In computing , a computer file is a resource for recording data on a computer storage device , primarily identified by its filename . Just as words can be written on paper, so too can data be written to a computer file. Files can be shared with and transferred between computers and mobile devices via removable media , networks , or the Internet .
144-487: Building information modeling ( BIM ) is a process involving the generation and management of digital representations of the physical and functional characteristics of buildings and other physical assets. BIM is supported by various tools, technologies and contracts. Building information models (BIMs) are computer files (often but not always in proprietary formats and containing proprietary data) which can be extracted, exchanged or networked to support decision-making regarding
288-564: A Java virtual machine . A program in Java, so long as it does not use system-specific functionality, will maintain interoperability with all systems that have a Java virtual machine available. Applications will maintain compatibility because, while the implementation is different, the underlying language interfaces are the same. Software interoperability is achieved through five interrelated ways: Each of these has an important role in reducing variability in intercommunication software and enhancing
432-462: A hard disk . Hard disks have been the ubiquitous form of non-volatile storage since the early 1960s. Where files contain only temporary information, they may be stored in RAM . Computer files can be also stored on other media in some cases, such as magnetic tapes , compact discs , Digital Versatile Discs , Zip drives , USB flash drives , etc. The use of solid state drives is also beginning to rival
576-428: A link to the file. There can be many links to a file, but when they are all removed, the kernel considers that file's memory space free to be reallocated. This free space is commonly considered a security risk (due to the existence of file recovery software ). Any secure-deletion program uses kernel-space (system) functions to wipe the file's data. File moves within a file system complete almost immediately because
720-444: A system of systems approach to water and flood control is necessary. In this context, interoperability is important to facilitate system-of-systems thinking, and is defined as: "the ability of any water management system to redirect water and make use of other system(s) to maintain or enhance its performance function during water exceedance events." By assessing the complex properties of urban infrastructure systems, particularly
864-898: A white paper entitled "Building Information Modeling," and other software vendors also started to assert their involvement in the field. By hosting contributions from Autodesk, Bentley Systems and Graphisoft, plus other industry observers, in 2003, Jerry Laiserin helped popularize and standardize the term as a common name for the digital representation of the building process. As some BIM software developers have created proprietary data structures in their software, data and files created by one vendor's applications may not work in other vendor solutions. To achieve interoperability between applications, neutral, non-proprietary or open standards for sharing BIM data among different software applications have been developed. Poor software interoperability has long been regarded as an obstacle to industry efficiency in general and to BIM adoption in particular. In August 2004
1008-557: A 1992 paper by G.A. van Nederveen and F. P. Tolman. However, the terms 'Building Information Model' and 'Building Information Modeling' (including the acronym "BIM") did not become popularly used until some 10 years later. Facilitating exchange and interoperability of information in digital format was variously with differing terminology: by Graphisoft as "Virtual Building" or "Single Building Model", Bentley Systems as "Integrated Project Models", and by Autodesk or Vectorworks as "Building Information Modeling". In 2002, Autodesk released
1152-454: A FAT extension allowing long file names). File manager programs are utility programs that allow users to manipulate files directly. They allow you to move, create, delete and rename files and folders, although they do not actually allow you to read the contents of a file or store information in it. Every computer system provides at least one file-manager program for its native file system. For example, File Explorer (formerly Windows Explorer)
1296-430: A US National Institute of Standards and Technology ( NIST ) report conservatively estimated that $ 15.8 billion was lost annually by the U.S. capital facilities industry due to inadequate interoperability arising from "the highly fragmented nature of the industry, the industry’s continued paper-based business practices, a lack of standardization, and inconsistent technology adoption among stakeholders". An early BIM standard
1440-543: A building model for drawing production and other uses. These different views are automatically consistent, being based on a single definition of each object instance. BIM software also defines objects parametrically; that is, the objects are defined as parameters and relations to other objects so that if a related object is amended, dependent ones will automatically also change. Each model element can carry attributes for selecting and ordering them automatically, providing cost estimates as well as material tracking and ordering. For
1584-400: A built asset. BIM software is used by individuals, businesses and government agencies who plan, design , construct , operate and maintain buildings and diverse physical infrastructures , such as water, refuse, electricity, gas, communication utilities, roads, railways, bridges, ports and tunnels. The concept of BIM has been in development since the 1970s, but it only became an agreed term in
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#17327655448611728-500: A common information exchange reference model. The content of the information exchange requests are unambiguously defined: what is sent is the same as what is understood. Cross-domain interoperability involves multiple social, organizational, political, legal entities working together for a common interest or information exchange. Interoperability implies exchanges between a range of products, or similar products from several different vendors, or even between past and future revisions of
1872-604: A common understanding of the end goal to be achieved. Interoperability tends to be regarded as an issue for experts and its implications for daily living are sometimes underrated. The European Union Microsoft competition case shows how interoperability concerns important questions of power relationships. In 2004, the European Commission found that Microsoft had abused its market power by deliberately restricting interoperability between Windows work group servers and non-Microsoft work group servers. By doing so, Microsoft
2016-599: A computer file. Computer files may be reopened, modified, and copied an arbitrary number of times. Files are typically organized in a file system , which tracks file locations on the disk and enables user access. The word "file" derives from the Latin filum ("a thread, string"). "File" was used in the context of computer storage as early as January 1940. In Punched Card Methods in Scientific Computation , W. J. Eckert stated, "The first extensive use of
2160-428: A consequence of a lack of attention to standardization during the design of a program. Indeed, interoperability is not taken for granted in the non-standards-based portion of the computing world. According to ISO/IEC 2382-01, Information Technology Vocabulary, Fundamental Terms , interoperability is defined as follows: "The capability to communicate, execute programs, or transfer data among various functional units in
2304-427: A device, no space will have been freed up on the source device or partition. The user would need to merge the remaining files from the source, including the incompletely written (truncated) last file. With the individual deletion method, the file moving software also does not need to cumulatively keep track of all files finished transferring for the case that a user manually aborts the file transfer. A file manager using
2448-524: A directory and a file. In environments in which a file is named, a file's name and the path to the file's directory must uniquely identify it among all other files in the computer system—no two files can have the same name and path. Where a file is anonymous, named references to it will exist within a namespace. In most cases, any name within the namespace will refer to exactly zero or one file. However, any file may be represented within any namespace by zero, one or more names. Any string of characters may be
