Syfte: Det finns idag stor förbättringspotential i arbetet med logistik och tidplanering på byggarbetsplatser. Ökad komplexitet har lett till ökade krav på detta. Dock har det visats i studier att byggbranschen är en av de minst digitaliserade branscherna som finns, trots alla verktyg som finns. Syftet med studien är att undersöka fördelar med att använda sig av BIM i arbetet med logistik- och tidplanering jämfört med de traditionella metoder som finns, och på så sätt se hur detta arbete kan effektiviseras. Metod: De valda undersökningsmetoderna för att besvara våra frågeställningar är fallstudie samt litteraturstudie. Dessa metoder lämpar sig bäst för den typen av studie som ska utföras. Empirin är insamlad via intervjuer med anställda på Gärahovs Bygg AB. Resultat: Studien har visat att respondenterna tror att kommunikationen mellan olika aktörer i projektet, till exempel entreprenörer och underentreprenörer, kan förbättras med hjälp av den BIM-baserade metoden. De tror också att det blir lättare att se att allt tas med i planeringen i projekteringsskedet. Nyttan med att använda BIM: • BIM-metoden kan ge en visuell fördel i kommunikationen mellan entreprenörer och underentreprenörer. • BIM-metoden kan ge en tydligare bild av hur arbetet ska fortskrida genom visuella simuleringar. • BIM-metoden kan göra det lättare att i tidplaneringsskedet se om alla tänkta aktiviteter finns med i planeringen. • BIM-metoden kan göra det lättare att göra avstämningar mot tidplanen under projektets gång. Begränsningar: Begränsningar är att endast göra en tidplan över en typlägenhet i ett projekt, och gör jämförelser endast med denna. Studien har endast gjorts tillsammans med ett företag. För att få högre trovärdighet i resultatet behövs fler företag att jämföra med. En simulering av en större modell hade kunnat ge en ännu klarare bild av vilka fördelar och nackdelar som finns med BIM-metoden. / Purpose: Today there is big room for improvements in the work with logistics and scheduling on construction sites. Increased complexity has led to increased demands on planning. However, studies have shown that construction is one of the least digitalised industries today, in spite of all tools available. The purpose of the study is to study the advantages of using BIM in the work with logistics and scheduling compared to the traditional methods available, and in that way see how this increase efficiency. Method: The research methods that was chosen to answer our issue are case studies and literature studies. Those methods are the best suited for these types of studies that are going to be done. Collection of data has been made through qualitative interviews with employees at Gärahovs Bygg AB. Findings: The study has shown that the interviewees believe that communication between different participants in the project can be improved using the BIM-based method. They also believe that it will be easier to see that everything is included in the planning phase. The benefit of using BIM: • The BIM method can provide a visual advantage in the communication between contractors and subcontractors. • The BIM method can give a clearer picture of how the work will proceed through visual simulations. • The BIM method can make it easier to see if all the planned activities are included in the planning phase. • The BIM method can make it easier to make reconciliations against the schedule during the project. Limitations: The study is limited to only make a production schedule over one typeapartment in a project, and to only make comparisons with this. The study has only been made together with one company. For a more reliable result, more companies would have to be included in the study. A simulation of a larger model could have given an even clearer picture of what advantages and disadvantages that comes with the BIM-based method.

