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 or click on the small ‘house/home’ icon below the NATSPEC BIM logo.
To navigate back to the top of any page after scrolling down, click on the purple arrow button in the bottom 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 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 IfcElementType (or part thereof) in the search bar will provide a drop-down selection list of corresponding
objects, after a minimum of three characters have been entered.
Objects for selection can also be filtered by the associated discipline, by using the Object type options on the left-hand side of the home page.
When the required object has been found, clicking on the object name will open the object page which displays information about the object’s metadata and associated properties.
How to nominate/select the objects to be included in the export is discussed below in ‘Export’.
Object Metadata and Properties
Metadata
A brief description of the object type is displayed directly beneath the object name
on the object page.
The object metadata is displayed below the object type description. It includes its
IFC designation of IfcElementType and IfcPredefinedType, using the default of IFC4. The metadata also includes the primary discipline usually
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 Open BIM Object Standard
(OBOS) and a suggested LOD for the object in the design model. This LOD value is based
on the one suggested in the US Army Corp of Engineers Minimum Modeling Matrix (USACE
M3) (see 'Resources' tab) at the handover from design to construction team, with some
variations suggested by local industry.
Classifications
Below the object metadata on each object page is the object classification information.
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 for the same classification system. On the object page the user
can select the classification, or classifications, that best suit the object they
are interested in, by checking the relevant box. Only the specific classifications
that are selected/checked on each object page will be converted into classification
properties in the excel export.
Specific classification systems to be displayed on object pages can be selected using
the purple ‘Classifications’ selection button near the top of each page. The object
pages will display all available classification systems by default until a user makes
specific selections by unchecking/checking the relevant boxes from the purple ‘Classifications’
selection button. As selections are made, only the classifications systems selected
will remain displayed.
Properties
On either side of the purple ‘Classifications’ selection button, there are two further
purple selection buttons, one for property sources and one for property categories.
These allow the user to select the property sources and property categories they are
interested in displaying on each object page and including in the excel/pdf export.
As with the classification system selection and display, the object page will display
properties from every available source and from every property category by default
until a user makes specific selections, at which time only the data relating to those
selections will remain displayed. In the v 2.0 update a field has been made available
to provide users with the option to manually enter the value for each property, for
inclusion in the excel export. Where the property in question relies on having a specific
selection of values entered, a drop-down list has been provided to select the correct
value.
The property sources currently available for selection are outlined below:
BIMForum LOD Specification: The properties included correspond to the 'baseline' properties included in the BIMForum excel spreadsheet. The property names have been modified from the suggested BIMForum names to conform with the CamelCase requirements for property naming of the OBOS 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). BIMForum properties are generally only included for architectural and structural object types.
COBie: Properties from the COBie schema 'Type' and 'Component' sheets have been included for selection. COBie properties are generally only included for architectural and structural object types and 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).
IFC: Properties from both IFC2x3 TC1 (2.3.0.1) and IFC4 ADD2 TC1 (4.0.2.1) related to each object type are available for selection. IFC2x3 and IFC4 properties are included for all objects included in the Properties Generator.
OBOS: Properties assigned to the source of OBOS Mandatory or OBOS Optional have been assigned to all objects included in the Properties Generator. This allows users to quickly select the properties required for compliance with the Open BIM Object Standard (OBOS).
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 BIM properties are generally only included for architectural and structural object types.
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. NATSPEC Spec properties are generally only included for architectural and structural object types.
The displayed properties are organized by category. Each property includes its source(s), a brief description a value field and the property units.
Export
Objects to be included in the export can be selected from the home page by clicking the ‘+add’ button beside each object or by clicking the purple ‘+ ADD TO SELECTED OBJECTS’ button on each object page.
Once an object has been selected it gets added to the selected objects list, which
can be viewed by clicking the purple ‘OBJECTS’ button in the top right hand corner
of the page. This list will summarise the objects being included in the export and
can be used to remove objects or edit the data selections on each object page. A maximum
of 200 objects can be exported in one export.
The data can be exported 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, for discussion and agreement on the information content of BIM
objects being created for projects or purposes such as object libraries. Multiple
object exports will be included in one continuous pdf file.
The excel export provides the information in a spreadsheet format with each object
assigned to a separate tab/sheet. It 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, in accordance with the
OBOS. 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, which enables users
to import this information into other software packages and to link with BIM objects.
Each tab/sheet in the excel export consists of 5 columns which are: Property, Source(s),
Property category, Value, Unit.