阐述IFC标准的几个基本问题.docx

阐述IFC标准的几个基本问题.docx

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阐述IFC标准的几个基本问题

阐述IFC标准的几个基本问题

∙发布时间：

2010-05-20

∙文章来源：

AIA.org

∙责任编辑：

liyaoneng

【中国BIM门户黄锰钢注】这篇文章回答了这几个问题：

1.IFC标准是什么？

2.IFC标准是如何制定出来的？

3.IFC标准给建筑行业带来的真正价值在哪里？

4.IFC模型是否该被用作项目信息的“数字字典”？

5. IFC标准会对你的事业产生什么影响？

——对IFC标准感兴趣的朋友可以看看。

FacilitatingInteroperabilityintheBuildingIndustry

ADifferentApproachtoUsingIFCs

JimForesterandIanHowell

WhatareIndustryFoundationClasses（IFCs）?

TheInternationalAllianceforInteroperability（IAI）haspioneeredaninternationaltechnicaleffortbyindustryleadersin19countriestodefineasinglebuildinginformationframeworkasoneauthoritativesemanticdefinitionofbuildingelements,theirproperties,andinterrelationships—theIFCmodel.Thisefforthasresultedinthepublicationofarichsetofbuildingelementdefinitionsdesignedspecificallytofacilitatetheunambiguousexchangeofdatabetweensoftwareapplications.Moreimportant,theIFCmodelhasbeenendorsedasastandardoftheInternationalOrganizationforStandardization（ISO）forusebyindustrystakeholders.

（ThefullIFCmodelisavailableforreferenceonthe IAIinternationalWebsite.Foramoredetailedandnon-technicalexplanationofIFCs,werecommendtheAECbytesarticle, “TheIFCBuildingModel:

ALookUndertheHood.”）

HowHaveIFCsBeenDefined?

TheIAIhas,fromitsinception,reliedheavilyonuse-casesdefinedandelaboratedbyindustrypractitioners.Forexample,indefiningtheprocessesspecifictocalculatingabuilding’sheatingandcoolingrequirements,engineersprovidedetaileddefinitionsofallthedatathatisinherenttothisprocess.Inthisexample,leadingindustryorganizations,suchasthe AmericanSocietyofHeating,RefrigerationandAir-ConditioningEngineers intheUnitedStates,the CharteredInstitutionofBuildingServicesEngineers intheUnitedKingdom,andthe DeutschesInstitutfurNormung standardsorganizationinGermany,areallconsultedforconcise,unambiguous,locale-independentdefinitionsthatarecapturedwithintheIFCmodel.Theresultingdatadefinitionscontainedinthemodelconsistofthingsfromtheverygeneric（e.g.,it’safanusedtomoveairinthebuilding）totheverydetailed（e.g.,theflowcharacteristicsateachpointinthedistributionsystem,capturedinenoughdetailtoallowforacomprehensivefluidflowsimulationandanalysis）.

Whoaretheseindustryexperts?

Manyworkforcompaniesthatareindustryleaders—Hellmuth,Obata+KassabaumInc.andJarosBaum&BollesintheUnitedStates;ObermeyerPlanen+BeratenGmbHinGermany;BuildingDesignPartnershipintheUnitedKingdom;KajimaCorporationinJapan;WoodsBagotinAustralia;OlofGranlundinFinland;IngéropinFrance;RombøllinDenmark;andSelvaaginNorway,alongwithmanyothers.ThesecompaniesaresponsoringtheIAI’sefforts,bothfinanciallyandbyallocatingsignificantresources,toidentifyandimplementimprovedworkprocessesthatcanbreakdownthebarrierstoproductivitygainsinthedeliveryofprojectsfortheirclients.TheyexpectthattheirvoluntaryinvolvementintheIAI,workingcloselywithfellowindustryprofessionals,datamodelers,softwaredevelopers,andmembersofacademia,candeliveronthepromiseofinteroperability.Theyprovidetherichlanguageofbuildingdesign,construction,andoperationthatformthebasisfordatamodelerstocodifytheirpracticeintheIFCmodel.

TheresultsofthisrigorousandunprecedentedcollaborativeefforthaveledtoanISO-endorsedbuildingmodeldefinitionthathasbeendevelopedtomeettheprocess-specificneedsoftheusersofbuildingdatainthearchitecture,engineering,construction,andowner-operatorindustries.

TheTrueValueIFCsBringtoOurIndustry

OneofthegreatestcontributionsoftheIFCmodelisthearchitectural,engineering,construction,owner-operator（AECO）specific,non-graphicaldefinitionsthathavebeencapturedfrombuildingindustrydomainexperts.ItisourcontentionthatthetruevalueoftheIAI’sworkistheagreementsthathavebeenreachedgloballyonthesemanticsofabuildingmodel（elements,assemblies,relationships,andprocesses）versusIFCsperse.