Idag tillämpas BIM (Building Information Modeling) som ett ledande verktyg inom byggprojektering och möjliggör lösningar som är hållbara och optimerade mellan olika discipliner för att effektivt hantera informationsflöden. Vid överföring av data mellan programvaror används ett neutralt filformat, IFC (Industry Foundation Classes). Detta filformat exporteras från 3Dmodelleringsprogrammet Tekla Structures. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att granska orsaken till saknad information vid IFC-export från Tekla Structures. Studien innefattar en fallstudie, komparativ studie samt intervjuer. I fallstudien studeras inställningarna för en IFC-export från en komplex modell i Tekla Structures. Den komparativa studien berör två samordningsprogram Solibri Model Checker och Navisworks Manage, som sedan ställs mot varandra. Det som undersöks är hur IFC-filer lämpar sig i samordningsprogrammen. Intervjuerna har legat till grund och har gett tydliga riktlinjer under arbetets gång. Resultatet av denna studie tyder på att orsakerna kring saknad information i IFC-filer är den mänskliga faktorn och bristande kunskaper av inställningarna i en IFC-export. Ytterligare resultat är jämförelsen mellan samordningsprogrammen som visar att båda är lämpade för IFC-formatet. Genom den komparativa studien har det visat att Solibri lämpar sig bättre för IFC-exporter från Tekla Structures. Med hänsyn till examensarbetets resultat är den mänskliga faktorn avgörande för informationsförluster. Den mänskliga faktorn utgör att det råder bristande kommunikation samt bristande kunskap om IFC-exporter. / Today, BIM (Building Information Modeling) is applied as a leading tool in structural design and modeling and enables solutions that are sustainable and optimized between different disciplines to effectively manage information flows. In connection with transfers between software’s a neutral file format, IFC (Industry Foundation Classes), is used. This file format is exported from the 3D-modeling program Tekla Structures. The purpose of this thesis is to examine the reason for missing information on IFC exports from Tekla Structures. The study includes a case study, comparative study and interviews In the case study, the settings for an IFC- export are studied from a complex 3D- model in Tekla Structures. The comparative study concerns two coordination programs Solibri Model Checker and Navisworks Manage, which are compared against each other. What is examined is how IFC- files are suitable in the coordination programs. The interviews have given clear guidelines during the work. The results indicate that the causes of missing information in IFC -files are the human factor and the lack of knowledge of the settings of an IFC- export. Additional to the results that was achieved are the comparison between the coordination programs shows that both programs are suitable for the IFCformat. The difference between the coordination programs is how one of them signalized the format better than the other Regarding the results, the human factor is crucial for the information loss. The human factor has shown that the lack of communication and knowledge of IFC- exports is a reason for the information loss. Through the comparative study, it has also been shown that Solibri is better suited for IFCexports from Tekla Structures.

Avvikelser i ett byggprojekt leder till bland annat förseningar. De kan även leda till för tidigt avslutadeaktiviteter. Oavsett blir detta ett problem då kontraktstiden för underentreprenörer är bestämda.Vad detta betyder är att blir en underentreprenör färdig för tidigt kommer det finnas en tidbuffert itidplan mellan färdig- och nästa aktivitet. Detta anses som en kostnad eftersom det inte utförs någotarbete. Blir en underentreprenör sen med färdigställande av en aktivitet blir detta ocksåproblematiskt då detta skjuter fram aktiviteter på den kritiska linjen. Förutsatt att de aktiviteternaligger på den kritiska linjen. Det ska förtydligas att fler former av avvikelser finns. Bland annatfelleverans, försenad transport, oförutsedda hinder under produktion m.m. En metod att åskådliggöra avvikelser tidigt efter initiering är att kontinuerligt under produktion följaupp aktiviteter med hjälp av mängdgrafer. Mängdgrafer är diagram som visar byggd mängd pertidsenhet och kumulativ byggd mängd. De ger en visuell bild över hur produktionen ligger till inuläget och med hjälp av dessa kan beslut fattas om ändringar i produktionen för att projektet skatidsmässigt åter hamna i fas. Mängdgrafer kommer i tre former. Planerade-, aktuella- &prognostiserade mängdgrafer. Syftet med detta examensarbete är att undersöka