accessible and understood by working with buildingSMART, other trade organizations, academia and subject experts.
- Long term: Facilitate the development and implementation of IFC to satisfy the needs of the structural steel industry.
This new strategy maintains AISC and the structural steel industry's leadership in interoperability and ensures that data related to structural steel can be exchanged up and down the supply chain and with other disciplines and trades. AISC holds the view that open standards will never be able to transfer every piece of data a user or client may want, or indeed that two software programs could exchange.
"A combination of open standard and proprietary enhancement will always be state of the art, but the key is to always be raising the quality of data exchanged within the open format," commented Chris Moor, AISC director of industry initiatives. "To that end, this overall strategy feeds itself: The short term strategy is an ongoing effort and takes advantage of the myriad of exchanges available, now or in the future, documenting them and learning from them - what data is exchanged and why. This information then forms the basis of long term goals to develop and implement IFC to a very high standard, raising the bar once more for open standards."
Added Deke Smith, executive director of the buildingSMART alliance, "I look at AISC as the gold standard for associations. AISC is implementing the profound changes necessary to transform the industry as a service to the constituents they represent. If all the market sectors had organizations representing them with this level of understanding and dedication to getting the job of interoperability done we would see a far more effective construction industry in the United States, one that was more competitive internationally."
More information about the evolution of interoperability and AISC's novel approach to moving it forward can be found in the Fall 2011 issue of the Journal of Building Information Modeling (JBIM), available for free downloading at http://www.wbdg.org/references/jbim.php. A copy of the article is also available on AISC's website, here. BD+C
Related Stories
| Jan 13, 2014
AEC professionals weigh in on school security
An exclusive survey reveals that Building Teams are doing their part to make the nation’s schools safer in the aftermath of the Sandy Hook tragedy.
| Jan 13, 2014
6 legislative actions to ignite the construction economy
The American Institute of Architects announced its “punch list” for Congress that, if completed, will ignite the construction economy by spurring much needed improvements in energy efficiency, infrastructure, and resiliency, and create jobs for small business.
| Jan 12, 2014
CES showcases innovations: Can any of these help you do your job better?
The Consumer Electronics Show took place this past week in Las Vegas. Known for launching new products and technologies, many of the products showcased there set the bar for future innovators. The show also signals trends to watch in technology applicable to the design and building industry.
| Jan 12, 2014
The ‘fuzz factor’ in engineering: when continuous improvement is neither
The biggest threat to human life in a building isn’t the potential of natural disasters, but the threat of human error. I believe it’s a reality that increases in probability every time a code or standard change is proposed.
| Jan 12, 2014
5 ways virtual modeling can improve facilities management
Improved space management, streamlined maintenance, and economical retrofits are among the ways building owners and facility managers can benefit from building information modeling.
| Jan 11, 2014
Getting to net-zero energy with brick masonry construction [AIA course]
When targeting net-zero energy performance, AEC professionals are advised to tackle energy demand first. This AIA course covers brick masonry's role in reducing energy consumption in buildings.
| Jan 10, 2014
What the states should do to prevent more school shootings
To tell the truth, I didn’t want to write about the terrible events of December 14, 2012, when 20 children and six adults were gunned down at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn. I figured other media would provide ample coverage, and anything we did would look cheap or inappropriate. But two things turned me around.
| Jan 10, 2014
Special Report: K-12 school security in the wake of Sandy Hook
BD+C's exclusive five-part report on K-12 school security offers proven design advice, technology recommendations, and thoughtful commentary on how Building Teams can help school districts prevent, or at least mitigate, a Sandy Hook on their turf.
| Jan 10, 2014
Resiliency, material health among top AEC focuses for 2014: Perkins+Will survey
Architectural giant Perkins+Will recently surveyed its staff of 1,500 design pros to forcast hot trends in the AEC field for 2014. The resulting Design + Insights Survey reflects a global perspective.
| Jan 9, 2014
How security in schools applies to other building types
Many of the principles and concepts described in our Special Report on K-12 security also apply to other building types and markets.