- Watch out
- What it costs
- Experienced readers
- Remember
- In BIMpedia
Every project starts with the same questions: how to name files, which views to set up, what parameters to add, how to export. A firm that answers them once, in a company standard applied by templates and a library of checked content, starts every project well. A firm that doesn't answers them again on every project, differently each time.
- Company standard: the firm's own rules, short, pointing to national and international standards for the rest.
- Templates: starting files with the rules already applied: views, naming, parameters, title blocks, export settings.
- Library: reusable content (families, objects, details, materials) that has been checked and is kept up to date.
A designer finds a door object online, adds a fire rating parameter with the wrong name, and puts it in the shared folder. Other projects copy it. A year later, the IDS check on a client's project fails every door: the fire rating is in the wrong property. Six projects have their own versions to fix.
The library has an owner. New content goes through a check (naming, parameters, IFC export) before release, with a version number. When a project finds an error, the owner fixes it at the source, logs the change and tells the projects using that object.
Keeping them alive
| Item | Owner | Update | Check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Company standard | BIM lead | Yearly, or when a standard changes | Reviewed by project leads |
| Templates | Central support | Twice a year, with a change log | Test project before release |
| Library objects | Central support | On request, versioned | Naming, parameters, IFC export |
Sort each item: does it belong in the firm's own standard, or should the standard just refer to an external one?
Company or external?
Does each item belong in the firm’s own standard, or should the standard just refer to an external one?
- Names of the firm’s view templates
- Default IFC export settings
- How new library objects are checked
- Definitions of the ISO 19650 roles
- Meaning of CDE status codes
- IFC entity definitions
Key takeaways
- A company standard says how the firm works; templates and libraries make it easy to follow.
- Keep the standard short and point to national and international standards rather than copying them.
- Every template and library object has an owner, a version and a check.
- Update on a schedule, with a change log, and say which version a project uses.