hur BIM-verktyg under projektering kan stödja ettprojekt under produktion genom att förutse avvikelser. Ifall avvikelser upptäcks tidigt kan resurserjusteras eller arbetstider ändras för att projektet färdigställs enligt tidplan. Studien visar att mängdgraferna kan utvecklas relativt enkelt men det krävs väl genomtänktplanering och struktur på arbetet. Det rekommenderas att samordna en bra arbetsmetod för helaarbetet från början till slut genom att ha en samordnare som styr över modellen men också andratjänstemän som känner till programmet tillräckligt bra för att stötta och avlasta samordnaren vidbehov. Studien visar också att det är viktigt att modellutvecklare levererar modellen med bra ochstrukturerad namnbeteckning för objekten. Detta för att enklare kunna koppla KPI-tal till korrektmängdgraf. CoClass-klassifikationssystem (projektnamn BSAB 2.0) borde ligga till grund förnamngivning av objekt. / Deviations in a construction project lead to delays. They can also lead to prematurely completed activities. In any case, this will be a problem since the contract period for subcontractors is determined. What this means is that if a subcontractor completes its task prematurely, there will be a time buffer in the timetable between completed and next activity. This is considered a cost because no work is being done. If a subcontractor completes an activity late, this is also problematic as it displaces activities on the critical line. If the activities are on the critical line. It should be clarified that more types of deviations exist. Including delivery, delayed transport, unforeseen obstructions during production, etc. One method of avoiding deviations is to continuously monitor production activities using quantity take-off graphs. These graphs are charts showing built-up amount per unit of time and cumulative built-up amount. They give a visual picture of the state of production, and from there, decisions can be made about changes in production so that the project will follow the time schedule again. Quantity take-off charts come in three forms. Planned, actual & forecast quantity take-off graphs. The purpose of this degree project is to investigate how BIM tools during design phase can support a project under production phase by predicting deviations. If deviations are early discovered, resources can be adjusted or working hours changed to complete the project according to time schedule. The study shows that the quantity graphs can be developed relatively easily, but well thought out planning and structure are required. It is recommended to coordinate a good working method for the entire work from start to finish by having a coordinator who controls the model but also other officials who know the program well enough to support and relieve the coordinator if necessary. The study also shows that it is important that model developers deliver the model with a good and structured designation of object. This is easier to connect KPI-numbers to the correct quantity takeoff graph. CoClass classification system (project name BSAB 2.0) should be used as the basis for naming of objects.

As the usage of both BIM (Building Information Modelling) and 3D-GIS (Three-Dimensional Geographic Information Systems) has increased within the field of urban development and construction, so has the interest in connecting these two tools.  One possibility of integration is the potential of visualising BIM models together with other spatial data in 3D. Another is to be able to perform spatial 3D analyses on the models. Both of these can be achieved through use of GIS software. This study explores how integration of BIM and GIS could look. The goal was to perform typical GIS analyses in 3D on BIM models. Previous research points towards some success within the field through use of the indicated standard format for each tool – IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) for BIM and CityGML (City Geographic Markup Language) for GIS. Transformation between the formats took place through use of the BIM software Revit, the transformation tool FME and the GIS software ArcGIS. A couple of reviewed applications of GIS analyses were chosen for testing on the converted models – indoor network analysis, visibility analysis and spatial analysis for 3D buildings. The input data in the study was several BIM models, both models created for real-life usage and others that only function as sample data within the different software. From the results of the practical work it can be concluded that a simple, automated and full-scale integration does not seem to be within reach quite yet. Most transformations between IFC