Due to the variety of software specialised in the development of projects with BIM methodology, it is often impossible to exchange native information between users using different BIM software.
To solve this problem, we have the versatile IFC format. This format is as close as possible to the well-known PDF read-only file, but in the BIM environment. Its main objective is to promote interoperability between the different BIM modelling programmes used by the agents involved in a project, who may work from different parts of the world.
In addition, the IFC format is supported by more than a hundred software applications worldwide. It is free to use and allows the alphanumeric information of the construction project (properties, quantities, classifications, etc.) to be easily linked. It speeds up the work, because all the shared information of the object under construction is consistent and is defined only once. Another benefit is that it allows measurements and interference detection with specific programs such as Navisworks or Solibri.
With the help of the many viewers available on the market, many of them free of charge, any agent involved in the construction project can consult and review its parameters in a three-dimensional way, without the need for special computer licences.
Although the extensive use of the same modelling software platform can overshadow its use, the IFC format retains excellent data potential. After all, it is a great advantage for the companies involved that an IFC file can always be consulted flexibly in time and place.
By David González Molina, BIM Manager in the Architectural Department of Amusement Logic
