Exporting COBie Data from Autodesk Revit via IFC

AutodesksupportstwomethodsforcreatingCOBiedeliverablesfromAutodeskRevit:

ThefirstmethodisviaapluginforAutodeskRevitthatassiststheuserinpreparingtheirModelswithCOBie
dataandexportsdirectlytoboththeUnitedStatesandUnitedKingdomCOBiespreadsheetstandard
formats.ThisCOBieExtensionforAutodeskRevitcanbedownloadfrom:
http://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/interoperability

ThesecondmethodcanleveragetheCOBiepluginforAutodeskRevitbutinsteadofexportingdirectlyto
thespreadsheet,thedataisexportedtoIFCusingtheFMHandoverExtendedModelViewconfiguration
option.FMHandoverExtendedModelviewisalsooftenreferredtoasCOBieIFC.Thissolutionis
implementedintheIFCOpenSourceExporterforAutodeskRevit.Thiscanbedownloadedfromeither:

http://sourceforge.net/projects/ifcexporter/files/

https://apps.exchange.autodesk.com/RVT/Detail/Index?id=appstore.exchange.autodesk.com%3Aifcexporte
rforrevit2014%3Aen

BasicStepsforExportingCOBieDatafromAutodeskRevitviaIFC

1. ConfigureAutodeskRevittousetheOpenSourceIFCExporterwithFMHandoverExtendedView
2. COBieEnableyourRevitProjectbyintroducingCOBiespecificParametersandauserdefinedpropertyset
definitionfilethatmapstheseparameterstoCOBieSpecificIFCpropertysets.Note:weareprovidinga
suggestedsetofCOBiespecificparametersforRevitwiththeCOBieExtensiondirectexporterbutifyou
alreadyhaveyourown,youcanmodifythismappingsothatthevaluesinyourcustomparametersgooutto
IFC.
3. PopulateappropriateCOBiefieldsinyourRevitProject/Models
4. ExportyourRevitProjecttoIFCusingFMHandoverExtendedViewconfiguration
5. AdditionalnotesonRevitIFCExportandCOBie

1. ConfiguringAutodeskRevittousetheOpenSourceIFCExporterwithFMHandoverExtendedView
option
FirstdownloadandinstalltheRevitOpensourceIFCexporterforAutodeskRevit2014.Notethatyou
needtoinstallboththeOpenSourceexporteraswellastheAlternateUI.Youcangetthisdirectlyfrom
RevitbyclickingontheAutodeskExchangeIconandsearchingforRevitIFCorfrom
http://sourceforge.net/projects/ifcexporter/files/.IfyouaregettingthisviatheAutodeskExchangeStore
forRevityouwillsee:

VerifythatthisIFCExporterandAlternateUI(userinterface)hasinstalledsuccessfullywithRevit.Goto
Revit/Export/IFCandverifythatyounowhaveanewpredefinedconfigurationforCOBieexportIFC2X3
ExtendedFMHandoverViewasdepictedbelow.

CopydefaultuserdefinedpropertysetdefinitionFileforCOBieExport(IFC2x3ExtendedFMHandover
View.txt)intoinstalldirectoryofIFCexporter.Thisfileisprovidedwiththeopensourcedistribution.It
mustbeputinthesamelocationastheIfcExporterdlls:

(C:\Users\<youruser>\AppData\Roaming\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\ADSKIFCExporter2014.bundle\Contents).
Note:Ifyouwishtointroduceyourowncustompropertysetdefinitionfileitneedstobegiventhesame
nameasthesavedexportconfiguration.

