Visual Code Compliance Checking

Team Members: C. Preidel, André Borrmann

Funding: Nemetschek GroupAllplan GmbH

Running period: 09.2014 - 09.2017

Project Description

In construction industry codes and guidelines are used to standardize requirements and thus secure technical standards to guarantee, for example, the stability, operational safety, material quality and last but not least the safety of the user. For this reason, the conformity checking of a building's design planning about the applicable regulations is a significant process during the execution of construction projects. Digital building methods, such as Building Information Modeling (BIM), provide the possibility to automate this checking process. It is appropriate to use the information already bundled in a Building Information Model for a wholly or partially automated conformity check - the so-called Automated Code Compliance Checking - and thus optimize the entire process regarding effort and costs.

When automating the code compliance checking process, a large number of requirements and boundary conditions must be taken into account to ensure reliable results. This includes, in particular, the representation of any information which may be contained in a standard or code, as well as the legibility of the resulting processing system for both human and machine. The Visual Code Checking Language (VCCL), a visual programming language, meets these requirements by representing the contents of a set of rules using graphical elements. In this way, not only all the contents of a set of rules can be mapped, but can also be read and interpreted, in particular, for editors without profound programming knowledge. The resulting graphical processing system can be understood as a flow of information.

As a proof of concept, the VCCL was implemented as a plugin for the cloud service bim+. In an editor, the editor can first define a graph with the help of the VCCL and thus a verification process according to his individual requirements. Afterward, the checking process can directly be applied to a model, stored in the online environment. The VCCL graph is generic so that it is not dependent on a particular building data model, but can be flexibly applied to any model. During the verification process, the user can, if required, make textual and visual samples for each process step, represented by individual graphic elements, so that the plausibility of the overall process can also be checked and thus ensured.

Access to data objects of the building data model using the VCCL

Investigation of a building model with regard to a German fire safety code

Publications

2023

  • Wu, J.; Nousias, S.; Borrmann, A.: Parametrization-based solution space exploration for Model Healing. Proc. of the 30th Int. Conference on Intelligent Computing in Engineering (EG-ICE), 2023 mehr…

2022

  • Wu, J.; Dubey, R. K.; Abualdenien, J.; Borrmann, A.: Model Healing: Toward a framework for building designs to achieve code compliance. Proc. of European Conference on Product and Process Modeling 2022, 2022 mehr…

2021

  • Drewes, L.; Forth, K.: BIM-integration of sustainable building certification criteria in the early design stages. Proc. of 32. Forum Bauinformatik 2021, 2021 mehr…
  • Stocker, T.: Erstellung von IFC-Datenmodellen für den Holzbau und darauf basierende automatisierte Überprüfung der Einhaltung von Schallschutzanforderungen. , 2021 mehr…

2020

  • Drewes, L.: BIM-integration of sustainable building certification criteria in the early design stages. , 2020 mehr…
  • Häußler, M.; Esser, S.; Borrmann, A.: Code compliance checking of railway designs by integrating BIM, BPMN and DMN. Automation in Construction 121, 2020, 103427 mehr…
  • Siebenhütter, K.: Entwicklung einer Methode zum Festhalten des Standes von geprüften Bauwerksmodellen. , 2020 mehr…

2019

  • Winkelbauer, T.; Hiebenthal, T.; Esser, S.; Barutcu, B.; Vilgertshofer, S.; Borrmann, A.: Projekt RIMcomb: Entwicklung neuer digitaler Methoden im Bereich BIM für die Ausrüstungstechnik. Signal+Draht 111 (09/2019), 2019, 12-18 mehr…

2017

  • Hudeczek, D.: Formalisierung von Normen mithilfe von Auszeichnungssprachen für die automatisierte Konformitätsüberprüfung. , 2017 mehr…
  • Preidel, C.; Borrmann, A.: Refinement of the Visual Code Checking Language for an Automated Checking of Building Information Models Regarding Applicable Regulations. Proc. of the ASCE International Workshop on Computing in Civil Engineering 2017, 2017 mehr…
  • Preidel, C.; Daum, S.; Borrmann, A.: Data retrieval from building information models based on visual programming. Visualization in Engineering 5 (18), 2017, 1-14 mehr…
  • Wang, Y.: Analysis of Code and Guideline Contents in Construction Industry based on Text Mining. Bachelorarbeit, 2017 mehr…

2016

  • Preidel, C.; Borrmann, A.: Integrating Relational Algebra into a Visual Code Checking Language for Information Retrieval from Building Information Models. Proc. of the ICCCBE 2016, 2016 mehr…

2015

  • Preidel, C.; Borrmann, A.: Automated Code Compliance Checking Based on a Visual Language and Building Information Modeling. Proc. of the 32nd ISARC 2015, 2015 mehr…
  • Preidel, Cornelius; Borrmann, André; Beetz, Jakob: BIM-gestützte Prüfung von Normen und Richtlinien. In: Borrmann, André; König, Markus; Koch, Christian; Beetz, Jakob (Hrsg.): Building Information Modeling. Springer Fachmedien Wiesbaden, 2015, 321-331 mehr…
  • Ritter, F.; Preidel, C.; Singer, D.: Visuelle Programmiersprachen im Bauwesen - Stand der Technik und aktuelle Entwicklungen. Proceedings of the 27th Forum Bauinformatik, 2015 mehr…