Following the ISO 19650 series of standards when publishing specifications

Introduction
The ISO 19650 international series of standards looks at information management using building information modelling. When developing the publishing features within NBS Chorus, these standards have been used as a guiding framework.

Information quality with respect to classification and codes to indicate the status and revision of each published specification is core to these standards:

• Classification - NBS content is classified to the recognized national standard in each country. With respect to the UK and Australian NBS content, Uniclass 2015 is one such classification system which is an implementation of the ISO 12006-2 framework.
• Revision code - The revision code for each published specification should be to an agreed standard
• Status code - A status code system should be agreed to indicate the permitted use of the published specification.

Furthermore, each published specification should be given a human readable ID which is unique and based upon an agreed and documented convention comprised of fields separated by a delimiter. The Publication details window in NBS Chorus allows this information to be captured based on the agreed standard on a particular project as shown in Figure 1.

Figure 1 - The Publication details window in NBS Chorus

When working to BS EN ISO 19650-2
The BS EN ISO 19650-2 standard includes a National Annex that expands on the basic requirements for those working to UK standards and practices.

The screenshots below show an example of how publication history may develop within NBS Chorus when following the UK BIM Framework guidance.

Figure 2 below shows that by using the Uniclass 2015 classification system, the information within the published specification will be structured to classification system that follows the ISO 12006-2 framework. Consistency in the Suffix codes used (FCS for Floor covering systems for example) can also help with ‘packaging’ similar systems.

Figure 2 - Uniclass 2015 classifications within the specification

Figure 3 below shows how a record of specifications published from NBS Chorus can be viewed in the Publish history tab. In this example, it is worth highlighting some of the fields that have been populated:

• Number - A unique ID for the published specification that follows the BS EN ISO 19650 standard has been recorded here. The delimiters of the ID LAKR-HAM-43-XX-SP-A-00006 show that this a specification (SP) from the architectural (A) practice Hamil Design (HAM) on the project Lakeside Restaurant (LAKR). When this PDF is then uploaded to the common data environment, this data can be quickly seen by using this naming convention.
• Status - The status S4, as defined in BS EN ISO 19650, indicates that this particular specification was published for stage approval.
• Revision - The revision code of P02 shows that this publication is still provisional and it also shows where it is in the sequence of publications.

Figure 3 - A Publish history showing unique ID, Status and Revision codes

Figure 4 shows that when using a consistent coding system, it is then easy to quickly filter a large list of publications to find the information that is needed. For example, this could be all publications of the floor covering systems or all publications that are suitable for stage approval.

Figure 4 - Using the search filter to quickly find published specifications

The UK BIM Framework website has extensive free-to-use guidance to support those working to this series of standards.

- https://ukbimframework.org/standards-guidance/

When working outside of the UK, there may not be the same guidance available at a national level. There may be great variance between organizations as to how they indicate revision or status codes. It is advised that the project team agree on what these will be and document this in a Project Information Standard so that each team member can consistently publish information which can then be uploaded to the project common data environment.

Doing a quick Google Search - this publication from BrisBIM provides some guidance for working to ISO in Australia from contributors from organizations such as Aecom, Arup, Mott MacDonald, and Woods Bagot.

In Canada, there is a buildingSMART Canada working group developing something similar.

To find out more about NBS Chorus see:
- https://www.thenbs.com/nbs-chorus

NBS Source - Technical information platform for construction product manufacturers

At the Construction Product Leaders' Summit last week, we launched our new manufacturer product platform, NBS Source. This gave an exclusive sneak preview of our latest NBS development.

A single manufacturer product platform from NBS

Throughout the day there were a number of inspiring speakers. A combination of Government Advisors and leaders from the construction industry. A clear message was presented. The construction industry must become more productive, it must become greener and it must become safer and standardized digitized information and tools will play a big part enabling this.

