Enhancing BIM quality through information validation: Exploring the effectiveness of information delivery specification (IDS) in the Swedish construction industry

Abstract

The full potential of BIM is rarely fulfilled, due to the information gap between the design and construction phases and the design and management. To increase the reliability of BIM models, buildingSMART created the Information Delivery Specification (IDS), a standard to structure and specify information requirements. The full potential of IDS has not yet been demonstrated due to limited knowledge, awareness, and adaptation, highlighting the need to investigate how IDS can be implemented to obtain higher-quality BIM models. Drawing on qualitative data from interviews and observations from testing IDS in old projects, conclusions on advantages, challenges, and potential improvements associated with the use of IDS have been determined. The results show that current methods of validating infor mation requirements are incomplete as many requirements are not fulfilled. The findings show that IDS is an effective tool to automatically validate information requirements and achieve a higher quality of BIM data. This supports the use of the BIM model during the building’s whole lifecycle. The study also shows the need for increased knowledge and awareness of the benefits of IDS to support broader adoption in the industry. Standardized requirement specifications and classification are also necessary for smoother implementation.