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Building SMART International
Building SMART International is an open, neutral, and international non-profit organisation dedicated to addressing open, international standards and solutions for infrastructure and buildings. In other words, it is a standardisation management organisation that enables models created by various BIM modelling software to be compared, imported, exported, and so forth.
The Building SMART standards encompass:
- Industry Foundation Classes [ifc] – an industry-specific data model schema
- Information Delivery Manual [IDM] – a methodology for defining and documenting business processes and requirements regarding data
- Model View Definitions [MVD] – data model exchange specifications
- BIM Collaboration Format [BCF] – a model-based, software-independent communication protocol
- buildingSMART Data Dictionaries [bSDD] – a standard library listing generic definitions of BIM objects and their attributes
Revit Standards Foundation
Stichting Revit Standards is a management organisation for the standardisation of models created with Autodesk Revit.
Revit Standards are open standards for Revit users. These standards ensure a better exchange of information between the parties involved in a construction project. As symbols and approaches vary from country to country, the Revit Standards (RS as an international framework) are developed into specific applications for each nation. In 2019, there were already 2 countries where development had been carried out:
- NLRS for the Dutch market
- BERS for the Belgian market
Agreements on Revit Standards
Revit Standards comprise a set of standard agreements to ensure the integrity of information within a Revit model. These agreements establish order in the information structure and the exchange of information between parties.
Nomenclature
Revit Standards define a foundational standard for the nomenclature of Revit components and materials. In this manner, users can easily and unambiguously identify, share, and retrieve all components.
Object styles
For an effective and unambiguous graphical representation, standard Object Styles have been established in the Revit Standards. In addition, a number of category-independent object styles have been defined, which are used for non-geometric forms of space fittings, such as placement space.
Parameters
Revit Standards provide a set of standard shared parameters for use in Revit.
Mapping
Revit Standards are structured in such a way that mapping to other open BIM standards is encouraged and supported. Particular attention is given to IFC as an exchange format for building models. However, there is also compatibility with other open standards such as SfB and ETIM. In the annex for the Netherlands (NLRS), work methodologies such as the BIM Basis ILS and the RVB BIM standard are also supported.
Modelling Rules
Revit Standards also encompass agreements regarding the structuring of information within Revit Families of a specific Category: Insert Point, Host, Orientation and Parameters
These properties are essential for the effective exchange of Revit Families and for establishing and maintaining a uniform data structure, with minimal loss of information. The arrangements are documented in Family Guides.
Documentation & templates
Revit Standards are fully documented. Revit Standards can be implemented with a basic template. Revit users may use this template as a guideline to align their own office standards with Revit Standards. This template is based on the NLRS. As the BERSnl is on the verge of being recognised, the working groups will focus on making a Belgian version of this template available. The BERSfr will follow thereafter.
RevitGG
The Revit User Group (RevitGG) is a neutral user group – not affiliated with any specific Autodesk software reseller – for users of Autodesk Revit. The organisation organises events where users exchange knowledge and experience with one another and is active in the Netherlands and Belgium.
TechBiM
TechBiM is the management organisation (by and for BIM users) for standardisation within certain BIM modelling software for technical installations.
TechBiM is an initiative that operates within the BIM Content Layer. Belgian BIM users have collectively established how content should be structured to behave correctly and consistently within a BIM model, ensuring interoperability between different BIM users. The result is a library of common, parametric, generic objects for Revit. TechBiM therefore goes a step further than the Revit Standards Foundation. TechBiM creates an ecosystem within which various partners can operate, such as Content Creators/Providers, Application Developers/Providers, Platform Providers, and others.