BIM Interoperability - Introduction

When working with any of the BIM type technology (ADT, ABS, Revit Building, Revit Structure, etc...) one of the most often asked questions that comes up is, how will this technology work when exchanging data with others? This single question is an important one, the more intelligent models we have, the more important that data becomes to everyone involved in the project. From early feasibility studies to conceptual design, construction documentation, fabrication, post construction and onto facilities management this data is used in various ways by a large number of people and groups.

In the past we have dumbed down our data to support an exchange of information. A simple example of this would be saving a file as a .dxf file. In more recent times you may have taken an ADT or Revit model and exported this to AutoCAD. The moment we save the file down to another format is the point in time where we break the intelligence of that data and begin to lose some of the greatest strengths presented by the BIM concept.

Have you or your firm ever partnered with another group on a project where one group starts the design and the other completes the cd work? Have you ever used different software packages on a project? Ever used different software packages internally at your office? Between different office locations? Between different companies?

Anyone starting to see a problem with the "collaboration" process?

If you answered yes to any of the items above then the posts over the next week are for you. I will be sharing some of the workflows, technologies and vendor neutral options that are available to help bridge this "collaboration gap".