Why doesn't the traditional solutions solve BIM data exchange problems?

BIM data exchange problems are not a new thing. The industry has been trying to solve them for decades already. There is a strong belief that we don't need anything new, that we simply need to improve what we already have. Unfortunately, this is not true. Here are some common claims about how the traditional solutions should solve the issues, and why they are not true.

Model author tools will solve the BIM data exchange problems

A common claim is that BIM data exchange doesn’t work because the model author tools are bad. The model author tools should be fixed, and then BIM exchange would start working on a larger scale. Then we wouldn't need Simplebim anymore. Totally wrong!

First of all, the inconsistency of the data is not caused by the model author tools as such. The inconsistency comes from the diversity of the construction industry in general and especially the digital environment we are working in. In this environment, model data is created by multiple different people, in multiple different places and roles, with a multitude of software tools.

Trying to control the consistency of the data by each one of these players separately, in a distributed way, is madness. Improving a single IFC export doesn’t help. However, making the data consistent and fit for purpose in a centralized and automated way with Simplebim is the smartest way forward.

BIM requirements will solve the BIM data exchange problems

Another common claim is that BIM data exchange doesn’t work because the BIM requirements and guidelines are bad. If we make more and better BIM guidelines and requirements, then we can start working with BIM on a larger scale. Then we don’t need Simplebim anymore. Totally wrong!

Having BIM guidelines and requirements helps, but in practice, they cannot solve the underlying issues, which come from the complex environment. Setting more and more requirements leads to distributed data management. More importantly, it leads to an absurd situation where people are trying to help automation, the machines, by doing more manual work. Do you see the irony here?

The industry has tried this approach for a few decades already. It hasn’t worked. How much more proof do we need?

The good news is that using the Simplebim workflow, the requirements and thus the manual work can be minimized. Instead of distributing the control of data to each desktop of each designer, we centralize it. Instead of trying to follow rules with manual work, we automate the data processing. These two small ideas are game changers. Think about it! The whole BIM workflow becomes much simpler. As a bonus, most of the liability issues get solved at the same time.

The next IFC version will solve the BIM data exchange problems

Another claim is that IFC is broken and needs to be fixed. We need to wait for the next version of IFC, and then we can start working with BIM on a larger scale. Then we don’t need Simplebim anymore. Totally wrong!

IFC is not perfect, not even close. It has been developed for a long time already. It carries many mistakes from the past. Still, it is the best available open BIM format we have, and the most widely supported. The inconsistency of the data is not caused by the data format we use; it is caused by the diversity and complexity of the environment we are working in.

With the current workflow, the data would be as inconsistent, even if we used Excel or any other format. There’s nothing magical in formats that would make the data consistent and rich. IFC is just like any other format. You don’t get consistent and valuable data just because everybody uses IFC. The good news is that you can fix this issue by using Simplebim to make the data consistent and rich in a centralized and automated way.

Education will solve the BIM data exchange problems

Another common claim is that BIM data exchange doesn’t work because the BIM education is not good enough. We simply need to educate more and better, and Simplebim is no longer needed. Partly true, but listen.

Taking BIM into use on a large scale will change the way many of us in the industry work. New ways of working will require some learning for sure. However, the claim in the title falsely suggests that learning is mostly technical, that all construction professionals need to become BIM experts. Even IFC experts. OMG. We sure hope not.

At the core of all BIM benefits is easy-to-use data that arrives at the right time to support decision making. Data. Information. Not BIM or IFC itself. In fact, as long as you get value out of the data, you don’t even have to know that it came from a BIM model. This data itself should be something each construction professional is already using and thus knows how to use. They don’t need more education to do their basic job, as long as the data is fit for purpose.

Simplebim makes the data easy to use, consistent, and rich, fit for purpose. BIM experts are only needed to make this centralized and automated processing happen. Everybody else is simply using the data, which they already know how to use.

AI and machine learning will solve the BIM data exchange problems

Another common claim is that AI and machine learning will solve all the data exchange issues in a couple of years. Yes, it is amazing what machine learning can do with pictures, or, for example, with sound. How the AI chatbots work. Or how AI can be applied to fraud detection and other behavior analysis. For sure, these technologies will also be more and more applied in the construction industry. Sure, they can solve at least some of the issues we have – even with BIM data exchange. But not all of them.

Machine learning can help us classify information, maybe even make it more consistent. This is one direction we are also already moving in with Simplebim. But. First of all, machine learning doesn’t work if you don’t have consistent data. It is not yet intelligent in a way the name ‘artificial intelligence’ suggests. You cannot simply throw in some random data, ask it anything, and hope to get useful answers. You still need to make the data consistent first to get reliable results, to get reliable data that you can use for 100k or 100M decisions. You then need to analyze this data in a very specific way. Simplebim will help you make the data consistent and enable the use of machine learning and AI.

IDS, MVD, XML, BIM Servers... will solve the BIM data exchange problems

Another claim involves all sort of concepts, technologies, workflows and beliefs related to BIM. We humans tend to simplify the world by clinging on one idea. At the same time the big picture and overall goal is easily forgotten. Especially by the experts. The more you know, the less you know.

Should data be linked or put into to the model? Is a web service better than file-based data exchange? Is the XML-format overwhelmingly better compared to a given text-format, or should all the data be serialized? Maybe the models should always be stored on a model server and that would automatically solve all the issues? MVD, IDM, BIM execution plans, national BIMstrategies… what have you.

From the point of view of the overall goal, most of these concepts and technologies are the same kind of things as the question: on which side should you butter your bread? Do you put the ham on the top or under the cheese and so on…? People have strong emotional strings attached to these ideas and things, even if they don’t have any logical connection to the overall issues.

We encourage you to take few steps back. Take a deep breath and think about what we are actually trying to achieve with BIM: to create, communicate, analyze and use building information in a reliable way at the right time. And to do all this efficiently. Simplebim cuts through this cloud of confusion and helps you concentrate on the essential, practical and common-sense solutions.

IFC certification will solve the BIM data exchange problems

Another common claim is that BIM data exchange doesn’t work because the software solutions we are using do not have IFC certification. Once all software is certified, BIM exchange starts working on a larger scale. Then we don’t need Simplebim anymore. Totally wrong!

First, you need to understand what IFC certification really means. When an application is certified for IFC, it just means that it is possible to create IFC models that are valid for a given use case with that software. It does not mean that this will always happen.

For example, certification may ensure that it is possible to exchange the name of a space using IFC. But certification does not ensure that all spaces always have a name, that each name is valid in the context of a project, or that all space names are correctly assigned. 

These are all factors that have a huge impact on how useful the data is in reality, and certification is not at all concerned with these issues. This also does not mean that software that is not certified would not be able to create perfectly valid IFC models. There are plenty of examples of such software around, including Simplebim.

IFC certification is also a way for the big, established players in the field to maintain their dominance. IFC certification is expensive and slow, and thus not realistically in reach for smaller software vendors. The scope of certification is also limited to what these big players are currently offering, which means that there are many use cases and many types of software, including Simplebim, for which IFC certification is not even available. One dangerous development for our industry would be to mandate the use of IFC-certified software only. This would further lock the position of the already dominant players and stifle innovation that is badly needed.

Even though IFC is an open format, IFC certification does not level the playing field for all. On the contrary, it plays into the pockets of big established software companies and offers very few real benefits to the industry.