2592-847: A dot (period) at the end of a file name, followed by a few letters to identify the type of file. An extension of .txt identifies a text file; a .doc extension identifies any type of document or documentation, commonly in the Microsoft Word file format ; and so on . Even when extensions are used in a computer system, the degree to which the computer system recognizes and heeds them can vary; in some systems, they are required, while in other systems, they are completely ignored if they are presented. Many modern computer systems provide methods for protecting files against accidental and deliberate damage. Computers that allow for multiple users implement file permissions to control who may or may not modify, delete, or create files and folders. For example,
2736-561: A few parameters. For passenger rail service, different railway platform height and width clearance standards may also affect interoperability. North American freight and intercity passenger railroads are highly interoperable, but systems in Europe, Asia, Africa, Central and South America, and Australia are much less so. The parameter most difficult to overcome (at reasonable cost) is incompatibility of gauge, though variable gauge axle systems are increasingly used. In telecommunications ,
2880-514: A given user may be granted only permission to read a file or folder, but not to modify or delete it; or a user may be given permission to read and modify files or folders, but not to execute them. Permissions may also be used to allow only certain users to see the contents of a file or folder. Permissions protect against unauthorized tampering or destruction of information in files, and keep private information confidential from unauthorized users. Another protection mechanism implemented in many computers
3024-446: A later point through overwriting. There are many ways by which a file can become corrupted. Most commonly, the issue happens in the process of writing the file to a disk . For example, if an image-editing program unexpectedly crashes while saving an image, that file may be corrupted because the program could not save its entirety. The program itself might warn the user that there was an error, allowing for another attempt at saving
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#17327655448613168-420: A low level, on a file. Only the kernel deals with files, and it handles all user-space interaction with files in a manner that is transparent to the user-space programs. The operating system provides a level of abstraction , which means that interaction with a file from user-space is simply through its filename (instead of its inode ). For example, rm filename will not delete the file itself, but only
3312-598: A manner that requires the user to have little or no knowledge of the unique characteristics of those units". Standards-developing organizations provide open public software specifications to facilitate interoperability; examples include the Oasis-Open organization and buildingSMART (formerly the International Alliance for Interoperability). Another example of a neutral party is the RFC documents from
3456-482: A model during design. One of the challenges to the proper maintenance and management of existing facilities is understanding how BIM can be utilized to support a holistic understanding and implementation of building management practices and " cost of ownership " principles that support the full product lifecycle of a building. An American National Standard entitled APPA 1000 – Total Cost of Ownership for Facilities Asset Management incorporates BIM to factor in
3600-464: A more apt definition is captured in the term business process interoperability . Interoperability can have important economic consequences; for example, research has estimated the cost of inadequate interoperability in the US capital facilities industry to be $ 15.8 billion a year. If competitors' products are not interoperable (due to causes such as patents , trade secrets or coordination failures ),
3744-406: A name of its own, but also a path, which identifies the folder or folders in which a file or folder resides. In the path, some sort of special character—such as a slash—is used to separate the file and folder names. For example, in the illustration shown in this article, the path /Payroll/Salaries/Managers uniquely identifies a file called Managers in a folder called Salaries , which in turn
3888-573: A national key research and application project in "12th Five-Year" Science and Technology Development Planning. Therefore, the year 2011 was described as "The First Year of China's BIM" . In 2006 the Hong Kong Housing Authority introduced BIM, and then set a target of full BIM implementation in 2014/2015. BuildingSmart Hong Kong was inaugurated in Hong Kong SAR in late April 2012. The Government of Hong Kong mandates
4032-494: A new "memory" vacuum tube it had developed, RCA stated: "the results of countless computations can be kept 'on file' and taken out again. Such a 'file' now exists in a 'memory' tube developed at RCA Laboratories. Electronically it retains figures fed into calculating machines, holds them in storage while it memorizes new ones – speeds intelligent solutions through mazes of mathematics." In 1952, "file" denoted, among other things, information stored on punched cards . In early use,
4176-418: A number of bytes , that indicates how much storage is occupied by the file. In most modern operating systems the size can be any non-negative whole number of bytes up to a system limit. Many older operating systems kept track only of the number of blocks or tracks occupied by a file on a physical storage device. In such systems, software employed other methods to track the exact byte count (e.g., CP/M used
4320-415: A particular product in contravention of any applicable standards, or if any effective standards were not present at the time of that product's introduction. The vendor behind that product can then choose to ignore any forthcoming standards and not co-operate in any standardization process at all, using its near-monopoly to insist that its product sets the de facto standard by its very market dominance. This
4464-443: A payroll file might contain information concerning all the employees in a company and their payroll details; each record in the payroll file concerns just one employee, and all the records have the common trait of being related to payroll—this is very similar to placing all payroll information into a specific filing cabinet in an office that does not have a computer. A text file may contain lines of text, corresponding to printed lines on
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4608-429: A piece of paper. Alternatively, a file may contain an arbitrary binary image (a blob ) or it may contain an executable . The way information is grouped into a file is entirely up to how it is designed. This has led to a plethora of more or less standardized file structures for all imaginable purposes, from the simplest to the most complex. Most computer files are used by computer programs which create, modify or delete
4752-569: A relative scale with the entire facility or group of facilities. BIM also prevents errors by enabling conflict or 'clash detection' whereby the computer model visually highlights to the team where parts of the building (e.g.:structural frame and building services pipes or ducts) may wrongly intersect. BIM can bridge the information loss associated with handing a project from design team, to construction team and to building owner/operator, by allowing each group to add to and reference back to all information they acquire during their period of contribution to
4896-653: A single environment, better coordination and development of designs, enhanced clash avoidance and detection, and improved time and cost decision-making. "BIM wash" or "BIM washing" is a term sometimes used to describe inflated, and/or deceptive, claims of using or delivering BIM services or products. Use of BIM goes beyond the planning and design phase of the project, extending throughout the building life cycle. The supporting processes of building lifecycle management include cost management , construction management , project management , facility operation and application in green building . A 'Common Data Environment' (CDE)
5040-433: A special control character, Ctrl-Z , to signal the end of text files). The general definition of a file does not require that its size have any real meaning, however, unless the data within the file happens to correspond to data within a pool of persistent storage. A special case is a zero byte file ; these files can be newly created files that have not yet had any data written to them, or may serve as some kind of flag in
