What we believe
Open standards and true, non-proprietary interoperability are key to the long and short term success of the building industry as it moves forward with BIM processes and technology.
We encourage owners to evaluate their end uses of BIM data carefully in establishing their BIM standards/guidelines.
Requiring data of uncertain utility incurs unnecessary expense. For example, if an owner intends to import operational data from a BIM to a CMMS, it is not necessary to require a construction level BIM as a deliverable.
We encourage owners to consider the entire building life cycle and the data required to manage each stage.
Considering the span of time involved, it is vital to remember that BIM technology will undergo major unforeseeable changes during that time. Over-reliance on the technology and capabilities of current market products should be avoided. Public standards are much more likely to remain viable.
We monitor BIM standards being developed around the world and in the US.
While many use open standards, some owners require proprietary BIM tools and their file formats as a deliverable in their BIM standard. While maintaining our commitment to open standards as serving the best interests of all participants and the industry as a whole, we realize that the realities of working on projects may motivate a decision to “standardize” on single applications. Where possible, AIA TAP recommends that these tools support the exchange of building information data through internationally recognized standard data formats and protocols. Open standards are mandated by many major building owners such as the US General Services Administration, Norwegian Statsbygg, and Finnish Senate Properties. Such organizations recognize that the following advantages of such a strategy are:
- allowing each project team member to use any tools available on the open market that best suit their needs
- facilitating data exchange throughout the project lifecycle
- maintaining consistent data standards across the owner’s portfolio
- promoting competition among software vendors to produce the best possible products
- maximizing the openness and competitiveness of the market for design services
- ensuring that project data remain usable in the future, independent of the policies and business decisions of individual vendors
We serve as a resource to help all building industry participants identify the opportunities and risks in using open standards as a foundation for project deliverables.
We will do this while still encouraging and supporting the many ways that the industry decides to adopt or adopt partially the open standards. As part of this effort AIA TAP will engage with open standards organizations such as the buildingSMART alliance to support the advancement of open standards and at the same time encourage the immediate need of our members to use BIM on projects.
We fully support the AIA Board of Directors Position Statement on interoperability.
"The AIA believes that all industry-supporting software must facilitate, not
inhibit, project planning, design, construction, commissioning and lifecycle
management. This software must support non-proprietary, open standards for
auditable information exchange and allow for confident information exchanges
between different software, and between different versions of the same
software. This is best accomplished through professional, public and private
sector adoption of open and interoperable software standards." The Directory of AIA public policies and position statements can be viewed here.