Digital inspection of space allocation plans and BIM models

Design competitions proceed in accordance with clearly defined processes and milestones. The incorporation of these processes into digital environments ought to benefit competition participants and clients alike.

Efficient, streamlined competition procedures a benefit to all project stakeholders

“Our goal was to facilitate the work of project teams . . .”

“Our goal was to facilitate the work of project teams and to automate certain review processes,” says architect Katja Köder by way of explaining the team’s motivation. “So we joined our colleagues in IT and construction engineering to develop our Industry Foundation Class Checker (IFC Checker). This web-based tool enables automated preliminary reviews. Our tool can be easily integrated into existing digital workplaces, thereby allowing us to offer solutions that are tailor-made to the individual work processes of our clients.” The project arose in the context of the EBP Innovation Initiative, which was introduced to promote novel and creative solutions.

Making room for creativity with BIM competence

The IFC Checker deploys standardized model structures to enable automated review processes. This allows our clients to quickly generate comparable results with a greater degree of accuracy. Competition participants can submit their dossiers in an entirely digital format or in a conventional printed format, along with a single IFC file.

“The IFC Checker detects deviations automatically.”

As early as the drafting phase, planning teams have the option of conveniently checking their models for proper structure and space allocation. Attempts to manually verify SIA-416 space allocation specifications are made unnecessary.

Web application for checking IFC files

Planners, as well as experts tasked to manage competition procedures, can make independent use of the IFC Checker as a web application and conveniently integrate it into classic review processes. “All they have to do is upload their space allocation plans, which contain the few necessary parameters, and an IFC file with the objects “Space” and “Story.” The IFC Checker uses this information to automatically generate a checklist showing all of the deviations from the specifications,” says team member Roger Lienert, explaining how the online tool works.

Highlighting possible deviations

Public agencies, competition organizers and planners can deploy the IFC Checker in a wide range of procedures. A fast, automated response clearly displays any deviations from the specifications. Planners no longer need to draft separate documents to verify proper space allocation. This enables them to turn their attention to their creative solutions.

Interested in the IFC-Checker? Click here to go to the website: ifccheck.wordpress.com
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Project team