5184-402: A stake in the development that discusses and debate the technical and economic merits, demerits and feasibility of a proposed common protocol. After the doubts and reservations of all members are addressed, the resulting common document is endorsed as a common standard . This document may be subsequently released to the public, and henceforth becomes an open standard . It is usually published and
5328-569: A statewide data sharing network. The Commonwealth of Virginia is one of the leading states in the United States in improving interoperability. The Interoperability Coordinator leverages a regional structure to better allocate grant funding around the Commonwealth so that all areas have an opportunity to improve communications interoperability. Virginia's strategic plan for communications is updated yearly to include new initiatives for
5472-736: A timetable for the introduction of mandatory BIM for German road and rail projects from the end of 2020. Speaking in April 2016, he said digital design and construction must become standard for construction projects in Germany, with Germany two to three years behind The Netherlands and the UK in aspects of implementing BIM. BIM was piloted in many areas of German infrastructure delivery and in July 2022 Volker Wissing , Federal Minister for Digital and Transport , announced that, from 2025, BIM will be used as standard in
5616-438: A tree-like structure in which one "master folder" (or "root folder" — the name varies from one operating system to another) can contain any number of levels of other folders and files. Folders can be named just as files can (except for the root folder, which often does not have a name). The use of folders makes it easier to organize files in a logical way. When a computer allows the use of folders, each file and folder has not only
5760-468: A variety of critical requirements and costs over the life-cycle of the building, including but not limited to: replacement of energy, utility, and safety systems; continual maintenance of the building exterior and interior and replacement of materials; updates to design and functionality; and recapitalization costs. BIM in green building , or "green BIM", is a process that can help architecture, engineering and construction firms to improve sustainability in
5904-419: A well-formed name for a file or a link depending upon the context of application. Whether or not a name is well-formed depends on the type of computer system being used. Early computers permitted only a few letters or digits in the name of a file, but modern computers allow long names (some up to 255 characters) containing almost any combination of Unicode letters or Unicode digits, making it easier to understand
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6048-399: A year. Computer files Different types of computer files are designed for different purposes. A file may be designed to store a written message, a document, a spreadsheet , an image , a video , a program , or any wide variety of other kinds of data. Certain files can store multiple data types at once. By using computer programs, a person can open, read, change, save, and close
6192-428: Is not equivalent to an open standard, because: Speaking from an e-government perspective, interoperability refers to the collaboration ability of cross-border services for citizens, businesses and public administrations. Exchanging data can be a challenge due to language barriers, different specifications of formats, varieties of categorizations and other hindrances. If data is interpreted differently, collaboration
6336-436: Is a read-only flag. When this flag is turned on for a file (which can be accomplished by a computer program or by a human user), the file can be examined, but it cannot be modified. This flag is useful for critical information that must not be modified or erased, such as special files that are used only by internal parts of the computer system. Some systems also include a hidden flag to make certain files invisible; this flag
6480-955: Is a subset of software interoperability. In the early days, the focus of interoperability was to integrate web applications with other web applications. Over time, open-system containers were developed to create a virtual desktop environment in which these applications could be registered and then communicate with each other using simple publish–subscribe patterns . Rudimentary UI capabilities were also supported allowing windows to be grouped with other windows. Today, desktop interoperability has evolved into full-service platforms which include container support, basic exchange between web and web, but also native support for other application types and advanced window management. The very latest interop platforms also include application services such as universal search, notifications, user permissions and preferences, 3rd party application connectors and language adapters for in-house applications. Search interoperability refers to
6624-480: Is also associated with BIM. COBie was devised by Bill East of the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 2007, and helps capture and record equipment lists, product data sheets, warranties, spare parts lists, and preventive maintenance schedules. This information is used to support operations, maintenance and asset management once a built asset is in service. In December 2011, it was approved by
6768-479: Is an area of memory which is manipulated to establish a filename etc. and then passed to the operating system as a parameter; it was used by older IBM operating systems and early PC operating systems including CP/M and early versions of MS-DOS . A file handle is generally either an opaque data type or an integer; it was introduced in around 1961 by the ALGOL-based Burroughs MCP running on
6912-441: Is an element of coalition willingness to work together over the long term to achieve and maintain shared interests against common threats. Interoperability at the operational and tactical levels is where strategic interoperability and technological interoperability come together to help allies shape the environment, manage crises, and win wars. The benefits of interoperability at the operational and tactical levels generally derive from
7056-422: Is available freely or at a nominal cost to any and all comers, with no further encumbrances . Various vendors and individuals (even those who were not part of the original group) can use the standards document to make products that implement the common protocol defined in the standard and are thus interoperable by design , with no specific liability or advantage for customers for choosing one product over another on
7200-1181: Is commonly used in Microsoft Windows operating systems, and Nautilus is common under several distributions of Linux. Interoperability Interoperability is a characteristic of a product or system to work with other products or systems. While the term was initially defined for information technology or systems engineering services to allow for information exchange, a broader definition takes into account social, political, and organizational factors that impact system-to-system performance. Types of interoperability include syntactic interoperability , where two systems can communicate with each other, and cross-domain interoperability , where multiple organizations work together and exchange information. If two or more systems use common data formats and communication protocols then they are capable of communicating with each other and they exhibit syntactic interoperability . XML and SQL are examples of common data formats and protocols. Low-level data formats also contribute to syntactic interoperability, ensuring that alphabetical characters are stored in
7344-420: Is contained in a folder called Payroll . The folder and file names are separated by slashes in this example; the topmost or root folder has no name, and so the path begins with a slash (if the root folder had a name, it would precede this first slash). Many computer systems use extensions in file names to help identify what they contain, also known as the file type. On Windows computers, extensions consist of
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#17327655448617488-464: Is corrupted. There are services that provide on demand file corruption, which essentially fill a given file with random data so that it cannot be opened or read, yet still seems legitimate. One of the most effective countermeasures for unintentional file corruption is backing up important files. In the event of an important file becoming corrupted, the user can simply replace it with the backed up version. When computer files contain information that
