Why is the validation of the project indispensable?

The control of information content is an essential step to make the BIM process valid and effective. The possibility to manage all the information of a work in an integrated way, during its entire life cycle, can only take place through a key moment, of validation and formal verification, called Model Checking.

The control of the information and data present in the project allows to identify in advance possible critical issues and to guarantee a reliable result for the successive phases of design, execution and management of the work. On the basis of the data and requirements defined in the EIR – Employer’s Information Requirements and in the BEP-Post Contract – BIM Execution Plan, through Model Checking, the determination of any physical interferences and formal inconsistencies, the analysis of discrepancies – with consequent classification of the gravity – and its resolution.

But how does this control take place specifically?

The check applied to the model must be done through three consequential phases:

• the BIM Validation, which controls its modeling attributes and procedures;
• the Clash Detection, or the control of physical interference;
• the Code Checking, which consists in checking the conformity of the project with the reference standards.
  Each phase must necessarily be applied first to the individual models and then to the aggregated model.

The BIM Validation can be carried out through work software that allow you to create appropriate sets of parametric rules, to detect modeling and design errors. In view of this control, parametric values ​​inserted within the modeling software are then exploited ad hoc and an analysis is carried out on the level of quality and coherence within the model itself. It is evident that this procedure must be provided upstream of the modeling.

Clash Analysis is the control of geometric and spatial interferences within the model and aims to identify all the physical intersections between the elements. The identified interferences must be classified according to the degree of severity, in order to be approached in the most resolute and appropriate way possible. The most important moment of this phase is the definition and attribution of resolutions, as it allows the Modeler and the Quality Control Manager to directly interact with each other and without intermediaries for the progress.

Finally, the Code Checking validates the project by comparing the parameters contained in the model with regulations and reference codes. In this way the requests of the client and the design standards are translated into parametric rules to be applied. The parameters necessary for these controls, as well as those relating to BIM Validation, must be entered during the modeling.

Given the importance of this validation process, standardization of processes could be a matter of substantial importance. Since the control must be carried out on every type of project that is being managed, develop a workflow, it would not only automate the different phases of the design process, but also to control it 360 degrees, making it more reliable and manageable during the course weather.

The aspects to be considered to achieve this goal are therefore:

• the identification of the parameters to be inserted in the course of the modeling, useful for the phases of BIM Validation and Code Checking, by analyzing the regulations and the requirements to be met;
• the correct exploitation of parameters, through the elaboration of a workflow, even automated;
• the creation of a database of rules, to be included in the analysis and control software;
• the application of a standardized methodology of analysis, evaluation and assignment of the interference resolution.

Taking into account the repetitiveness and cyclicality of the controls within the project management, can be an excellent workflow to validate the processes in an automated or semi-automated way, raising the effectiveness of the BIM-based process and making the design and management phase of the works more efficient.