Object-centred automated compliance checking: a novel, bottom-up approach

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is changing how built assets are delivered and operated. A built asset is represented as a set of objects, each with an identity, attributes, and relations. This object-oriented nature enables new approaches for ensuring compliance with a range of requirements: e.g. industry guidelines; project and client-specific requirements; and building codes and standards. Furthermore, bottom-up design approaches are known to be more suitable for quality control and design errors detection. Based on an adapted version of simulated annealing concept, this paper proposes an automated compliance checking classification and identifies a set of desired characteristics these methods should fulfil. It then demonstrates a bottom-up object-centred approach for automated model checking and the corresponding plugin prototype. The approach and the prototype enable four key processes and satisfy all desired characteristics of compliance checking methods including content validation, model completeness, smart object, and design option checking. To demonstrate the feasibility and accuracy of the approach, two case studies are processed using existing BIM objects libraries one of which is created by a major French manufacturer. All four steps were successfully completed, and the results show savings of around 125 minutes per object between the automated approach and traditional manual methods of working.