7632-460: Is defined in ISO 19650 as an: A CDE workflow describes the processes to be used while a CDE solution can provide the underlying technologies. A CDE is used to share data across a project or asset lifecycle, supporting collaboration across a whole project team. The concept of a CDE overlaps with enterprise content management , ECM, but with a greater focus on BIM issues. Building information models span
7776-613: Is extremely important, a back-up process is used to protect against disasters that might destroy the files. Backing up files simply means making copies of the files in a separate location so that they can be restored if something happens to the computer, or if they are deleted accidentally. There are many ways to back up files. Most computer systems provide utility programs to assist in the back-up process, which can become very time-consuming if there are many files to safeguard. Files are often copied to removable media such as writable CDs or cartridge tapes. Copying files to another hard disk in
7920-470: Is limited, takes longer and is inefficient. For instance, if a citizen of country A wants to purchase land in country B, the person will be asked to submit the proper address data. Address data in both countries include full name details, street name and number as well as a postal code . The order of the address details might vary. In the same language, it is not an obstacle to order the provided address data; but across language barriers, it becomes difficult. If
8064-407: Is not a problem if the product's implementation is open and minimally encumbered, but it may well be both closed and heavily encumbered (e.g. by patent claims). Because of the network effect , achieving interoperability with such a product is both critical for any other vendor if it wishes to remain relevant in the market, and difficult to accomplish because of lack of cooperation on equal terms with
8208-953: Is not currently active, IBIMA aims to share knowledge resources to support construction engineering management decision-making. BIM implementation is targeted towards BIM Stage 2 by the year 2020 led by the Construction Industry Development Board (CIDB Malaysia). Under the Construction Industry Transformation Plan (CITP 2016–2020), it is hoped more emphasis on technology adoption across the project life-cycle will induce higher productivity. The Building and Construction Authority (BCA) has announced that BIM would be introduced for architectural submission (by 2013), structural and M&E submissions (by 2014) and eventually for plan submissions of all projects with gross floor area of more than 5,000 square meters by 2015. The BCA Academy
8352-418: Is to develop an innovative digital construction environment as well as VDC new product development , Grid and e-construction portal to increase the international competitiveness and sales of Estonian businesses in the construction field. The cluster is equally co-funded by European Structural and Investment Funds through Enterprise Estonia and by the members of the cluster with a total budget of 600 000 euros for
8496-580: Is training students in BIM. The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport (MLIT) has announced "Start of BIM pilot project in government building and repairs" (by 2010). Japan Institute of Architects (JIA) released the BIM guidelines (by 2012), which showed the agenda and expected effect of BIM to architects. MLIT announced " BIM will be mandated for all of its public works from the fiscal year of 2023, except those having particular reasons". The works subject to WTO Government Procurement Agreement shall comply with
8640-435: Is used by the computer system to hide essential system files that users should not alter. Any file that has any useful purpose must have some physical manifestation. That is, a file (an abstract concept) in a real computer system must have a real physical analogue if it is to exist at all. In physical terms, most computer files are stored on some type of data storage device. For example, most operating systems store files on
8784-627: The mv command for instance, the former method is used when selecting files individually, possibly with the use of wildcards (example: mv -n sourcePath/* targetPath , while the latter method is used when selecting entire directories (example: mv -n sourcePath targetPath ). Microsoft Windows Explorer uses the former method for mass storage file moves, but the latter method using Media Transfer Protocol , as described in Media Transfer Protocol § File move behavior . The former method (individual deletion from source) has
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#17327655448618928-468: The Burroughs B5000 but is now ubiquitous. When a file is said to be corrupted, it is because its contents have been saved to the computer in such a way that they cannot be properly read, either by a human or by software. Depending on the extent of the damage, the original file can sometimes be recovered , or at least partially understood. A file may be created corrupt, or it may be corrupted at
9072-478: The European Commission , after commissioning two impact assessment studies and a technology analysis study, proposed the implementation of a standardization – for iterations of USB-C – of phone charger products, which may increase interoperability along with convergence and convenience for consumers while decreasing resource needs, redundancy and electronic waste . Desktop interoperability
9216-648: The Facility Condition Index (FCI), or using 3D laser-scanning surveys and photogrammetry techniques (separately or in combination) or digitizing traditional building surveying methodologies by using mobile technology to capture accurate measurements and operation-related information about the asset that can be used as the basis for a model. Trying to retrospectively model a building constructed in, say 1927, requires numerous assumptions about design standards, building codes, construction methods, materials, etc, and is, therefore, more complex than building
9360-578: The Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The Open Service for Lifecycle Collaboration community is working on finding a common standard in order that software tools can share and exchange data e.g. bugs, tasks, requirements etc. The final goal is to agree on an open standard for interoperability of open source application lifecycle management tools. Java is an example of an interoperable programming language that allows for programs to be written once and run anywhere with
9504-619: The NTFS file system that is the normal file system for recent versions of Windows. Each system has its own advantages and disadvantages. Standard FAT allows only eight-character file names (plus a three-character extension) with no spaces, for example, whereas NTFS allows much longer names that can contain spaces. You can call a file " Payroll records " in NTFS, but in FAT you would be restricted to something like payroll.dat (unless you were using VFAT ,
9648-489: The 1970s. The first software tools developed for modeling buildings emerged in the late 1970s and early 1980s, and included workstation products such as Chuck Eastman 's Building Description System and GLIDE, RUCAPS , Sonata , Reflex and Gable 4D Series . The early applications, and the hardware needed to run them, were expensive, which limited widespread adoption. The pioneering role of applications such as RUCAPS, Sonata and Reflex has been recognized by Laiserin as well as
9792-468: The BIM model. Enabling an effective handover of information from design and construction (including via IFC or COBie) can thus yield benefits to the facility owner or operator. BIM-related processes relating to longer-term asset management are also covered in ISO-19650 Part 3. For example, a building owner may find evidence of a water leak in a building. Rather than exploring the physical building,
9936-1077: The Commonwealth ;– all projects and efforts are tied to this plan, which is aligned with the National Emergency Communications Plan, authored by the Department of Homeland Security's Office of Emergency Communications. The State of Washington seeks to enhance interoperability statewide. The State Interoperability Executive Committee (SIEC), established by the legislature in 2003, works to assist emergency responder agencies (police, fire, sheriff, medical, hazmat, etc.) at all levels of government (city, county, state, tribal, federal) to define interoperability for their local region. Washington recognizes that collaborating on system design and development for wireless radio systems enables emergency responder agencies to efficiently provide additional services, increase interoperability, and reduce long-term costs. This work saves
