Introduction

The construction industry is widely accepted to be highly fragmented, and this presents challenges to data sharing among various stakeholders. Despite the increasing usage of Building Information Modelling (BIM), data sharing is still a complex process due to various proprietary software that do not talk with each other, resulting in data and communication losses and project delays. To address the above-mentioned challenges, buildingSMART International has developed the Industry Foundation Class (IFC), a data schema to promote interoperability and provide a common language for existing proprietary software. However, despite the presence of IFC for well over a decade, its uptake remains very slow. One of the reasons for this is that the schema is highly complex, and this can inhibit its understanding by construction professionals. This guide aims to gather some of the scattered IFC information, make it easier for construction professionals to understand the schema, and promote and accelerate the IFC implementation.  

To understand the IFC Schema, it is first necessary to understand Interoperability. Interoperability is defined as the ability of different software systems to communicate with one another, exchange information, and utilise the exchanged information [1]. BIM Interoperability is considered the ability of BIM applications to share, exchange and process data through common exchange formats [2] and can increase collaboration and coordination among the various stakeholders delivering construction projects [3]. However, the BIM industry is heavily influenced by proprietary software providers, and their use of proprietary file formats can inhibit interoperability. This lack of interoperability is a considered a significant cause of low BIM adoption [4].  In both industry and academia, different frameworks and data schemas are being developed with the aim of tackling the interoperability problem [5]; IFC however is the industry standard schema adopted worldwide and by all the major software vendors. This guide will address the IFC Framework for data interoperability; this is developed and maintained by buildingSMART [6]. 

The whole ecosystem of Interoperable BIM tools falls under the concept of OpenBIM. buildingSMART defines OpenBIM as a collaborative, vendor-neutral process that enhances the BIM workflow by making the data accessible, usable, and interoperable across the built lifecycle. OpenBIM adheres to international standards to foster seamless collaboration, better project delivery, and efficient asset management [7].