and CityGML failed to some extent, especially the more detailed and complex ones. In some test cases, the file could not be imported into ArcGIS and in others geometries were missing or existing even though they should not. There were also examples where geometries had been moved during the process. As a consequence of these problems, most analyses failed or did not give meaningful results. A few of the original analyses did give positive results. Combining (flawed) CityGML models with other spatial data for visualisation purposes worked rather well. Both the shadow volume and sightline analyses did also get reasonable results which indicates that there might be a future for those applications. The obstacles for a full-scale integration identified during the work were divided into four different categories. The first is BIM usage and routines where created models need to be of high quality if the final results are to be correct. The second are problems concerning the level of detail, especially the lack of common definitions for the amount of details and information. The third category concerns the connection between local and global coordinate systems where a solution in form of updates to IFC might already be in place. The fourth, and largest, category contains those surrounding the different formats and software used. Here, focus should lie on the transformation between IFC and CityGML. There are plenty of possible, future, work concerning these different problems. There is also potential in developing own tools for integration or performing different analyses than those chosen for this thesis. / I takt med den ökade användningen av både BIM och 3D-GIS inom samhällsbyggnadsprocessen har även intresset för att sammanföra de två verktygen blivit större. En möjlighet med integration är potentialen att visualisera BIM-modeller tillsammans med andra geografiska data i 3D. En annan är att kunna genomföra rumsliga 3D-analyser på modellerna. Båda dessa går att utföra med hjälp av GIS-programvara. Denna studie utforskar hur en integration mellan BIM och GIS kan se ut. Målet är att genomföra typiska GIS-analyser i 3D på BIM-modeller. Tidigare forskning pekar mot vissa framgångar inom området genom att arbeta med det utpekade standardformatet för respektive verktyg – IFC för BIM och CityGML för GIS. Transformation mellan formaten skedde med hjälp av programvarorna Revit, FME och ArcGIS. Ett par framhållna tillämpningar av GIS-analyser valdes ut för tester på de konverterade modellerna – nätverksanalyser inomhus, siktanalyser och rumsliga analyser för 3D-byggnader. Som indata användes flera olika BIM-modeller, både sådana som tillverkats för faktisk användning och modeller som skapats för att användas som exempeldata inom programvarorna. Utifrån resultaten från det praktiska arbetet kan konstateras att en enkel, automatiserad och fullskalig integration mellan verktygen verkar ligga en bit in i framtiden. De flesta transformationerna mellan IFC och CityGML misslyckades i någon aspekt, speciellt de mer detaljerade och komplexa. I vissa testfall kunde filen inte importeras i ArcGIS, i andra saknas eller existerar oväntade geometrier även om importen lyckats. Det finns också exempel där geometrier förflyttats. Som en konsekvens av dessa problem kunde de flesta 3D-analyser inte genomföras alls eller lyckades inte ge betydelsefulla resultat. Ett fåtal av de ursprungliga analyserna gav dock positiv utdelning. Att kombinera (felaktiga) CityGML-modeller med annan rumslig data fungerade förhållandevis väl ur ett visualiseringssyfte. Både skuggvolymsanalysen och framtagandet av siktlinjer från byggnaderna gav någorlunda korrekta resultat vilket indikerar att det kan finnas en framtid gällande de tillämpningarna. Hindren för en fullskalig integration som identifierades genom arbetet delades upp i fyra olika kategorier. Den första är BIM-användning där hög kvalitet på de skapade modellerna är viktigt för korrekta slutresultat. Den andra är detaljeringsgraden där avsaknaden av gemensamma definitioner för detaljeringsgraderna ställer till problem. Den tredje kategorin är koordinat- och referenssystem där en lösning på kopplingen mellan lokala och globala system redan kan finnas på plats i en av de senare utgåvorna av IFC-formatet. Den sista och största kategorin är problematiken kring just format och programvaror där mer arbete på översättningen mellan IFC och CityGML kommer att krävas. I framtiden finns det gott om arbete att göra med dessa olika problem. Det finns också potential att utveckla egna verktyg för integrationen eller att ägna sig åt att göra andra analyser än de som valdes ut i den här studien.

