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Works and Plays Well with Others (AEC Insight Column)
1 Sep, 2008 By: Jerry LaiserinIndustry participants need to implement and adhere to AEC interoperability standards.
As defined by the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE), interoperability is "the ability of two or more systems or components to exchange information and to use the information that has been exchanged." The International Organization for Standardization (ISO) requires "the capability to communicate, execute programs, or transfer data among various functional units in a manner that requires the user to have little or no knowledge of the unique characteristics of those units."
Consequently, according to the popular online encyclopedia Wikipedia.org, "interoperability tends to be regarded as an issue for experts, and its implications for daily living are sometimes underrated." Wikipedia also notes that "interoperability can have important economic consequences. . . . If competitors' products are not interoperable . . . the result may well be monopoly or market failure. For this reason, it may be prudent for user communities or governments to take steps to encourage interoperability in various situations."
Regarding interoperable software for AEC, user communities' and governments' principal focus since 1995 has been the International Alliance for Interoperability (IAI), which has developed a recognized standard: Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs). Responsibility for IFCs in the United States lies with the National Institute for Building Sciences (NIBS), which groups IFCs in its buildingSMART initiative along with aecXML data exchange and its progeny, AGCxml, gbXML and so forth; National CAD Standard (NCS); National BIM Standard (NBIMS); and related activities supporting intelligent and sustainable building processes.
What's at Stake?
"Cost Analysis of Inadequate Interoperability in the U.S. Capital Facilities Industry," a study published by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) in August 2004, estimated interoperability-related economic losses of $15.8 billion in 2002, or nearly 2% of all U.S. construction spending that year. The study's authors noted their estimate was "likely to be a conservative figure." Other estimates of bad information and processes in AEC have ranged as high as 10%, as in the 1998 United Kingdom–based study, "Rethinking Construction," popularly known as the Egan Report, which estimated a further 20% improvement in project quality (hence the oft-misquoted 30% improvement attributed to the report's principal author, Sir John Egan).
Averaging NIST and Egan estimates at 5–6% and applying that amount to current construction spending of $1.2 trillion implies $60 billion to $72 billion per year wasted because of inadequate interoperability in the United States alone and $250 billion to $300 billion worldwide. Again for perspective, total worldwide spending for AEC design software approximates $2.5 billion per year. Thus, each penny spent on AEC design software results in at least 99 cents of construction value wasted due to the software's lack of interoperability.
"Interoperability in the Construction Industry," a 2007 report by McGraw-Hill Construction, estimated an average of 3% of direct project cost lost to poor interoperability. Furthermore, McGraw-Hill identified building information modeling (BIM) technologies and methods as key drivers for enhanced interoperability and related benefits.
Which Comes First?
However, the results of the McGraw-Hill survey imply a chicken-and-egg situation: BIM adoption drives greater interoperability, yet implementing BIM depends on greater interoperability. This paradox is neatly summarized in quotes in the report from CAD/BIM software vendors. Bentley Systems vice-president Brad Workman said, "Now that we're starting to see adoption [of IFCs], we're going to have to do a better job of fulfilling it." This response sharply contrasts earlier positions by Bentley corporate marketing, which responded to the 2004 NIST study by blaming archrival Autodesk for "business practices that create waste by reducing software interoperability in our AEC industry" — thereby implying that Bentley already was doing "a better job."
For its part, Autodesk is represented in McGraw-Hill's report by vice-president Phil Bernstein, who commented that "the demand for interoperable applications right now exceeds our capacity to achieve it." Here, too, the remark contrasts sharply with prior public statements from this same Autodesk vice-president to the effect that "when there's a market demand [for IFCs], we'll meet it."
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About the Author: Jerry Laiserin
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