The potential behind digitising the construction industry

What specifiers need from manufacturers

Since the 1970s, NBS has provided opportunities to construction manufacturers to position their technical data alongside generic specification content. This has grown into a number of websites delivering digital objects, specification clauses, certification, case studies and associated literature.

At the conference, we announced that we were well underway on a major project to enhance both the content quality and also in building a major new platform, NBS Source.

A number of current solutions developed by NBS - being brought into a combined platform

At this blog, I try and dive into the technical details a little more and look 'behind the scenes'. So I'd like to highlight the article below that looks at NBS Source and how it works to align the data to existing and emerging standards.

So please click and read the article below...

- https://manufacturers.thenbs.com/resources/knowledge/nbs-source-and-industry-standards

A couple of screenshots below show how we structure each construction product data structure against the research and maintained structure behind the NBS Chorus specification clauses. This will ensure that across different manufacturers, the information will be consistent and standardized.

Standardized terminology across manufacturer products

Terminology that has been defined in the construction standards

To keep an eye on what the wider community thought about the launch of NBS Source, view the hashtag #CPLS2020 on Twitter...

- https://twitter.com/hashtag/CPLS2020

...and finally, the illustration below shows how Chorus, CIS and Source all sit together combining specification, standards and products in three connected platforms - all built by NBS.

Find out more about Source at...
- https://manufacturers.thenbs.com/nbs-source

PS: As always, it was real pleasure to show off the fantastic work that the team at NBS HQ do when developing our products...

Software demo

Find. Select. Specify

NBS Chorus and model integration

Since the launch of NBS Chorus in 2019 one of the features that has received the most positive feedback is the model integration feature.

This blog post looks at seven reasons why those still using keynoting in their design software may want to consider transitioning to the NBS Chorus plug-in.

As of January 2020, this article applies to both Autodesk Revit and Graphisoft ArchiCAD modelling software.

Click on the images below for larger versions.

1. View the project specification from within the modelling software
Probably the biggest advantage of the plug-in is to see the actual clauses from the project specification from the context of the design.
Providing permissions are granted, the spec can be modified from the modelling software. Furthermore, new clauses can be added at the point when corresponding objects are added to the model.

View spec inline

2. View technical guidance from within the modelling software
The benefits of an NBS subscription go beyond the creation of a project specification. It also provides access to thousands of pages of maintained technical guidance and corresponding links to key industry publications. This is now synchronised with what is being clicked on in the model.

Access 1000s of pages of NBS technical guidance

3. View team notes from within the modelling software
The notes feature within NBS Chorus means that those working on the design and specification can share comments alongside the model and specification so that issues that arise can be efficiently resolved.

Capture decisions on projects against the spec

4. See which objects are associated and which ones are not
It is likely that hundreds if not thousands of items are annotated within a large model. A model report is available from the NBS plug-in which clearly shows which objects are Associated and which objects are not. It is also possible to jump to view the object and spec from this page.

View what is linked and what isn't

5. See which associations are broken and get assistance in fixing these
Over time, it is likely that some object associations will break. Clauses or objects may be removed. The type codes may change. In the example below, the type code is 'Type D' for a particular set of doors in the model, it is DRS-004 in the spec. The Chorus plug-in alerts the user to this and gives assistance in fixing this.

Fix any issues that arise as the project develops

6. Link to a single source of truth
When working with files on a file system (such as Keynote TXT file), there can be a problem knowing what the latest version is and whether multiple copies are in exisistence. By linking directly to the live specification in the cloud - designers can know that they always working off the correct, up-to-date information.

A single source of truth in the cloud

7. Many-to-many associations
It is not always the case that there is a one-to-one link between the specification and the model file. The Chorus plug-in allows one model to link to multiple specifications. Equally it allows multiple models to link to the same specification. This gives the project team the flexability to split model and specification the way they want to.

Split your models and specifications as you want to

For those wanting to use keynoting for projects that are in progress. Export to keynote format is not yet available within Chorus - as a manual workaround we would suggest.

