A nationwide group of Building Information Modeling users, known as the BIMForum, is seeking industry input on a proposed set of standards establishing how complete Building Information Models (BIMs) need to be for different stages of the design and construction process.
Once finalized, the new standards, known as Level of Development Specifications, will allow everyone to clearly articulate how complete model elements for the different building systems are or need to be throughout the design and construction process.
“Nobody benefits if everybody has a different idea about how much information should go into each element of a building model or for what uses those models are suitable,” said Dmitri Alferieff, the director of the BIMForum. “These specifications will allow everyone using Building Information Modeling to accurately define what will go into a model and prescribe its intended uses based on the completeness of its content.”
Alferieff noted that the new development specifications will allow model authors to define what their models can be relied on for and allow other users to understand the value, and limitations, of models they receive. A team of contractors, engineers and architects co-chaired by Jan Reinhardt with Pittsburgh, Penn.-based Adept Project Delivery and Jim Bedrick with San Francisco, Calif.-based A/E/C Process Engineering has been working on the draft specifications since early 2011, Alferieff added.
Officials with the BIMForum are asking members of the construction, design and engineering communities to review the proposed specifications and submit comments by June 7. (The specifications, and directions for submitting comments, can be found at www.bimforum.org/lod.) The specifications team will review all comments submitted as they work to finalize the Levels of Development Specifications document, name added.
Once finalized, the BIMForum will make the specification open to the public and encourage them to use it as a reference standard in Building Information Modeling agreements and execution plans, Alferieff added.
Related Stories
| Sep 7, 2012
7 Do's and Don'ts for PV roof rack installation
As PVs grow in popularity, nearly half of all installations require roof rack systems. Our expert tells how to do the job right and protect your client’s roof.
| Sep 7, 2012
Net-zero energy pioneers on the el-hi frontier
Getting to net-zero is not easy, but the promise of eliminating energy bills and using state-of-the-art technology as a learning lab can make a compelling case to reach for net-zero.
| Sep 7, 2012
Healthcare architects get a preview of tomorrow’s medical landscape
The topic on everyone’s mind was how the Affordable Care Act would impact healthcare design and construction––and whether the law would even make it past the coming election cycle.
| Sep 7, 2012
Goettsch Partners designs new tower in Abu Dhabi
Al Hilal Bank’s 24-story flagship development provides contemporary office space.
| Sep 7, 2012
Suffolk awarded One Channel Center project in Boston
Firm to manage $125 million, 525,000-sf office building project.
| Sep 7, 2012
Duffy joins Thornton Tomasetti
At Hardesty & Hanover, Duffy partnered with Thornton Tomasetti on a number of projects.
| Sep 7, 2012
Lucile Packard Children’s Hospital breaks ground on expansion
Sustainability and nature at the heart of the new addition at the Stanford University Medical Center designed by Perkins+Will.
| Sep 6, 2012
Young Spirit of Nature Wood Architecture award to Tiina Antinoja
The award is given for a student work in which wood as a building material has a central role.
| Sep 6, 2012
CPPI awarded $30.3 million contract for University of Florida’s Harrell Medical Education Building
The specialized interdisciplinary learning environment will serve as a focal point for integration and program development for all primary care educational activities in the College of Medicine.