The creation of an effective construction schedule is fundamental to the successful completion of a construction project. Effectively communicating the temporal and spatial details of this schedule are vital, however current planning approaches often lead to multiple or misinterpretations of the schedule throughout the planning team. Four Dimensional Computer Aided Design (4D CAD) has emerged over the last twenty years as an effective tool during construction project planning. In recent years Building Information Modelling (BIM) has emerged as a valuable approach to construction informatics throughout the whole lifecycle of a building. Additionally, emerging trends in location-aware and wearable computing provide a future potential for untethered, contextual visualisation and data delivery away from the office. The purpose of this study was to develop a novel computer-based approach, to facilitate on-site 4D construction planning through interaction with a 3D construction model and corresponding building information data in outdoor Augmented Reality (AR). Based on a wide ranging literature review, a conceptual framework was put forward to represent software development requirements to support the sequencing of construction tasks in AR. Based on this framework, an approach was developed that represented the main processes required to plan a construction sequence using an onsite model based 4D methodology. Using this proposed approach, a prototype software tool was developed, 4DAR. The implemented tool facilitated the mapping of elements within an interactive 3D model with corresponding BIM data objects to provide an interface for two way communication with the underlying Industry Foundation Class (IFC) data model. Positioning data from RTK-GPS and an electronic compass enabled the geo-located 3D model to be registered in world coordinates and visualised using a head mounted display fitted with a ii forward facing video camera. The scheduling of construction tasks was achieved using a novel interactive technique that negated the need for a previous construction schedule to be input into the system. The resulting 4D simulation can be viewed at any time during the scheduling process, facilitating an iterative approach to project planning to be adopted. Furthermore, employing the IFC file as a central read/write repository for schedule data reduces the amount of disparate documentation and centralises the storage of schedule information, while improving communication and facilitating collaborative working practices within a project planning team. Post graduate students and construction professionals evaluated the implemented prototype tool to test its usefulness for construction planning requirements. It emerged from the evaluation sessions that the implemented tool had achieved the essential requirements highlighted in the conceptual framework and proposed approach. Furthermore, the evaluators expressed that the implemented software and proposed novel approach to construction planning had potential to assist with the planning process for both experienced and inexperienced construction planners. The following contributions to knowledge have been made by this study in the areas of 4D CAD, construction applications of augmented reality and Building Information Modelling; · 4D Construction Planning in Outdoor Augmented Reality (AR) · The development of a novel 4D planning approach through decomposition · The deployment of Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) in AR · Leveraging IFC files for centralised data management within real time planning and visualisation environment.

Den ökade användningen av BIM har ändrat villkoren inom byggsektorn. Arbetet syftar till att identifiera och definiera de krav och kvalitetssäkringar av BIM-objekt som finns inom projektering, produktion samt förvaltning. Avsaknad av en gemensam standard försvårar kravställning och kvalitetssäkring av BIM-objekt vilket har lett till vissa komplikationer, främst vid konvertering mellan olika programvaror. BIM är med sin potential med största sannolikhet en stor del av byggsektorns framtid. För att kunna ta nästa steg i utvecklingen måste en gemensam standard gällande krav och kvalitetssäkring utarbetas.

A consolidação do processo de Modelagem da Informação da Construção (BIM) tende a contribuir para o aumento da eficiência da indústria da construção civil, fomentando novos fluxos de trabalho e permitindo o reuso de informações ao longo do ciclo de vida dos empreendimentos. Apesar do potencial de integração e automação associados ao processo BIM, o uso das informações digitais contidas no modelo para facilitar a pré-fabricação de produtos para a construção mostra-se incipiente. Nota-se que emprego da fabricação digital encontra obstáculos sobretudo em setores que atuam de modo segregado, e que por isto mesmo demandam sinergia, bem como o uso de normas e padrões que possibilitem a interoperabilidade e reuso das informações geradas nas fases anteriores a fabricação. Neste contexto, foi feita uma análise do uso da fabricação digital aplicada ao processamento industrial de aço para estruturas de concreto armado (corte e dobra). Embora os fabricantes que atuam neste setor possuam suporte a interface digital com os demais agentes, a configuração de sua cadeia de produtiva, bem como os processos tradicionalmente adotados, promovem a ocorrência de ilhas de automação ligadas por transferência manual e reentrada de dados. Como forma de reduzir a intervenção manual para a transcrição dos dados, propõe-se o uso do esquema de dados Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) na