Export the specification to MS Word and generate a table of contents that goes three headings deep...

Export to Word

Copy and paste this content to Excel and format the text to suit the keynote file format required.

Copy and paste to Excel

The feature request to generate a keynote export from NBS Chorus has been added to our feature request Support area. This will be considered alongside other requests - so NBS subscribers can comment in the support area. Additional features to the plug-in - or export functionality can be requested here.

Intelligent specification, in the cloud

Over recent years, using the cloud has allowed me to connect applications and data together inside and outside work.

Looking at examples from outside work, it's so easy to embed a youtube video within Facebook - or transfer the data from a fun run from Garmin to Strava - or buy a book on the Amazon App and then see it on my Kindle. The cloud has revolutionized the way we interact in our daily lives.

When working on NBS Chorus, as a cloud based tool we expected that this would transform the way the industry interacted with specifications. We were aware of some immediate transformational benefits such as (1) functioning on other devices other than PCs (Mac, Tablet, Chromebook etc...), (2) the ease at which contributors can be added to a project and (3) the end to problematic installation of software and content on local machines/networks.

However, now that Chorus has been released - it's great to see some additional cloud benefits.

A special shout out here to Rob Jackson from Bond Bryan Digital (plug below - check out their services) for tweeting a few of the workflows he has managed to get Chorus linking to open data methodologies.

Credit to Bond Bryan for screengrabs below - check them out at https://bondbryan.co.uk/digital

One click access from collaboration tool BIM Track

Linked specifications from Graphisoft ArchiCAD

Specification connections coming through into the IFC export and viewed in Solibri

Going the full pro 'Information Manager' and ticking all of the boxes with NBS one-click links in Airtable data dashboard on Mac and smart phone!

It's great to see NBS now so accessible - the days of NBS on the PC only are a thing of the past.

- Follow Rob from Bond Bryan Digital on Twitter

UK BIM Alliance - BS EN ISO 19650 Guidance - Part 1

Edit (24/12) - Blog post on Part 2 now added

A free guide to the BS EN ISO 19650 series is now available:
- https://www.ukbimalliance.org/stories/information-management-according-to-bs-en-iso-19650/

UK BIM Alliance - BS EN ISO 19650 Guidance

This guide has been produced by UK BIM Alliance in association with Centre for Digital Built Britain (CDBB) and BSI.

The guide sets the scene of why digital information management is important and what the rationale for the 19650 series was. It then looks at the legal and security implications and in particular signposts the CIC BIM Protocol and the PAS 1192-5 standard.

The second half of the publication looks at the information delivery cycle and provides some practical examples.

It's good to see references to NBS resources. In particular:

• Secton 6.5 looking level of information need. The guide references the work in progress here at a CEN level and also the free-to-use LOD and LOI guides on the NBS BIM Toolkit.
• Section 6.6 gives a good overview on how to classify information and uses examples from Uniclass 2015.
• Finally, Section 7 looks at the National Annex to BS EN ISO 19650-2 and provides guidance on the naming of information containers and associated metadata with respect to information delivery using common data environments. I blogged on a similar subject earlier in the year and NBS colleagues have been in discussions with the UK BIM Alliance team on this topic.

With respect to the National Annex, expect further alignment between the Form of Information and Roles Tables in Uniclass in the next month or two.

So - a good publication - great to see that support such as this is being produced for free for the industry and well done to those that have given up their time to contribute.

Download it from the link below:
- https://www.ukbimalliance.org/stories/information-management-according-to-bs-en-iso-19650/

Introduction to the principles of BIM

A nice little cartoon video explaining the open BIM principles through the project timeline from buildingSMART international. Worth a watch...

It's interesting contrasting this vision with how far we have come on the UK BIM journey. We're definitely on the same page, just not quite as far along as these buildingSMART open BIM principles (yet).

BIM Level-2 in the UK...

