Digital Construction

BIM in brief 02.04.24: IFC 4.3 standard published

The Gateway Bridge being installed by the Volker Fitzpatrick-Kier JV last year on the Luton DART project (photo: Shaun Armstrong) - for IFC story — The Gateway Bridge being installed by the Volker Fitzpatrick-Kier JV last year on the Luton DART project (photo: Shaun Armstrong)

A round-up of BIM and digital construction stories you might have missed in the past fortnight, including the publication of the IFC 4.3 international standard.

IFC 4.3 standard published

IFC 4.3 is now formally approved and has been published as an international standard. The accreditation extends the schema to encompass horizontal assets, such as roads, railways and associated infrastructure spread across landscapes.

According to buildingSMART International, this accreditation solidifies IFC 4.3 as the latest iteration of the ISO 16739 standard. Clive Billiald, chief executive of buildingSMART International, said: "The formal publication of IFC 4.3 as an internationally accredited standard is a testament to the tireless efforts of everyone involved in its development. This was almost 10 years in the making.

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"I want to acknowledge and recognise the hard work, dedication and commitment of a diverse, global group of experts, in both the buildingSMART and ISO/CEN communities, who have made this possible. Their efforts have delivered a standard which will support the built environment sector for many years to come, contributing to a more productive and sustainable industry.

“Our focus now shifts to facilitating the seamless adoption and utilisation of this crucial standard by industry professionals and software vendors alike."

AI land use tool to go nationwide

The Alan Turing Institute and the Geospatial Commission are developing further the Institute’s AI land use tool. The prototype was launched last summer and leveraged data science and AI to visualise different future scenarios for land use in collaboration with Newcastle City Council.

Now the Institute and the Commission are incorporating national satellite data and vision foundation models for improved accuracy and analysis via AI. It is also incorporating a large language model approach, which will make the tool more accessible for non-technical users. The underlying model will be available for public download when completed later this spring.

BuildData adopts Zutec brand

BuildData Group, the owner of Createmaster, Createmaster Information Management (formerly Bond Bryan Digital) and Resi-Sense, has changed its name and that of each of its businesses to Zutec.

Operating as one brand, Zutec now offers document management, quality management, handover management and asset management. The solutions have been adopted by more than 500 customers, including Kier Group, Taylor Wimpey, Cairn Homes, Peabody and Greystar.

SymTerra now available

SymTerra, the digital communication tool built for on-site project teams, is now available on Google Cloud Marketplace. The integration offers the SymTerra tool to Google Cloud’s construction, utility and transport customers, enabling project data flow across supply and labour chains for more effective site and project reporting.