Process and building information modelling in the construction industry by using information delivery manuals and model view definitions

The construction industry is gradually increasing its use of structured information and building information modelling.To date, the industry has suffered from the disadvantages of a project-based organizational structure and ad hoc solutions. Furthermore, it is not used to formalizing the flow of information and specifying exactly which objects and properties are needed for each process and which information is produced by the processes.

The present study is based on reviewing the existing methodology of Information Delivery Manuals (IDM) from Buildingsmart, which also is also an ISO standard 29481 Part 1; and the Model View Definition (MVD) methodology developed by Buildingsmart and BLIS. The research also includes a review of concrete IDM development projects that have been developed over the last five years.

Although the study has identified interest in the IDM methodology in a number of countries, it has also noted that it can be difficult to finalize IDM and make the necessary changes in the relevant software products, change existing processes, and develop a data validation system that verifies that the data delivered is according to the specifications.

Based on experiences from the concrete proposals ofIDMdeveloped by research institutions and industry partners, the greatest obstacle to full support for construction processes, from an IDM point of view, is not so much documenting the processes and exchange requirements related to the processes, but agreeing on the "to be" processes.

The project-based approach is an obstacle to standardized processes and exchange requirements, which are vital elements in the methodology of making IDMs. Several of the proposed IDMs have been developed or sponsored by public clients that have a long-term perspective and the ability to push implementation by setting demands to design teams and contractors.