• Data format = COBie not yet IFC
• Process = Digital plan of work not yet IDM
• Terminology = Data templates not yet IFD/bSDD

Maybe an in-depth look at BIM Level-2 vs buildingSMART vision is a good blog post for the future?

Thanks to my colleague Ian Chapman for the video spot.

BIM Toolkit API for software developers

When setting out to work on the BIM Toolkit we wanted to make this a truly digital project. Where organisations with software development skills wanted to work with the data then we wanted to make this as easy as possible. As a result, the LOD, LOI and Uniclass 2015 classification library information have all been published digitally on the cloud and can be accessed using documented web API calls.

This blog post builds on some of the information that is already available in the article The BIM Toolkit for Software Developers in the support area of the website.

The sample applications below are deliberately as simple as possible. This is to help those with software development skills quickly understand the code so that they can then then develop more complex solutions.

The first sample I’d like to look at is one that can easily be worked with in a development environment that is already installed on most machines – the Visual Basic environment within Microsoft Excel.

The screenshots below show that the LOD, LOI and classification information can be worked with providing the user has a web connection.

Fig 1 – From a classification code and an LOD banding, the LOD guidance can be displayed

Fig 2 – From a classification code and an LOI banding, the LOI guidance can be displayed

Fig 3 – From a classification code and an LOI banding, the LOI property sets can be returned

Fig 4 – From a classification code, child or sibling classifications can be returned

Fig 5 – Stepping through the client code in Visual Basic (in this particular sample)

The support page written by NBS Labs Manager Alan Smith can be found in the support area of the BIM Toolkit website. Details on how to sign up for API access are provided on this page. There are also a number of samples (including the Microsoft Excel sample) on the NBS github page.

• https://toolkit.thenbs.com/articles/for-software-developers
• https://github.com/theNBS/

Fig 6 – Support for software developers from NBS

Fig 7 – The NBS github page

Fig 8 – A .Net web sample showing how to work with a digital plan of work file exported from the Toolkit

Fig 9 – A .Net windows application from the recent AEC Hackathon importing a digital plan of work file

Fig 10 – A .Net web sample showing how to work with the Uniclass 2015 classification system

Fig 10 – A .Net web sample showing how to embed LOD and LOI guidance within a website

...and finally, a snapshot of each stage can also be exported to COBie and IFC format to comply with the UK level-2 BIM standards for information exchange.

The documentation for these standards are below. We recommend the BIM Academy xBIM SDK for working with both COBie and IFC pro grammatically.

• COBie (BS 1192-4:2014)
• IFC 2x3
• BIM Academy xBIM SDK

Fig 11 - Export to COBie or IFC

Standardised BIM objects for the UK, Australia and New Zealand

Earlier this week it was announced that the NBS BIM Object Standard was going to be established in both Australia and New Zealand.
- http://www.bimplus.co.uk/news/nbs-help-establish-bim-object-standards-australia-/

It is fantastic to see this initiative take off in the way that it has. All manufacturer content on NBS National BIM Library is now certified to this standard. Revising such a huge amount of content (tens of thousands of objects from 180+ manufacturers) to standardise it all is what makes the NBS library unique. With the library expected to rise to over 200 manufacturers by the Autumn this is great news for the industry who are benefiting from this free content.

NATSPEC in Australia and MasterSpec in New Zealand have recognised the benefits that a standardised method of creating content brings.

However, it may be worth taking a few moments to reflect, why is standardised content important?

It may be worth reading Director of National BIM Library Ian Chapman's article in the latest NBS BIM Report, but here are some views from me...

Firstly, it is worth looking outside of the construction industry. If you buy a car you know that the nozzle from each petrol station will fit due to having standardised fittings. If a property from an estate agent is to appear on RightMove the data must be in a standard format.

The huge benefits here for end users are (a) an assurance that what they are receiving has a set level of quality and (b) the information will be consistent every time they interact with the service.

