July 18, 2001—Software for the architectural, engineering and construction (AEC) industry took a step closer to widespread acceptance as several companies were recently granted IFC certification for their respective products that incorporate Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) Release 2.0 standards. The standards, which were developed and are administered by the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI), enable the exchange of data among IFC-compliant software applications, regardless of the type or origin of the program.
Using the IFC object-based model, software programs can create one set of data—developed in a CAD drawing for instance—and then use that same data directly for creating takeoffs and estimates, code checking, energy performance simulation, building code checking, and design spell checking.
To achieve IFC certification through the IAI, products must undergo a review in a certification workshop, and quality assurance work preceding the workshop. In the workshop, the candidate applications must demonstrate successful IFC data exchange with the other candidates (or already certified) applications.
In addition, the products were also certified by the Building Lifecycle Interoperable Software (BLIS) Project. Complementing IAI’s certification, the BLIS certification denotes compliance of data exchange for specific end uses.
For more information, including a list of certified firms and their products, contact BLIS or IAI.
