Spatial Coordination White Paper

Heikki Kulusjrvi CEO Solibri, Inc. and Jonathan Widney CEO Solibri LLC
Copyright 2009 Solibri, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Solibri,Inc.

October9th,2009

SpatialCoordination withtheSolibriModelChecker WhitePaper

HeikkiKulusjrviCEOSolibri,IncandJonathanWidneyCEOSolibriLLC

1 General
Itisknownthatthetraditional(noncollaborative)designandconstructionprocessbringsadditional unpredictedcosts,affectstheschedulesandinmanycasesdeliverssuboptimalsolutions.Atthesame time,itisnotlogicaltoexpectthataswenowfocusmoreonenergyefficiency,environmentalimpact, etc.thatthedesignwouldbelesschallengingandwewouldhavefewerdesigncoordinationissues. Whendesignproblemsarefixedonsitethecostistypicallyquitehigh.Manysoftwaretoolscurrently supportandpromote"collisiondetection",whichhasbeenintroducedasasolutiontotheabove problem.Inmostcasesthisisdonewhenalldesignisdoneasafinalcheckbeforetheconstruction phaseisstarted.Howeversubcontractorshavesaidthatcollisiondetectionitselfisaninefficientprocess becauseitisencouragingpeopletomakemistakeswiththeassumptiontheywilljustbecaught downstream.Theresultisnormallyanexhaustivelistingofidentifiedcollisionsbetweengeometric objectsinthemodels.Thisapproachisnotidealasitstillrequiressignificantefforttogothroughthe collisionreportmultipletimesjusttodeterminewhichidentifiedcollisionsaresevere,orimportant enoughtodiscussinanupcomingcoordinationmeeting.Thispracticeisbothtimeconsumingand tedious. Thenextgeneration,informationrich,BuildingInformationModeling(BIM)processofferstotallynew possibilitiestoeffectivelyandefficientlymanagethedesignprocessearlyon.SpatialCoordination reflectsnewthinkingofhowtoutilizecumulativeinformationthroughouttheBIMprocess.Thegeneral ideaisthatproblemsareidentifiedearlyandproperqualitymeasuresareimplementedfromthe beginning.Intheidealsituation,whendesignofalldisciplinesisdonetherearefew,ifanycollisionsto befound. InsteadofwaitingforcompleteBIMmodelstobehandedoverforpreconstructionplanningand checking,qualityassurancetasksneedtobedoneasrelevantinformationbecomesavailable. Modelcheckingcanbeconductedthroughouttheproject,butideallyitshouldbedonebeforeadesign ishandedovertootherdisciplines.Continuousqualitycontrol,whenproperlyestablished,willfind potentialproblemsbeforepassingfalseormisleadinginformationforward.Whenchangesaremadeitis criticaltofindandunderstandwhatisactuallychanged.

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Figure1.CheckingwheninformationisavailableintheBIMfilesbeforehandovertootherdesignersand also(traditional)completecheckingwhendesigniscompleted

2 SpatialCoordination:CollisionDetectionandBeyond
Solibrihasadoptedamorecomprehensiveapproach,whichwecallSpatialCoordination,where collisiondetectionisjustoneofthecomponents,butthatisperformedonlyafterothermeasuresfor QualityAssuranceareapplied.Wearefocusedonhowtoidentifyrealissues(baseduponcompliance withexistingrulesand/orcodes);thenhowtoeffectivelymanagethosefindings,wellinadvanceofany meetings. Spatialcoordinationrequiresanalyzingthedesigndisciplinesthataffectspaceusageinbuildings.This includes Architecturaldesign(Spaces,walls,slabs,columns,beams,doors,windows,etc.) Structuraldesign(loadbearingwalls,slabs,columns,beamsetc.) MEPdesign(ductspipes,cablecarriersetc.)

ThemethodolgythatSolibriModelCheckerusesisoneofRULESandRULESETS.Manysoftware applicationsuserules,buttheyareinternalalgorithms(hardcoded)andnotabletobecustomizedor eveneditedbytheenduser.SolibriModelCheckerprovidesmorethan50ruletemplates,wherethe onlymissinginformationisthecustomersparameterstobeapplied.Itisalsopossible,withsome assistance,tocreateentirelynewrules,essentiallyallowingacustomertohavetheirowncustom flavorofSolibriModelChecker.Oncerulesareeditedorcreated,theyareoftenincludedwithother relatedrulesandcombinedintoaruleset.Theserulesetsmaythenbeorganizedinwhateverfashion thatthecustomerdesires(e.g.architecturalrules,projectrules,functionrules).