10080-681: The European Research Cluster on the Internet of Things (IERC) and IoT Semantic Interoperability Best Practices; four kinds of interoperability are distinguished: syntactical interoperability, technical interoperability, semantic interoperability, and organizational interoperability. In the United States, the General Services Administration Component Organization and Registration Environment (CORE.GOV) initiative provided
10224-711: The International Alliance for Interoperability started in 1994, and was renamed buildingSMART in 2005. In Europe, the European Commission and its IDABC program issue the European Interoperability Framework . IDABC was succeeded by the Interoperability Solutions for European Public Administrations (ISA) program. They also initiated the Semantic Interoperability Centre Europe (SEMIC.EU). A European Land Information Service (EULIS)
10368-573: The Korean government has been gradually increasing the scope of BIM-mandated projects. McGraw Hill published a detailed report in 2012 on the status of BIM adoption and implementation in South Korea. Dubai Municipality issued a circular (196) in 2014 mandating BIM use for buildings of a certain size, height or type. The one page circular initiated strong interest in BIM and the market responded in preparation for more guidelines and direction. In 2015
10512-477: The Municipality issued another circular (207) titled 'Regarding the expansion of applying the (BIM) on buildings and facilities in the emirate of Dubai' which made BIM mandatory on more projects by reducing the minimum size and height requirement for projects requiring BIM. This second circular drove BIM adoption further with several projects and organizations adopting UK BIM standards as best practice. In 2016,
10656-570: The OIC with agencies in several locations, including Silicon Valley . This program will use case studies to identify the best practices and challenges associated with linking CAD systems across jurisdictional boundaries. These lessons will create the tools and resources public safety agencies can use to build interoperable CAD systems and communicate across local, state, and federal boundaries. Governance entities can increase interoperability through their legislative and executive powers. For instance, in 2021
10800-490: The UAE's Quality and Conformity Commission set up a BIM steering group to investigate statewide adoption of BIM. Austrian standards for digital modeling are summarized in the ÖNORM A 6241, published on 15 March 2015. The ÖNORM A 6241-1 (BIM Level 2), which replaced the ÖNORM A 6240-4, has been extended in the detailed and executive design stages, and corrected in the lack of definitions. The ÖNORM A 6241-2 (BIM Level 3) includes all
10944-507: The UK's Royal Academy of Engineering ; former GMW employee Jonathan Ingram worked on all three products. What became known as BIM products differed from architectural drafting tools such as AutoCAD by allowing the addition of further information (time, cost, manufacturers' details, sustainability, and maintenance information, etc.) to the building model. As Graphisoft had been developing such solutions for longer than its competitors, Laiserin regarded its ArchiCAD application as then "one of
11088-565: The US, the lack of interoperability in the public safety realm become evident during the 9/11 attacks on the Pentagon and World Trade Center structures. Further evidence of a lack of interoperability surfaced when agencies tackled the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina . In contrast to the overall national picture, some states, including Utah, have already made great strides forward. The Utah Highway Patrol and other departments in Utah have created
11232-502: The US-based National Institute of Building Sciences as part of its National Building Information Model (NBIMS-US) standard. COBie has been incorporated into software, and may take several forms including spreadsheet, IFC, and ifcXML. In early 2013 BuildingSMART was working on a lightweight XML format, COBieLite, which became available for review in April 2013. In September 2014, a code of practice regarding COBie
11376-654: The ability of two or more information collections to be searched by a single query. Specifically related to web-based search, the challenge of interoperability stems from the fact designers of web resources typically have little or no need to concern themselves with exchanging information with other web resources. Federated Search technology, which does not place format requirements on the data owner, has emerged as one solution to search interoperability challenges. In addition, standards, such as Open Archives Initiative Protocol for Metadata Harvesting , Resource Description Framework , and SPARQL , have emerged that also help address
11520-449: The ability to take a medical device out of its box and easily make it work with one's other devices – has attracted great attention from both healthcare providers and industry. Increasingly, medical devices like incubators and imaging systems feature software that integrates at the point of care and with electronic systems, such as electronic medical records. At the 2016 Regulatory Affairs Professionals Society (RAPS) meeting, experts in
11664-523: The application of BIM, more or less detail is needed, and there is varying modeling effort associated with generating building information models at different levels of detail. Participants in the building process are constantly challenged to deliver successful projects despite tight budgets, limited staffing, accelerated schedules, and limited or conflicting information. The significant disciplines such as architectural , structural and MEP designs should be well-coordinated, as two things can't take place at
11808-410: The archive file are to lower the number of files for easier transfer, to reduce storage usage, or just to organize outdated files. The archive file must often be unpacked before next using. The most basic operations that programs can perform on a file are: Files on a computer can be created, moved, modified, grown, shrunk ( truncated ), and deleted. In most cases, computer programs that are executed on
11952-407: The basis of standardized features. The vendors' products compete on the quality of their implementation, user interface, ease of use, performance, price, and a host of other factors, while keeping the customer's data intact and transferable even if he chooses to switch to another competing product for business reasons. Post facto interoperability may be the result of the absolute market dominance of
12096-407: The benefit that space is released from the source device or partition imminently after the transfer has begun, meaning after the first file is finished. With the latter method, space is only freed after the transfer of the entire selection has finished. If an incomplete file transfer with the latter method is aborted unexpectedly, perhaps due to an unexpected power-off, system halt or disconnection of
12240-399: The built asset from initial planning through to construction and then throughout its operational life. BIM authoring tools present a design as combinations of "objects" – vague and undefined, generic or product-specific, solid shapes or void-space oriented (like the shape of a room), that carry their geometry, relations, and attributes. BIM applications allow extraction of different views from
12384-462: The built environment. It can allow architects and engineers to integrate and analyze environmental issues in their design over the life cycle of the asset. China began its exploration on informatisation in 2001. The Ministry of Construction announced BIM was as the key application technology of informatisation in "Ten new technologies of construction industry" (by 2010). The Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) clearly announced BIM technology as
12528-559: The computer handle these operations, but the user of a computer can also manipulate files if necessary. For instance, Microsoft Word files are normally created and modified by the Microsoft Word program in response to user commands, but the user can also move, rename , or delete these files directly by using a file manager program such as Windows Explorer (on Windows computers) or by command lines (CLI). In Unix-like systems, user space programs do not operate directly, at