HereisanexampleoftheUserDefinedpropertysetdefinitionfileforCOBie:

#
# PropertySet definition for COBie
#
PropertySet: COBie_Specification T IfcElementType
NominalLength Real COBie.Type.NominalLength
NominalWidth Real COBie.Type.NominalWidth
NominalHeight Real COBie.Type.NominalHeight
Shape Text COBie.Type.Shape
Size Text COBie.Type.Size
Color Text COBie.Type.Color
Finish Text COBie.Type.Finish
Grade Text COBie.Type.Grade
Material Text COBie.Type.Material
Constituents Text COBie.Type.Constituents
Features Text Cobie.Type.Features
AccessibilityPerformance Text COBie.Type.AccessibilityPerformance
CodePerformance Text COBie.Type.CodePerformance
SustainabilityPerformance Text COBie.Type.SustainabilityPerformance
#
PropertySet: COBie_Component I IfcElement
InstallationDate Text COBie.Component.InstallationDate
WarrantyStartDate Text COBie.Component.WarrantyStartDate
TagNumber Text COBie.Component.TagNumber
AssetIdentifier Text COBie.Component.AssetIdentifier
#
PropertySet: COBie_Space I IfcSpace
RoomTag Text COBie.Space.RoomTag
#
PropertySet: COBie_Asset T IfcElementType
AssetType Text COBie.Type.AssetType
#
PropertySet: COBie_Warranty T IfcElementType
WarrantyGuarantorParts Text COBie.Type.WarrantyGuarantorParts
WarrantyDurationParts Real COBie.Type.WarrantyDurationParts
WarrantyGuarantorLabor Text COBie.Type.WarrantyGuarantorLabor
WarrantyiDurationLabor Real COBie.Type.WarrantyDurationLabor
WarrantyiDurationDescription Text COBie.Type.WarrantyDurationDescription
#
PropertySet: Pset_ManufacturerOccurence IfcElement
SerialNumber Text COBie.Component.SerialNumber
BarCode Text COBie.Component.BarCode
#
PropertySet: COBie_ServiceLife T IfcElementType
ExpectedLife Real COBie.Type.ExpectedLife
#

ConfigureClassificationFieldName(s)inClassificationtabofIFCAssignmentsScreen.
ClassificationFieldNameunderClassificationtabnowacceptsmultiplefieldnamesseparatedby
comma(,)orsemicolon(;),whichallowsmappingofmultipleparametersforasingleclassification
code,e.g.
ForSpace: COBie.Space.Category
ForType: COBie.Type.Category
ForComponent: COBie.Component.Category
ThecompletelistoftheparametersforCOBieuse:
COBie.Facility.Category,COBie.Floor.Category,COBie.Space.Category,COBie.Type.Category,
COBie.System.Category

LoadinRevitexportlayersifc2X3forCOBie.txtintoExportClasses.Thisfileisprovidedwiththeopen
sourcedistributionofRevitIFCexport.DothisbygoingtoRevit/Export/Options/IFCOptions.Thisisa
specialclassestableformappingRevitCategorytoIFCClassNameforCOBie.

2. COBieEnableyourRevitProject

ThebestwaytodothisistoinstalltheCOBieExtensionforAutodeskRevit2014.Thiswillintroduceasetof
COBiespecificRevitSharedParameters,COBiespecificschedulesandschedulekeysforassistinginthe
populationofsomeofthedatafields.ThisCOBieExtensionforAutodeskRevit2014canbedownloadedfrom:

http://www.autodesk.com/campaigns/interoperability

Afterinstalling,youjustneedtousetheSetupfeaturewhichwillautomaticallyloadsinthespecialCOBie
Parameters.

3. PopulateappropriateCOBiefieldsinyourRevitProject/Models

ThisexercisewillrequireenduserstohavesomebasicknowledgeofRevitparametersandCOBie.Theywill
alsoneedtounderstandtheirspecificrolewithintheirassignedphaseoftheproject.Forexample,ifaCOBie
spreadsheet(orDrop)isrequiredduringadesignphaseofProject,manyoftheOperationsandMaintenance
parameterswillbeblankasspecificequipmentforthebuildingprojectmaynotyethavebeenprocured.
ThereforeitisofcriticalimportancethatsomethoughtbeputintotheBIMexecutionplanningofyourproject
todeterminerolesandresponsibilitieswithrespecttothisinputtingofthisdata.WiththeCOBieextension
forRevitwehaveprovidedsomesampleschedulekeysthatdemonstratehowtosemiautomatethe
classificationofrooms&spaceswitheitherOmniClassorUniclassdata.Moreadvancedmethodsfor
managingtheinputofnongraphicdatatoRevitBIMobjectsincludinglinkingtoexternaldatabasesare
supportedinAutodeskRevitbutarebeyondthescopeofwhatthisfreelydistributedCOBieextensionis
intendedfor.