"SpaceValidationrule"
Thestartingpointistocheckthatthearchitecturaldesignhasspacesdefinedaccordingtosurrounding walls.Ifnot,eitherspacesorwallsneedtobeadjusted.

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Figure2.Thisspaceisnottotallyalignedwithsurroundingwalls Whentheseproblemsarefoundlaterintheprocessittypicallyleadstochangesinthe achitechturaldesignandotherdisciplinesaswell.

"StructuralversusArchitecturalModels"Ruleset
Architecturalandstructuraldesignshouldbecheckedtoverifythatloadbearingwalls,columns,beams, slabs,etc.areequallylocatedinthetwodisciplines.Similarlyitshouldbecheckedthatopeningslike doorsaresimilarinsizeandlocation.

Figure3.ColumnsarelocateddifferentlyinArchitecturaldesignandStructuraldesign Withoutthischeckyoumaygetmisleadingissueslikepipesinterferingwithcolumnsinthe structuraldesignbutnotinthearchitecturaldesign. Copyright2009Solibri,Inc. AllRightsReserved

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"IntersectionsBetweenDomains"Ruleset
ThenextstepistocheckthestructuraldesignandMEPdesignandfind"interferences"withstructural elements.Solibrireportsthesebycategorizingaccordingtotheseverityandbystructuralcomponent evenifithasseveralinterferences.Thismakesiteasiertocoordinatetherealissues.

Figure4.Typicallyissueswithstructuralcomponentsaremoreseverethanissueswitharchitectural components. MEPsystemsinterferencesarealsocoordinated.Inmostcollisiondetectionsystemsyouareexpected toknowwhatsystemsinterfereandyouselectonlythoseforyourtest.Asthelistofproblemsis exhaustiveunwantedresultsarefilteredaway. Allcollisionsarereported,notjustwhatisexpected

SeverityClassificationofIssues
SolibriModelCheckerusesrulebasedreasoningtoanalyzeallinterferences.Weuse1)filteringtoavoid minormodelingerrors.(e.g.pipesbelongingtothesamesystemor"exhaustductsystemservingthe lobbyarea").Thenweanalyzetheinterferencetype.2)Classificationrulesseparateduplicates, componentsinsideeachotherandnormalinterferences.Theseresultsaregroupedintosimilar kindsofinterferencestohelpidentifying,reportingandcorrection.3)Severityrulesanalyzewhat componenttypesareinterferingandhow(e.g.pipegoingthroughanarchitecturalnonbearingwallisof lowseverity whileasimilarcasewithastructuralwallismoderate ).Componentsthatare interferingwithcolumnsandbeams,forexample,causea"severe" issue.Wheninterfering componentsarealigned(e.g.ducts)thistypicallyrequiresmorespacearoundthecomponentsandis consideredsevere.

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Figure5.SamecollisionwithanArchitecturalwallisLOW,butwithaStructuralwallitisCRITICAL

Figure6.SamplesofCRITICAL,MODERATE,andLOWseverityIssues.Note:interferencewithsmallpipes isconsideredlowprioritysincethisiseasiertofixonsite Rulebasedreasoninghelpssignificantly,focusingonthemostrelevantissuesfirstandwhen required,evenlowseverityissuescanbeaddressed.

3 ModelVersionComparison
Duringthedesignprocessitisextremelyimportanttotrackwhathasbeenchangedinthedesign.The "modelcomparison"rulesetisbuiltspecificallyforthis.Youimportthepreviousversionofthedesign andthenthelaterversionandrunthecomparisonrules.Theresultswillshowbycolorcodedcategories (andobjects)whathasbeenadded,removedormodifiedinthemodel.Changesinpropertiesare tracked,aswellasthegeometry.Itisthenpossibletogenerateasummaryreportonquantities changed,byconstructiontype.