12672-494: The construction of federal trunk roads in addition to the rail sector. In November 2017, Ireland's Department for Public Expenditure and Reform launched a strategy to increase use of digital technology in delivery of key public works projects, requiring the use of BIM to be phased in over the next four years. Through the new D.l. 50, in April 2016 Italy has included into its own legislation several European directives including 2014/24/EU on Public Procurement. The decree states among
12816-410: The data content does not need to be rewritten. Only the paths need to be changed. There are two distinct implementations of file moves. When moving files between devices or partitions, some file managing software deletes each selected file from the source directory individually after being transferred, while other software deletes all files at once only after every file has been transferred. With
12960-440: The document file is arranged in a format that the word-processing program understands, the user is able to choose the name and location of the file and provide the bulk of the information (such as words and text) that will be stored in the file. Many applications pack all their data files into a single file called an archive file , using internal markers to discern the different types of information contained within. The benefits of
13104-617: The early 2000s. The development of standards and the adoption of BIM has progressed at different speeds in different countries. Developed by buildingSMART , Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) – data structures for representing information – became an international standard, ISO 16739, in 2013, and BIM process standards developed in the United Kingdom from 2007 onwards formed the basis of an international standard, ISO 19650, launched in January 2019. The concept of BIM has existed since
13248-504: The early Hollerith Tabulator in astronomy was made by Comrie . He used it for building a table from successive differences, and for adding large numbers of harmonic terms". "Tables of functions are constructed from their differences with great efficiency, either as printed tables or as a file of punched cards ." In February 1950, in a Radio Corporation of America (RCA) advertisement in Popular Science magazine describing
13392-403: The exchange of information between agencies. Agencies' information systems such as computer-aided dispatch systems and records management systems functioned largely in isolation, in so-called information islands . Agencies tried to bridge this isolation with inefficient, stop-gap methods while large agencies began implementing limited interoperable systems. These approaches were inadequate and, in
13536-521: The execution of assigned missions and tasks. Additionally NATO defines interoperability more generally as the ability to act together coherently, effectively and efficiently to achieve Allied tactical, operational and strategic objectives. At the strategic level, interoperability is an enabler for coalition building. It facilitates meaningful contributions by coalition partners. At this level, interoperability issues center on harmonizing world views, strategies, doctrines, and force structures. Interoperability
13680-403: The existence of directory hierarchies, i.e., directories containing sub-directories. A name that refers to a file within a directory must be typically unique. In other words, there must be no identical names within a directory. However, in some operating systems, a name may include a specification of type that means a directory can contain an identical name for more than one type of object such as
13824-552: The field like Angela N. Johnson with GE Healthcare and Jeff Shuren of the United States Food and Drug Administration provided practical seminars on how companies developing new medical devices, and hospitals installing them, can work more effectively to align interoperable software systems. Railways have greater or lesser interoperability depending on conforming to standards of gauge , couplings , brakes , signalling , loading gauge , and structure gauge to mention
13968-414: The file and the son is the current copy. The way a computer organizes, names, stores and manipulates files is globally referred to as its file system . Most computers have at least one file system. Some computers allow the use of several different file systems. For instance, on newer MS Windows computers, the older FAT-type file systems of MS-DOS and old versions of Windows are supported, in addition to
14112-414: The file system) file-specific data outside of the file format, but linked to the file, for example extended attributes or forks . On other file systems this can be done via sidecar files or software-specific databases. All those methods, however, are more susceptible to loss of metadata than container and archive file formats. At any instant in time, a file has a specific size, normally expressed as
14256-526: The file system, or are accidents (the results of aborted disk operations). For example, the file to which the link /bin/ls points in a typical Unix-like system probably has a defined size that seldom changes. Compare this with /dev/null which is also a file, but as a character special file , its size is not meaningful. Information in a computer file can consist of smaller packets of information (often called " records " or "lines") that are individually different but share some common traits. For example,
14400-423: The file. Some other examples of reasons for which files become corrupted include: Although file corruption usually happens accidentally, it may also be done on purpose as a mean of procrastination , as to fool someone else into thinking an assignment was ready at an earlier date, potentially gaining time to finish said assignment or making experiments, with the purpose of documenting the consequences when such file
14544-402: The files for their own use on an as-needed basis. The programmers who create the programs decide what files are needed, how they are to be used and (often) their names. In some cases, computer programs manipulate files that are made visible to the computer user. For example, in a word-processing program , the user manipulates document files that the user personally names. Although the content of
14688-439: The hard disk drive. In Unix-like operating systems, many files have no associated physical storage device. Examples are /dev/null and most files under directories /dev , /proc and /sys . These are virtual files: they exist as objects within the operating system kernel. As seen by a running user program, files are usually represented either by a file control block or by a file handle . A file control block (FCB)
14832-785: The identification of vulnerabilities in building emergencies. Dynamic information about the building, such as sensor measurements and control signals from the building systems, can also be incorporated within software to support analysis of building operation and maintenance. As such, BIM in facility operation can be related to internet of things approaches; rapid access to data may also be aided by use of mobile devices (smartphones, tablets) and machine-readable RFID tags or barcodes ; while integration and interoperability with other business systems - CAFM , ERP , BMS , IWMS , etc - can aid operational reuse of data. There have been attempts at creating information models for older, pre-existing facilities. Approaches include referencing key metrics such as
14976-432: The interchangeability of force elements and units. Technological interoperability reflects the interfaces between organizations and systems. It focuses on communications and computers but also involves the technical capabilities of systems and the resulting mission compatibility between the systems and data of coalition partners. At the technological level, the benefits of interoperability come primarily from their impacts at
15120-461: The interoperability between the drainage systems and other urban systems (e.g. infrastructure such as transport), it could be possible to expand the capacity of the overall system to manage flood water towards achieving improved urban flood resilience. Force interoperability is defined in NATO as the ability of the forces of two or more nations to train, exercise and operate effectively together in
15264-453: The issue of search interoperability related to web resources. Such standards also address broader topics of interoperability, such as allowing data mining. With respect to software , the term interoperability is used to describe the capability of different programs to exchange data via a common set of exchange formats, to read and write the same file formats , and to use the same communication protocols . The lack of interoperability can be