fabricação digital de componentes de armadura. Este trabalho tem por objetivo apresentar uma solução técnica, baseada no esquema IFC, aos requisitos de troca de informação necessários no fluxo de trabalho proposto. Com base nos requisitos de troca identificados por meio do método Information Delivery Manual (IDM), apresenta-se como essas informações podem ser mapeadas e qual o subconjunto de dados necessários à fabricação digital baseada no esquema IFC4. Por fim, apresenta-se a documentação e validação da solução técnica desenvolvida de acordo com o método Model View Definition (MVD) e com o uso da ferramenta ifcDoc. Após a realização de testes com base no esquema IFC4 foi constatada a viabilidade para recuperação dos dados contidos no modelo. Entretanto também foi identificada a carência de ferramentas comerciais que suportem tal funcionalidade. / The consolidation of Building Information Modeling (BIM) possibly contributes to the increase of the efficiency in the construction industry, by fostering new workflows and data reuse throughout projects life cycle. Despite the potential for integration and automation associated with BIM, the use of the digital information contained in the model to facilitate prefabrication of construction products is still incipient. The digital fabrication finds obstacles in sectors that act in a segregated manner, henceforth needs standard adoption to allow reuse of the information generated in the phases prior to production. In this context, it was analyzed the use of digital fabrication applied to the industrial processing of reinforcement bars for concrete structures (rebar cutting and bending). Although the fabricators who act in this sector already have support to the digital interface with other agents, the supply chain configuration adopted by the Brazilian market, as well as the traditional paper-based processes employed, promote the occurrence of \"islands of automation\" connected by manual data transfer. In order to reduce the need for manual intervention for data re-interpretation and re-entry, it is proposed to use the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) data schema to promote the digital interface between the reinforcing bar supply chain stakeholder\'s. This work aims to present an IFC-based technical solution to the fabricator\'s information requirements by means of the Information Delivery Manual (IDM) and Model View Definition (MVD) standards. On the basis of the exchange requirements specified by rebar fabricator through IDM method, it is presented the IFC schema subset entailed and how this information can be mapped in order to allow the use of IFC on the cut & bend rebar supply chain. Finally, the technical solution was documented in an MVD and validate with the ifcDoc tool. After conducting validation tests based on the IFC4 schema, it was verified the viability to recover the data contained in the model. However, the lack of commercial tools that support such functionality has also been identified.

Tese de mestrado integrado. Engenharia Civil. Faculdade de Engenharia. Universidade do Porto. 2010

L’analyse de la performance énergétique des bâtiments neufs repose massivement sur des outils logiciels de simulation. La valeur ajoutée de ces derniers est indéniable : ils permettent d’optimiser la conception en facilitant l’évaluation des performances énergétiques du bâtiment durant la phase de conception. Leur impact est cependant limité par plusieurs obstacles, dont les principaux sont le niveau d’expertise requis pour leur utilisation et l’absence de connexion aux outils de Conception Assistée par Ordinateur (CAO). Ce dernier point devient particulièrement critique au moment où l’utilisation de la maquette numérique BIM (Building Information Model) se généralise et où les modèles issus d’outils de CAO sont de plus en plus riches.Cette thèse repose sur cette observation et propose, afin de profiter pleinement du potentiel du BIM et des outils en lien, de contribuer à l’émergence d’approches permettant une transformation fiable et transparente des informations du bâtiment numérique BIM vers les fichiers d'entrée des environnements de simulation. Cela se traduirait par des avantages significatifs, tant sur le rapport coût-efficacité (l’analyse est effectuée plus efficacement), qu’au niveau de la fiabilité (les modèles de simulation sont conformes aux modèles de conception). Toutefois, pour mettre en œuvre de telles approches, plusieurs obstacles doivent être pris en compte : le premier est la nécessité de disposer d’un langage normalisé commun pour le BIM, le deuxième est la définition de mécanismes méthodologiques efficaces et normalisés afin d’enrichir le BIM pour la simulation, le troisième est la mise à disposition d'outils logiciels fiables pour la transformation automatisée du BIM vers les modèles de simulation thermique.Le premier obstacle est en passe d’être levé grâce aux standards issus du consortium international buildingSMART, en particulier les « Industry Foundation Classes » (IFC) qui sont désormais largement reconnus comme un format d'échange standard du BIM dans le domaine de la construction. Le deuxième verrou reste actuel : l’IFC, même dans sa dernière version IFC4, laisse entier de nombreux problèmes de formulation de concepts propres aux domaines métiers, en particulier celui de la simulation énergétique. Cependant, des environnements méthodologiques ont vu le jour permettant d’étendre et d’enrichir de façon structurée les formats de données BIM. C’est par exemple le cas de l’IDM (Information Delivery Manual) et du MVD (Model View