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"ModelRevisionsComparisonArchitecture"Ruleset

Figure7.Comparisonrulesvisualizechanges.Whatisadded,whatismodified

Figure8.ChangesinQuantityInformationarealsoreported.Thiscanbeexportedtoaspreadsheet. SimilarcheckscanbeperformedwithtwoversionsofMEPfilesofthesamediscipline,usingthe"Model RevisionsComparisonBuildingservices"Ruleset. Youknowwhatisactuallychangedandbywhomandyoudon'tneedtoguess.Youareableto focusonrequiredchangesonly.

4 CommunicationandReporting
Usingrules,browsingresultsandmakingremarksisonepartoftheprocess.Dependingonwhenthisis occurringduringtheproject(designvs.constructionphase)therearedifferentprocesses.Thenextstep istocommunicatethefindingstodesignersand/orotherteammembers.Thisisdonebygenerating presentationsandcoordinationreports. CommunicationisoneofthekeybenefitsoftheBIMprocess.Theuseofmodelvisualizationhas resultedinamuchmoreefficientandcollegialenvironment.Whetherthegoalistoidentify interferences,sharetheresultsofmodelcomparisonorjusttobringattentiontoaparticularareaofthe model,itisinfinitelyeasiertoaccomplishthisandreachconsensusinamodelbasedenvironment.One ofthekeyfeaturesoftheSolibriModelCheckeristhewaythatruleresultsareorganized.Theseresults are,asnotedabove,organizedbytheirseverityandtheirobjectgrouping,whichisextremely important,buttheyarealsoabletobeviewedaccordingtotheirgeographiclocationwithinthemodel. Thisissignificant,particularlyintheareaofreportinginterferenceissues. Copyright2009Solibri,Inc. AllRightsReserved

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Figure9.Anissuesavedforthecoordinationreviewsession Powerfulcommunicationcapabilityallowsallpartiestoseeanddiscuss Historically(priortotheintroductionofSolibriModelChecker),therewasanextraordinaryamountof timerequiredbeforeEACHcoordinationmeeting,justtoreviewthemagnitudeofidentifiedcollisions, tobesurenothingismissed.Timeisalsospenttodeterminewhichissuesarereal,whichareserious enoughtowarrantattentionbytheteam,andwhichcanberesolvedlater.Becausethesecollisionsare generatedbyCADgeometry,thereareoftenanywherefrom310xasmanyidentifiedcollisions,asare trulypresent.Additionally,oncethenumbershavebeenreduced,eitherbyeliminatingfalsepositives ordecidingtoincreasetolerance(whichisnotagoodpractice),thereisstillaquestionofhowto managethem.Withallthetoolsbeingdevelopedtohandlefilesharing,RFIgenerationandchange ordertracking,therehastobeabetterwaytoidentify,manageandconsistentlytracktheissues:Enter SolibriModelChecker.TheseareareaswhereIFCreallyshinesandthevalueoftheSpatialCoordination Reportisreallymagnified. Oncetheresultshavebeengenerated,theycanbequicklyviewedandsavedasviewpointsina presentationfolderuniquetothisparticularcheckingexercise.Thisservestwopurposes,firstly,itmakes itpossibletosharetheviewsasapresentation,andsecondly,itallowsthereviewertoaddinformation totheviewpoints,suchasthecheckingdecision(accepted,rejected,undefined,ordontchange).With thelatestversionofSolibriModelCheckerv5.1itisnowpossibletoedittheviewpointsandeffectively managetheissuesbyindicatingtheirstatus(open,assigned,resolved,closed)andevenassigningthe partiesresponsibleforresolvingthem.Thechoiceislefttothereviewertodeterminewhenthis allocationofresponsibilityisbestdecided.Theteamcanproceedthroughthepresentationwitha decisionmadeduringthatprocess,followedbythegenerationofatotallycustomizablereport,whichis thenusedtomanagealltheidentifiedissuesandtheagreeduponactions.Thishasbeenanactivity whichprevioulsywasveryfragmented.Now,itispossibletocheck,reviewtheresults,viewtheissues, assigntheresponsiblepartyandtracktheprogressthroughresolution,inoneconsistentenvironment. Copyright2009Solibri,Inc. AllRightsReserved

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Thiscapabilitycouldliterallysavehoursintheareasofpreprocessing,meetingpreparationandissue trackingandresolution.

Figure10.SampleSpatialCoordinationReport Powerfulconnectionbetweenissuesandreportinghelpsexpediteactualproblemsolving.

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