15408-439: The language uses a different writing system it is almost impossible if no translation tools are available. Interoperability is used by researchers in the context of urban flood risk management . Cities and urban areas worldwide are expanding, which creates complex spaces with many interactions between the environment, infrastructure and people. To address this complexity and manage water in urban areas appropriately,
15552-618: The late 1990s, with inputs from Georgia Tech , and was approved by the American Institute of Steel Construction as its data exchange format for structural steel in 2000. BIM is often associated with Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) and aecXML – data structures for representing information – developed by buildingSMART . IFC is recognised by the ISO and has been an official international standard, ISO 16739, since 2013. Construction Operations Building information exchange ( COBie )
15696-418: The latter (afterwards deletion) method will have to only delete the files from the source directory that have already finished transferring. In modern computer systems, files are typically accessed using names ( filenames ). In some operating systems, the name is associated with the file itself. In others, the file is anonymous, and is pointed to by links that have names. In the latter case, a user can identify
15840-585: The lives of emergency personnel and the citizens they serve. The U.S. government is making an effort to overcome the nation's lack of public safety interoperability. The Department of Homeland Security's Office for Interoperability and Compatibility (OIC) is pursuing the SAFECOM and CADIP and Project 25 programs, which are designed to help agencies as they integrate their CAD and other IT systems. The OIC launched CADIP in August 2007. This project will partner
15984-449: The main goals of public procurement the "rationalization of designing activities and of all connected verification processes, through the progressive adoption of digital methods and electronic instruments such as Building and Infrastructure Information Modelling". A norm in 8 parts is also being written to support the transition: UNI 11337-1, UNI 11337-4 and UNI 11337-5 were published in January 2017, with five further chapters to follow within
16128-474: The matured definition of 'BIM' specified only about one and a half decade later". The term 'building model' (in the sense of BIM as used today) was first used in papers in the mid-1980s: in a 1985 paper by Simon Ruffle eventually published in 1986, and later in a 1986 paper by Robert Aish – then at GMW Computers Ltd , developer of RUCAPS software – referring to the software's use at London's Heathrow Airport . The term 'Building Information Model' first appeared in
16272-399: The model before beginning construction, with opportunities to pre-fabricate or pre-assemble some systems off-site. Waste can be minimised on-site and products delivered on a just-in-time basis rather than being stock-piled on-site. Quantities and shared properties of materials can be extracted easily. Scopes of work can be isolated and defined. Systems, assemblies and sequences can be shown in
16416-510: The most mature BIM solutions on the market." Following its launch in 1987, ArchiCAD became regarded by some as the first implementation of BIM , as it was the first CAD product on a personal computer able to create both 2D and 3D geometry, as well as the first commercial BIM product for personal computers. However, Graphisoft founder Gábor Bojár has acknowledged to Jonathan Ingram in an open letter, that Sonata "was more advanced in 1986 than ArchiCAD at that time", adding that it "surpassed already
16560-413: The name of the link with the file itself, but this is a false analogue, especially where there exists more than one link to the same file. Files (or links to files) can be located in directories. However, more generally, a directory can contain either a list of files or a list of links to files. Within this definition, it is of paramount importance that the term "file" includes directories. This permits
16704-446: The operational and tactical levels in terms of enhancing flexibility. Because first responders need to be able to communicate during wide-scale emergencies, interoperability is an important issue for law enforcement , fire fighting , emergency medical services , and other public health and safety departments. It has been a major area of investment and research over the last 12 years. Widely disparate and incompatible hardware impedes
16848-430: The original vendor, who may well see the new vendor as a potential competitor and threat. The newer implementations often rely on clean-room reverse engineering in the absence of technical data to achieve interoperability. The original vendors may provide such technical data to others, often in the name of encouraging competition , but such data is invariably encumbered, and may be of limited use. Availability of such data
16992-430: The owner may turn to the model and see that a water valve is located in the suspect location. The owner could also have in the model the specific valve size, manufacturer, part number, and any other information ever researched in the past, pending adequate computing power. Such problems were initially addressed by Leite and Akinci when developing a vulnerability representation of facility contents and threats for supporting
17136-548: The period 2016–2018. The French arm of buildingSMART , called Mediaconstruct (existing since 1989), is supporting digital transformation in France. A building transition digital plan – French acronym PTNB – was created in 2013 (mandated since 2015 to 2017 and under several ministries). A 2013 survey of European BIM practice showed France in last place, but, with government support, in 2017 it had risen to third place with more than 30% of real estate projects carried out using BIM. PTNB
17280-441: The product and, in the appropriate case, once for the patent-protected program the product uses. Interoperability is often more of an organizational issue. Interoperability can have a significant impact on the organizations concerned, raising issues of ownership (do people want to share their data? or are they dealing with information silos ?), labor relations (are people prepared to undergo training?) and usability. In this context,
17424-517: The professionals involved in a project, BIM enables a virtual information model to be shared by the design team ( architects , landscape architects , surveyors , civil , structural and building services engineers , etc.), the main contractor and subcontractors , and the owner/operator. Each professional adds discipline-specific data to the shared model – commonly, a 'federated' model which combines several different disciplines' models into one. Combining models enables visualisation of all models in
17568-511: The prospect of integrating BIM with complementary international standards based classification systems being developed for the Power Plant sector. ISO 19650-1:2018 defines BIM as: The US National Building Information Model Standard Project Committee has the following definition: Traditional building design was largely reliant upon two-dimensional technical drawings (plans, elevations, sections, etc.). Building information modeling extends
17712-564: The published ISO standards related to BIM such as ISO19650 series as determined by the Article 10 (Technical Specification) of the Agreement. Small BIM-related seminars and independent BIM effort existed in South Korea even in the 1990s. However, it was not until the late 2000s that the Korean industry paid attention to BIM. The first industry-level BIM conference was held in April 2008, after which, BIM has been spread very rapidly. Since 2010,
17856-518: The purpose of a file at a glance. Some computer systems allow file names to contain spaces; others do not. Case-sensitivity of file names is determined by the file system . Unix file systems are usually case sensitive and allow user-level applications to create files whose names differ only in the case of characters. Microsoft Windows supports multiple file systems, each with different policies regarding case-sensitivity. The common FAT file system can have multiple files whose names differ only in case if
18000-568: The requirements for the BIM Level 3 (iBIM). The Czech BIM Council, established in May 2011, aims to implement BIM methodologies into the Czech building and designing processes, education, standards and legislation. In Estonia digital construction cluster (Digitaalehituse Klaster) was formed in 2015 to develop BIM solutions for the whole life-cycle of construction. The strategic objective of the cluster