4. ExportyourRevitProjecttoIFCusingFMHandoverExtendedViewconfiguration

ThefinalstepistojustexportyourIFCfilefromyourRevitModelusingtheFMHandoverExtendedView
configurationoption.

5. AdditionalNotesonRevitIFCExportandCOBie

IfcExporternowsupportsuserdefinedPropertySet.Itisimplementedthroughatextfilewiththesame
nameastheconfigurationname.Belowisthedefinedformat(Allmustbeseparatedbyasingletab):
#Format:
#PropertySet: <PsetName> I[nstance]/T[ype] <elementlistseparatedby','>
# <PropertyName1><Datatype> <Revitparametername(ifdifferentfrompropertyname)>
# <PropertyName2><Datatype> <Revitparametername(ifdifferentfrompropertyname)>
#...
#

Example:
PropertySet: COBie_Specification T IfcElementType
NominalLength Real COBie.Type.NominalLength
NominalWidth Real COBie.Type.NominalWidth
NominalHeight Real COBie.Type.NominalHeight
Shape Text COBie.Type.Shape

Currently,onlybasicdatatypesaresupported:Text,Real,IntegerandBoolean

IfcZoneexportisextendedtosupportClassificationCodeexportwithanewparameter:

ZoneClassificationCode

IfcZonewillbecreatedbyIfcExporterusingexistingsupportwhenRoomorSpacecontainsZonerelated
parameters(ZoneName,ZoneDescription,ZoneObjectType,ZoneClassificationCode).RoomsandSpacesthat

aretobeincludedinthesameZonemusthavethesamevalueinZoneNameparameter,andhas
ZoneClassificationCodeassignedseparatelyfromtheSpaceclassificationcode.

IfcDistributionPort,IfcRelConnectsPorts,andIfcRelConnectsPortToElementarenamedusingelementid(or
guid)|elementid(orguid)

SupportasbeenaddedforcreatingIfcActorRole,whichisneededforCOBiecontacts

COBieContactInformationAminimalintegrationwithCOBieExtensionisdoneforcontactlistviaXML
exportfromtheCOBieExtension.InordertogetthelistofcontactsinRevitusingCOBieExtension,export
thecontactinformationintoXMLfile.Thefilemustbenamed:<OriginalRevitnamewithout
extension>_COBieContact.xml.ThefileshouldbeplacedatthesamelocationastheRevitfile.IfcExport
willfindsuchfileandcreatethecorrespondingcontactinformationinsideIFCfilewiththeappropriateIFC
Entities.

COBieexpectsquitealotofinformationfromTypes.InordertoexportRevitobjectsespeciallyMEPobjects
withthetypes,additionalinformationforthespecificIFCentitywillberequired.Thisisachievedbyadding
informationintotheIfcExportAssharedparameter.Thevaluewillbeinthefollowingformat:

<IfcTypeObjectName>.<PredefinedTypeforthetype>

E.g

IfcElectricApplianceType.WATERHEATER (forWaterheater)

IfcAirTerminalBoxType.CONSTANTFLOW (forVAVbox)

OtherTypespecificattributesthatcanbeenteredare:

IfcElementType,neededifPREDEFINEDTYPEissettoUSERDEFINED

IfcName,tooverridetheNameattribute

IfcDescription,tosetDescriptionattribute

IfcTag,tosetTagattribute

Astatedaboveageneralguideline/practiceforagoodIFCoutputisproperassignmentofMEPentitiesto
IFCtypes.However,itisnotabsolutelynecessarythatyoudothisforforCOBie.IfcExporternowsupports
exportofIfcBuildingElementProxyType.IfcBuildingElementProxyisnowincludedaspartofMEPsystem
andsupportMEPsystemconnectivity.AllMEPrelatedobjectswillbeconsideredintheSystemcomponents
andconnectivitywithoutanyspecialassignmentwithIfcExportAs.OnlythedefaultIFCOptionmustbe
updated.