This page provides instruction on how to use the NATSPEC BIM Properties Generator and discusses the extent of the results that are generated together with any limitations on the properties provided.
Navigation
To return to the homepage at anytime click on the NATSPEC BIM logo in the top left corner of the page.
To navigate back to the top of any page after scrolling down, click on the 'Top' button in the bottom right corner of the page.
To return to the previous page, click the 'Back' button in the top right corner of the page.
Object selection
The home page is the primary navigation page for object selection. It lists all the objects currently included within the Properties Generator, grouped by a high-level object type, such as 'Insulation'.
Users can scroll this page to find the object they are interested in or alternatively they can jump directly to the high-level object type by clicking on the relevant letter from the alphabet bar at the top of the screen. Users may also wish to navigate to their object of choice using the search bar at the top of the page. Typing the object name (or part thereof) in the search bar will provide a drop down list to select from after a minimum of three characters have been entered.
When the required object has been found, a simple click on the object name will take the user to the data relating to that object.
Object Metadata and Properties
Once the object of choice has been selected the Properties Generator will generate all the properties and metadata related to that object and will refresh the screen to display the results.
Metadata
Directly beneath the object name will be a brief description of the object type, followed by a note (IFC 2x3 Note) to describe the difference in IFC designation for IFC2x3 if any difference exists between IFC4 and IFC2x3. This note will only appear if there is a difference.
Below the object type description will be displayed the object metadata, which includes it's IFC designation of IfcElementType and PredefinedType, using the default of IFC4. The metadata also includes the suggested primary discipline who is responsible for the object in the design model, a suggested file name for the object, in accordance with the file naming structure provided in the 'Object Modelling Guidelines' tab, and also a suggested LOD for the object in the design model. The suggested LOD value aligns with suggested LOD values given in USACE M3 (see 'Resources' tab), with some variations suggested by local industry.
Properties
Below the metadata are the choices for the user to select the property sources and property categories they are interested in, to be displayed in the results table underneath (and included in the export selected). The default is for all properties from all sources and categories to be displayed and included in the export until a user makes a selection to filter out all non-selected sources and categories.
The property sources currently available for selection are discussed below:
BIMForum LOD Specification: Properties have been included that correspond to the 'baseline' properties included in the BIMForum excel spreadsheet. The property names have been modified from the suggested BIMForum names so as to conform to the CamelCase requirements for property naming (see 'Object Modelling Guidelines' tab) or to align with the same property from a different source, such as IFC, rather than duplicating a property with the same meaning. In addition to the 'baseline' properties some objects also include some of the 'additional' properties from BIMForum spreadsheet (see 'Resources' tab above).
COBie: Properties from the COBie schema 'Type' and 'Component' sheets have been included for selection. COBie properties are not included for selection with objects that are excluded from the COBie schema (refer to Table 101 from the COBie Guide - see 'Resources' tab above).
IFC: Properties from both IFC2x3 TC1 and IFC4 Add2 are available for selection. These include properties from various IFC Pset_'s that relate to the object chosen, particularly any 'Pset_-----Common' or 'Qto_' that relate to the object, as per the requirements for IFC designation and Pset assignment (see 'Object Modelling Guidelines' tab).
NATSPEC BIM: Properties assigned to the source of NATSPEC BIM have primarily been derived from those previously found in the NATSPEC BIM Object/Element Matrix. This document is now superseded by the NATSPEC BIM Properties Generator and is no longer available.
NATSPEC Spec: Properties assigned to the source of NATSPEC Spec have primarily been derived from the prompts and schedules included in the corresponding NATSPEC specification worksections that relate to that object. It is envisaged that this source will be developed further in future releases of the Properties Generator to include further properties from the corresponding NATSPEC specification worksections.
The properties results table provided below the source and category selections, reflects the selections made above and will be the list of properties that are included in the selected export from the Properties Generator.
The properties are organised by their category and each property indicates its source(s) and has a brief description of the property. If a property has a requirement to be completed with a particular value (such as some properties from the IFC schema), then the choices available for completion of that value have also been provided with the intro 'Complete value with'.
NOTE: It is anticipated that future releases of the Properties Generator will include descriptions for all properties generated.
Classification
Each object is classified using the major classification systems. Due to the objects often being at a generic level, in a number of instances, multiple classifications have been provided within the same classification system. The user can select the classification, or classifications, that best suit the object they are interested in. The selected classification properties will then be included in the excel export.
Export
When the user has made their property source and category and classification selections, they have the choice to export that data.
The two primary choices are to export as a PDF or as an Excel Spreadsheet.
The PDF export provides a printable hard copy of the properties generated, which reflects the information that is displayed on the screen within the Properties Generator. This can then be used by clients, manufacturers, designers, project managers, BIM content authors, etc, to discuss and agree the information content of the BIM objects being created either for their individual projects or for inclusion in an object library.
The excel export provides the information in a spreadsheet format (excluding the object description) and transforms the selected classification(s) into three properties to reflect the classification code, the classification title and the version (release) of the classification system selected. This excel export can then be used by BIM content authors to provide the information content that is required with their graphical BIM object. Various file formats can be created from the excel spreadsheet, such as .csv and .txt, allowing users to import this information into other software packages and to link with BIM objects.