IFC certification of BIM software

Abstract

The Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) data model, developed by buildingSMART, is an important data standard for the exchange of data between BIM process partners. For reliable and consistent data exchange in practice, the IFC import and export functionality of BIM software must function correctly and reliably. Assessment and certification by an independent party offers a way to ensure a consistently high standard of data exchange. To this end, buildingSMART developed and implemented a certification procedure. This chapter discusses the aims of certification, the different expectations of certification, the procedure and its relevance for BIMin general. To conclude, the chapter looks at possible further BIM certificates (modeling quality of BIMdata, BIMknowledge, BIMprocesses) that go beyond assessing just the data exchange interfaces of BIM software packages.