Inouropinion,thelaudableeffortsbycomputer-aideddesign（CAD）andBIMvendorstosupportIFCshavethusfarfocusedprimarilyonarchitecturalgraphicalelementsthatrequirephysicalcoordinationwithinathree-dimensionalspace.CADvendorshavespenthugeamountsoftimeatgreatcosttoworkouttheintricaciesofthisexchangebetweentheirrespectiveproducts,eachwithitsowninternalBIM.However,thereiscurrentlylittlebenefittoend-usersbyaddingIFCexchangefocusedonthegraphicalrepresentationsofbuildingelementsthattheycanalreadyexchangetodayviaDWG,DXF,andDWF.Infact,thisisactuallyadisservicetotheindustryinthesensethatthebenefitsofIFC-modelexchangebecomemiredintheevaluationofthefidelityofthegraphicselementsratherthanfocusingontheexploitationofthenon-graphicaldatainotherprocesses.Afocusinsteadontherealvalueassociatedwithcapturingandcommunicatingnon-graphicalpropertiesaddstrueintelligencetothegraphicsandaccommodatesmanymoreAECOprocesses.

Inourview,theIFCmodeloffersAECOcompaniesanindustryagreed-uponsetofdefinitionswithwhichtodescribetheirprojectandbusinessprocesses.Hereinliestherealopportunityforachievingmajorbreakthroughsinattackingtherunawaycostsofinadequateinteroperabilityinourindustry.Thiscostoverheadtotalsinexcessof$15billionannuallyaccordingtotheNationalInstituteofStandardsandTechnologyasquantifiedinitsAugust2004report, CostAnalysisofInadequateInteroperabilityintheU.S.CapitalFacilitiesIndustry.

UsingtheIFCModelasa“DataDictionary”forProjectInformation

Basedonourindustryresearch,itisclearthatspecificallydiscussinghowindustryprofessionalsmightdirectlyuseIFCsisameaninglessexercise.Itisabitliketalkingtoacarbuyerabouthowthefuelinjectionsystemactuallyworkswhentheyareactuallyinterestedinthetradeoffbetweendrivingperformanceandfueleconomy.WebelievetheIAIhasbeentoofocusedonIFCsasatechnologyinandofitself,ratherthanrelegatingittoitsrightfulroleasanenablerfordeliveringimprovedinformationsharingamongtheprocessespracticeddailybyarchitects,engineers,contractors,andbuildingowners.

Theseindustryprofessionalscanreadilyidentifythepointsofpainassociatedwiththeirprojectdeliverablesandeverydayworkpractices,suchasthedifficultyinverifyingthataclient’sspaceprogramexpectationsarebeingproperlymet,ortheirinabilitytofindapieceofinformationtheyknowalreadyexistssomewhereintheoverwhelmingamountofprojectdatatheyaremanaging.Veryfewoftheprofessionalsthatwehavespokento,however,areconcernedaboutthespecificsofhowaparticularemergingindustryopendatastandardlikeIFCsmightbeexploitedtoassistthem;understandingthesetechnicaldetailsarenottheirconcernnorinterest.Thus,fewindustrypractitionersareclamoringforIFC-compliantsoftwaretoolsorservicesdespitethepotentialbenefitsandcostsavings.

InanalyzingprojectandbusinessprocessesspecifictotheAECOindustry,ourresearchhasidentifiedthatoneofthemostoftenoverlookedcausesofthelackofinteroperabilityintheAECOindustryistheabsenceofcommontermsanddefinitions.Usingaconsistent“datadictionary”onaprojectprovidesahugeopportunityforconsistencyacrosssetsofdocuments,re-useofproject-relateddata,andsharingofinformationbetweenthemembersofanextendedprojectteam.

ItisourassessmentthatIFCsalone,asaninformationframework,areunlikelytobecomeasinglyunifyingmodelusedinthebuildingindustry:

Therearetoomanyprocessesandareasofspecializationtobeencompassedcomprehensivelywithinasinglemodelframework.Rather,whenusedinconjunctionwithexistingdatastructuresandestablisheddataexchangeformats,andwhencombinedwiththepragmaticcapabilitiesofXMLasaubiquitouscommunicationsprotocol,IFCshavethepotentialofbecominganessentialpartofanemerging“language”forinformationsharinginthebuildingindustry.

Havingacommonsetoftermsanddefinitionsisaprerequisiteforinteroperability;itisthefoundationofanymeaningfulcommunication.Forittobeoptimallyusefulandallowforimprovedproductivity,ithastobefocusedspecificallyonwhatinformationisrelevanttotheneedsofthecommunicatingparties.ThisiswheretheactivitiesoftheIAIwillhaveasignificantimpactontheAECOindustry.ByusingthesestandardizeddefinitionsoftheprocessescapturedintheIFCmodel,softwareapplicationsusedintheAECOindustryhaveamuchgreateropportunityformeaningfulcommunication.Furthermore,itoffersanyapplicationtheabilitytomeaningfullyexchangeselectedprojectdatawithotherstandardsinitiativesthathavefoundsupportinspecificareasoftheAECOindustry,suchasthecivilengineeringcommunity’s LandXMLinitiative andthestructuralindustry’s CIS/2standard.

Thisverybasictenetofstandardizedterminologywasafundamentalprerequisitethatledtoachievinggreaterlevelsofautomationintheaerospaceandmanufacturingindustries.Ithasyet,however,tobeappliedtotheheterogeneousAECOindustrywherethepotentialbenefitsmightbeevengreaterthanintheseotherindustries.

HowwillIFCsAffectYourBusiness?

Thereareseveralinnovatorsthatarealreadystartingtoexploitthepowerful“datadictionary”conceptsfoundintheIFCmodel.Forexample,inNorwaytheIFCmodelisbeingusedtounambiguouslyexchangenon-graphicaldatabetweenthedifferentspokenlanguagesintheregi