Définition) de buildingSMART, pour les IFC.L’objectif de nos travaux est triple. En premier lieu, il s’agit de mettre en œuvre et évaluer l’environnement IDM/ MVD de buildingSMART pour l’interconnexion entre le BIM (format IFC) et la simulation énergétique. Cette étude nous a amenés à proposer un modèle pivot (BSM pour « Building Simulation Model ») basé sur une analogie avec les approches prônées par l’ingénierie dirigée par les modèles. Nous avons également développé un outil logiciel, qui inclut une base de règles de mapping, afin d’automatiser la traduction de l’information entre le modèle IFC et le modèle de simulation. Cette approche a été évaluée sur la base de l’outil COMETH (moteur de simulation de la régulation thermique française RT2012) mais elle est généralisable. / Energy performance analysis of new buildings strongly relies on simulation tools. They optimize the design by facilitating building performance analysis during the design phase. However, there are several limitations, among which one of the main is the lack of reliable connections between Computer Aided Design (CAD) and simulation tools. This is particularly critical at a time when the concept of Building Information Model (BIM) is widely applied and the CAD models are becoming richer.This thesis proposes to take advantage of the potential of BIM in order to contribute to emerging approaches for a reliable and seamless interconnection between building information models and simulation environment input files. This would result into significant benefits, both from the cost-effectiveness (analysis is performed more effectively) and the reliability (simulation models strictly comply with design models) points of view. However, to implement such approaches, several barriers have to be considered. The first is the need for a common, standardized BIM language. The second is the definition of adequate and standardized extension mechanisms, to customize BIM for simulation-specific purposes. The third is the provision of software tools, for effective and reliable BIM to simulation models transformation.The first barrier is likely to be overcome through the advent of the buildingSMART Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), which is widely recognized as a standard BIM exchange format in the construction industry. However, with respect to the second barrier, the IFC remains a wide-purpose modelling language and as such, fails to address many domain-specific issues, like e.g. energy simulation. This limitation has been acknowledged by buildingSMART, who have delivered novel methodological tools to allow for domain-specific customization of IFC. The main one is called the Information Delivery Manual (IDM). The aim of our work is the implementation and evaluation the BuildingSMART framework IDM/MVD to interconnect BIM (IFC) and energy simulation. This study led us to propose a pivotal model (BSM for « Building Simulation Model») based on an analogy with model driven engineering approaches. We also have developed a software prototype, which includes a set of mapping rules that automates the translation process between the IFC model and the simulation tool. In the scope of this study, we targeted the COMETH simulation tool (a simulation engine based on the French thermal regulation RT2012) but our results can easily be extended to additional tools.

This study focuses on the development of a new, formal method for the automated checking of pedestrian circulation rules in Courthouse Design Guide. Automated building rule checking is an automated process of design evaluation against design requirements. Since the early 1970's, when the electronic representation of building design became available, automated building rule checking, a computational process, has been a focus of study, and it continues to be a popular research area because it facilitates the design evaluation process by reducing the checking time and evaluation costs and by increasing the objectivity and the reliability of the evaluation. Thanks to the emergence of BIM (Building Information Model) authoring software, BIM became available to use in real building design, and several automated building code checking systems were developed based on BIM. In practice, the use of a rule checking system in real design evaluation may be influenced by several factors. Among the factors that affect the accuracy and the reliability of automated checking such as checking algorithms and rule interpretation is the level of completeness of the BIM in the design process, which can cause limitations in the application of a rule checking algorithm to the model. Problems caused by the incompleteness of the BIM occurred in CORENET project, a project initiated by the Singapore government in 1999 for automation of building code checking, and GSA Courthouse Design Guide Automation project (GSA), initiated at Georgia Tech in 2007 also faced with the same problems caused by incompleteness of BIM in the development stage. This thesis is a continuing research of GSA-Courthouse Design Guide Automation project (Simply, GSA project). The theoretical goals of this study are to provide a logical foundation upon which one can build an automated checking module for circulation rule checking and that is capable of outlining the rule-validation process independently from its diverse implementation. The theory for circulation rule checking is devised to represent the process of the validation of a building design in the development stage. The theory deals with issues of validation caused by the lack of data in the development of a building design.