If the automobile industry didn't have standards for fuel nozzles then it would grind to a halt (literally). If RightMove didn't have a standard structure for their data then they would not have the success they have had as users wouldn't be able to consistently query the information. This base level of standardisation allows car manufacturers or estate agents to compete purely on the value of their product.

Equally, a trusted BIM library needs a standard for its content. Arguably, if it is simply the geometry that is important, then maybe a standard is less important. But if it is the 'I' (information) in BIM that is important then consistency across this information is vital.

Two examples below...

1. Doorsets
Two doorsets below, from different manufacturers author, are both to the NBS BIM Object Standard. Referencing Section 2 Information Requirements of the standard it can be seen that they have consistent Property Groupings. The international standard IFC property grouping Pset_DoorCommon has been expanded and it can be seen that it is immediately clear whether the door can be used as a fire exit, what it's fire rating is and also what the acoustic rating is.

2. Heating products
In the example below, the NBS_Data property grouping has been expanded to show the consistency in terminology between two different heating products. Both the Radiator and the Fan Convector have some properties in common and some that are different. However, those that they have in common are consistent. These properties that go further than the IFC or the COBie property groupings and are written for the UK can be found and used by the industry at the BIM Toolkit website which contains over 5,700 of these definitions.

So fantastic news that the NBS BIM Object Standard is getting such international recognition and commitment. Users of the library now know that whichever object they download will contain consistent information. Considering that there are over 150 manufacturers now on the library, I think that is an achievement to be proud of.

The standard has been written specifically for the NBS National BIM Library but it is of course available to be used freely by any other organisation (contractors, clients, architects, engineers, manufacturers) who creates BIM objects and would like consistency of content with the NBS library.

AEC Hackathon - London

At NBS, we recently supported and took part in the first ever AEC Hackathon in the UK.

NBS Labs Manager Alan Smith (@AlanSmithNBS), who has led software development projects for over ten years at NBS writes this guest blog on the event below.

Alan writes...

NBS Alan

I was really excited to be invited to the first AEC Hackathon outside of the US, held at the Future Cities Catapult’s Urban Innovation Centre in London. I was invited to the event to present the BIM Toolkit along with my NBS colleagues Chris and Matthew. NBS also set a challenge for the event. Having never been to a hackathon before I wasn’t sure what to expect.

Day one: Friday 17th July – 6-10PM
After registering we were well fed and given time to look around the fantastic venue that would be our home for the next 48 hours. The hosts for the Hackathon were Paul Doherty (AEC Hackathon co-founder) and Simon Hart (InnovateUK). Paul went over the structure of the next few days and then Damon Hernandez (AEC Hackathon co-founder) appeared on a video wall from his home in San Francisco to explain the purpose of the AEC Hackathons.

At the end of his introduction, Damon donned a construction hard hat and so began the “Lighting rounds”. The lighting rounds were an opportunity for people to introduce themselves, their skill set and challenges they want to work on. There was a real mix of backgrounds – software development, architecture, mechanical engineering etc.

Paul Dougherty kicks of the first AEC Hackathon outside of the US

Day two: Saturday 18th July – 8AM-11PM

The NBS Team wanted to see what they could do with Autodesk’s Large Model Viewer API and data from the BIM Toolkit, so we set about planning our development work. Other teams started forming and hacking commenced.

NBS team hard at work

For those not taking part in the Hack challenges, there were some fantastic presentations throughout the day from Simon Hart, Rick Holland and Jonny Voon of InnovateUK, Damon Hernandez, George Stevenson and Tim Aikin of ActivePlan, Su Butcher of Just Practising Ltd, Grzegorz Klimaszewski of AssetMapping and more.

Rich Holland predicts the future of Smart Cities and IoT

And of course, I gave a presentation on the BIM Toolkit.

BIM Toolkit presentation

Meanwhile, the NBS team had made steps forward in exporting data from the BIM Toolkit in to our NBS Cost Tracking tool to show how toolkit data can be used to help with tendering and cost tracking. We’d also looked at using the  Large Model Viewer API from Autodesk to render National BIM Library objects in the web browser to help users inspect and review an object prior to downloading it.

