Integration standards within construction IT

Standards supporting the IT integration in construction. The main problem in efficient IT usage throughout the construction process is the highly fragmented nature of the industry. Consequently the interfaces between the IT applications of the different companies are very important to ensure optimal IT usage throughout the process. Standards, weather official or de-facto, are an important means to ensure that these interfaces function. During the last 20 years a lot of effort has been devoted to prestandardisation research and standardisation itself, in particular concerning so-called building product models. Despite all the efforts there are relatively weak signs of effects of this standardisation work on applications used in reals projects and offered by major software vendors. In the study the standardisation process and its impact will be studied in two closely-related areas of particular importance to construction IT: CAD layering and building product modelling. The cases are the ISO 13567 standard for layers and the Industry Foundation Classes. Although intended to partly the same functional needs these standards are very different in nature. Layering is a mature technology where standards have come after the technology has gained wide use. In product modelling reasearch has driven standardisation which has been perceived as a necessary prerequisite for widespread adoption of the technology. In comparing these two standards, the technical complexity of the standard, and the effects of the complexity on the timetable and resourse need of standards definition and implementation, is an important parameter. The study was conducted as a combination of a review of scientific and trade literature combined with interviews with experts who have participated in the work.