18144-486: The result may well be monopoly or market failure . For this reason, it may be prudent for user communities or governments to take steps to encourage interoperability in various situations. At least 30 international bodies and countries have implemented eGovernment -based interoperability framework initiatives called e-GIF while in the US there is the NIEM initiative. The need for plug-and-play interoperability –
18288-513: The rules for how the bytes must be organized and interpreted meaningfully. For example, the bytes of a plain text file ( .txt in Windows) are associated with either ASCII or UTF-8 characters, while the bytes of image, video, and audio files are interpreted otherwise. Most file types also allocate a few bytes for metadata , which allows a file to carry some basic information about itself. Some file systems can store arbitrary (not interpreted by
18432-417: The same ASCII or a Unicode format in all the communicating systems. Beyond the ability of two or more computer systems to exchange information, semantic interoperability is the ability to automatically interpret the information exchanged meaningfully and accurately in order to produce useful results as defined by the end users of both systems. To achieve semantic interoperability, both sides must refer to
18576-402: The same computer protects against failure of one disk, but if it is necessary to protect against failure or destruction of the entire computer, then copies of the files must be made on other media that can be taken away from the computer and stored in a safe, distant location. The grandfather-father-son backup method automatically makes three back-ups; the grandfather file is the oldest copy of
18720-417: The same place and time. BIM additionally is able to aid in collision detection, identifying the exact location of discrepancies. The BIM concept envisages virtual construction of a facility prior to its actual physical construction, in order to reduce uncertainty, improve safety, work out problems, and simulate and analyze potential impacts. Sub-contractors from every trade can input critical information into
18864-449: The same product. Interoperability may be developed post-facto , as a special measure between two products, while excluding the rest, by using open standards . When a vendor is forced to adapt its system to a dominant system that is not based on open standards, it is compatibility , not interoperability. Open standards rely on a broadly consultative and inclusive group including representatives from vendors, academics and others holding
19008-407: The term can be defined as: In two-way radio , interoperability is composed of three dimensions: Many organizations are dedicated to interoperability. Some concentrate on eGovernment, eBusiness or data exchange in general. Internationally, Network Centric Operations Industry Consortium facilitates global interoperability across borders, language and technical barriers. In the built environment,
19152-434: The three primary spatial dimensions (width, height and depth), incorporating information about time (so-called 4D BIM), cost (5D BIM), asset management, sustainability, etc. BIM therefore covers more than just geometry. It also covers spatial relationships, geospatial information, quantities and properties of building components (for example, manufacturers' details), and enables a wide range of collaborative processes relating to
19296-611: The underlying hardware, rather than the contents stored on it, was denominated a "file". For example, the IBM 350 disk drives were denominated "disk files". The introduction, c. 1961 , by the Burroughs MCP and the MIT Compatible Time-Sharing System of the concept of a " file system " that managed several virtual "files" on one storage device is the origin of the contemporary denotation of
19440-401: The use of BIM for all government projects over HK$ 30M since 1 January 2018. India Building Information Modelling Association (IBIMA) is a national-level society that represents the entire Indian BIM community. In India BIM is also known as VDC: V irtual D esign and C onstruction. Due to its population and economic growth, India has an expanding construction market. In spite of this, BIM usage
19584-580: The user uses a disk editor to edit the file names in the directory entries . User applications, however, will usually not allow the user to create multiple files with the same name but differing in case. Most computers organize files into hierarchies using folders, directories, or catalogs. The concept is the same irrespective of the terminology used. Each folder can contain an arbitrary number of files, and it can also contain other folders. These other folders are referred to as subfolders. Subfolders can contain still more files and folders and so on, thus building
19728-578: The whole concept-to-occupation time-span. To ensure efficient management of information processes throughout this span, a BIM manager might be appointed. The BIM manager is retained by a design build team on the client's behalf from the pre-design phase onwards to develop and to track the object-oriented BIM against predicted and measured performance objectives, supporting multi-disciplinary building information models that drive analysis, schedules, take-off and logistics. Companies are also now considering developing BIMs in various levels of detail, since depending on
19872-402: The word. Although the contemporary " register file " demonstrates the early concept of files, its use has greatly decreased. On most modern operating systems , files are organized into one-dimensional arrays of bytes . The format of a file is defined by its content since a file is solely a container for data. On some platforms the format is indicated by its filename extension , specifying
20016-702: Was able to protect its dominant market position for work group server operating systems, the heart of corporate IT networks. Microsoft was ordered to disclose complete and accurate interface documentation, which could enable rival vendors to compete on an equal footing ( the interoperability remedy ). Interoperability has also surfaced in the software patent debate in the European Parliament (June–July 2005). Critics claim that because patents on techniques required for interoperability are kept under RAND (reasonable and non-discriminatory licensing) conditions, customers will have to pay license fees twice: once for
20160-531: Was established in 2006, as a consortium of European National Land Registers. The aim of the service is to establish a single portal through which customers are provided with access to information about individual properties, about land and property registration services, and about the associated legal environment. The European Interoperability Framework (EIF) considered four kinds of interoperability: legal interoperability, organizational interoperability, semantic interoperability, and technical interoperability. In
20304-661: Was issued as a British Standard: BS 1192-4. In January 2019, ISO published the first two parts of ISO 19650, providing a framework for building information modelling, based on process standards developed in the United Kingdom. UK BS and PAS 1192 specifications form the basis of further parts of the ISO 19650 series, with parts on asset management (Part 3) and security management (Part 5) published in 2020. The IEC/ISO 81346 series for reference designation has published 81346-12:2018, also known as RDS-CW (Reference Designation System for Construction Works). The use of RDS-CW offers
20448-563: Was reported by only 22% of respondents in a 2014 survey. In 2019, government officials said BIM could help save up to 20% by shortening construction time, and urged wider adoption by infrastructure ministries. The Iran Building Information Modeling Association (IBIMA) was founded in 2012 by professional engineers from five universities in Iran, including the Civil and Environmental Engineering Department at Amirkabir University of Technology . While it
20592-635: Was superseded in 2018 by Plan BIM 2022, administered by an industry body, the Association for the Development of Digital in Construction (AND Construction), founded in 2017, and supported by a digital platform, KROQI, developed and launched in 2017 by CSTB (France's Scientific and Technical Centre for Building ). In December 2015, the German minister for transport Alexander Dobrindt announced
20736-562: Was the CIMSteel Integration Standard, CIS/2, a product model and data exchange file format for structural steel project information (CIMsteel: Computer Integrated Manufacturing of Constructional Steelwork). CIS/2 enables seamless and integrated information exchange during the design and construction of steel framed structures. It was developed by the University of Leeds and the UK's Steel Construction Institute in
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