BIM Task Group Newsletter 21st Edition

www.bimtaskgroup.org
Newsletter, 21st edition | Week ending 9th June 2013
Classification
Whether you are in the supermarket or searching
for information on Google maps, classification
is the key to finding what you want. Classification
should provide a system that allows
information to be found and retrieved easily,
with ‘rules’ that are easy to understand, even
intuitive, and allow information to be added
in a logical manner. It must also be possible to
reference, update, and maintain the information.
Building on the original Uniclass 1997,
Uniclass 2 is the classification system that sets
out to provide this for the construction industry
in the BIM age.
The basis for Uniclass 2 is the international
standard ISO 12006-2 which sets out the
issues very clearly:
Modern information systems for the construction
industry, whether local or networked,
need to handle data of many different types,
e.g. geometrical data, technical properties, cost
data, maintenance data, for use within different
applications such as CAD, specification,
product information and cost information
systems. All these data and the relations between
them need to be defined and structured
in such a way that the stored information is
consistent and reliable within and between the
different applications.
So the principles are clear but the implementation
is often not so evident, especially when
using a national standard rather than a practice
specific method. Anyone who has used either
NBS or NES specification tools will have used
the Common Arrangement of Work Sections
(CAWS) which is one of the tables from Uniclass
1997. However the classification is buried
in the software so there is no need to understand
it.
People creating graphical (3D modelled) information
found the elements table, G, more
appropriate for their needs and Librarians and
Manufacturers have used the products table,
L, extensively but the problem with the tables
in Uniclass 1997 is that it is not easy to link
from one table to another. Linking graphical
information to specification, for example,
could not be done in the original Uniclass. So
CPIc (the Construction Projects Information
committee) has set about resolving this situation
in order to provide a classification for
use by anyone in the construction industry
throughout the lifecycle of a project by producing
and publishing proposals for Uniclass
2.
Uniclass 2 objectives
• To produce a classification system for structuring
information that is freely available for
all participants throughout the life cycle of a
project and beyond
• Endorsed by all construction and property
bodies and professional institutions
• To be dynamic, available in a variety of
interoperable formats
• Managed by a team of experts who will
monitor requests, update and control versioning.
The Scope of Uniclass 2 covers architecture
(buildings and landscape), and civil and
process engineering; the terminology will be
the same from table to table; and the tables
will link logically. Coding will generally be in
four and sometimes five levels, ranging from
table reference, through Group and Sub-group
to object. The coding below level 1 will be
numeric with alpha characters to identify the
table content.
The full list of tables to be developed is:
Management tables
FI – Form of Information
Style of presentation, basic nature or
status and type of medium.
SD – Subject Discipline
Body of knowledge of a profession or
field of knowledge.
Mn – Management
Processes for planning, administrating
or assessing operations specific to the
construction industry and its agents.
PP – Project Phases
A table giving a framework for infor
mation throughout the stages defined
in the CIC work stages.
Zz – CAD
Life cycle tables
Re -
Di -
Co –
Ac –
Sp –
En –
Regions
A collection of related districts and
their infrastructure networks.
Districts
A collection of related complexes
and their infrastructure networks.
Complexes
One or more adjacent entities
collectively serving one or more
activity.
Activities
Function carried out in a space or
of spaces. Some spaces may be used for
a number of activities either simultane
ously or consecutively.
Spaces
Location contained within, or oth
erwise associated with, a building or
other construction entity
Entities
Independent construction result of sig
Ee –
Ss –
Pr –
nificant scale. Entities can contain one
or more spaces for one or more activi
ties in a complex.
Elements
Part of an entity which, in itself or in
combination with other such
parts, forms an entity
Systems
Built objects made up of several prod
ucts, collectively serving a common
purpose, often a single trade.
Products
Material construction resource intend
ed for incorporation in a permanent
manner in a construction entity
Ml – Materials
Substances and materials from which
products, elements and entities
can be made.
PC –
Properties and Characteristics
Performance factors associated with
complexes, spaces, entities, elements,
systems and products.
CA – Construction Aids
Material resources used in production,
maintenance and demolition activities,
but not intended for
incorporation in construction entities.
Linking tables
WR – Work Results
Construction result achieved in the
production stage or by subse
quent alteration, maintenance or
demolition processes
WS – Work Results Substructure
Sets out a framework for all informa
tion in the Work results table to give a
consistent approach.
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