Deliverables in the BIM Toolkit

Transferring the data into another software application

The BIM Toolkit data now being used in a cost tracking package

Experimenting with APIs that were available over the weekend from other software vendors

Interrogating IFC through the webbrowser

The day ended with everyone looking very bleary eyed but there was a huge buzz in the room and expectations were high for the presentations on Sunday.

Day three: Sunday 19th July – 8AM-1PM

Final hours of hacking were frantic running up to the presentations at lunchtime. I was blown away by the quality (and amount of work) of the work that had been achieved in such a short time. 

The first team to present were Optioneers, who focused on the challenge to help clients make better choices when they buy a house – so they can see the cost and carbon impact of having a flat vs a raised roof etc. Optioneers won the prize for the best use of open source.

Next up were Gapath0n, who created an open API to improve analysis of an Innovate UK and Energy Savings Trust dataset evaluating the performance of dozens of buildings. The team won three awards for their efforts: the Innovate UK Hack challenge, the Energy Saving Trust Challenge and the Future Cities Catapult Challenge.

Next to present were GhostBIMSquad. The team started with a demonstration of using Autodesk’s Large Model Viewer API to view a hospital. Then team then unleased feature after feature of additional things they had worked on from asset tagging to suggest suitable substitute products from a product selection database, Bluetooth navigation to locate assets within the building and finishing with a “hacked” together Perspex box that could display a hologram of the building. The team won Best Overall Project and the Autodesk VR and 3D Challenge.

Trying to top the last presentation were, team Massive. Massive created an impressive 3D app using ordinance survey data to identify potential redevelopment in London, with a view to creating more space in the city by identifying buildings that could be raised in height based on planning permission granted to surrounding buildings. Massive won the NBS prize for the best use of BIM.

The presentations were concluded by team Concur, who created an app using Autodesk’s Large Model Viewer API to provide project teams and clients with a method of commenting and feeding back on designs.

Summary

I entered the AEC Hackathon in London not knowing what to expect – the image I had in my head was like a scene from the movie Social Network. Fortunately this wasn’t quite how it panned out. Simon Hart and Paul Doherty did an excellent job organising the event in London and there were some really impressive hacks and some brilliant presentations and inspiring speakers that you’d pay a lot of more to see at a conference. It was also an excellent opportunity to meet like-minded people within the AEC Sector. The event was such a success that it tended #3 in the UK on twitter and Damon Hernandez has confirmed there will be another AEC Hackathon in London summer 2016.

This review of the AEC Hackathon was written by Alan Smith, NBS Labs Manager

Other reviews of the event (as kindly collated by Simon from Innovate UK) are below:

• linkedin.com/pulse/aec-hackathon-wth-just-happened-pt-1-simon-hart
• thesuffolkblog.com/2015/07/20/aec-hackathon-trends-abroad/
• youtube.com/watch?v=G_yth7wjfao
• bimplus.co.uk/news/holographic-b3im-proje4ctor-team-triu7mphs/
• bimplus.co.uk/news/silicon-valleys-aec-hackathon-comes-london/
• bimplus.co.uk/people/when-two-worlds-collide-and-collaborate/
• aechackathonlondon.devpost.com/
• damonhernandez.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/the-aec-hackathon-2.html
• adndevblog.typepad.com/aec/2015/07/london-aechackathon-revit-2016-api-leader-attachment.html
• logicalerrors.wordpress.com/2015/07/26/aec-hackathon-a-participants-perspective/
• extranetevolution.com/2015/07/fostering-innovation-cognicity-and-hackathons/
• adndevblog.typepad.com/aec/2015/07/london-aechackathon-revit-2016-api-leader-attachment.html
• infrastructure-intelligence.com/article/jun-2015/calling-built-environment-tech-innovators-aec-hackathon-coming-town