The central research question of the AIA4ALL project was: How can AIA and BIM execution plans (BAP) be structured, standardized, and digitized in such a way that they are machine-readable, interoperable, and automatically verifiable?

The digitization of the construction industry requires clearly defined, structured, and verifiable information requirements as a basis for model-based planning and execution processes. In practice, however, client information requirements (AIA) are predominantly created as text-based documents that are neither sufficiently standardized nor machine-readable. This results in media breaks, room for interpretation, and increased coordination effort, while the potential of automated model checks remains untapped. Against this background, the AIA4ALL project addressed the central research question of how AIA and BIM execution plans (BAP) based on them can be structured and digitized in such a way that they are modular, standardized, interoperable, and automatically verifiable.

The initial situation was characterized by a heterogeneous landscape of guidelines, sample templates, and project-specific solutions. Although established AIA templates exist, for example in the buildingSMART environment, there is often a lack of clearly structured, use case-based information requirements with clear assignment to project phases, roles, and model content. Information requirements are often maintained separately from the actual AIA documents in tables or proprietary systems. At the same time, open standards such as IFC, the buildingSMART Data Dictionary (bSDD), and particularly the Information Delivery Specification (IDS) provide the technical basis for machine-readable specifications, but these have so far only been implemented to a limited extent in practice.

The aim of the project was therefore to develop open, modular, and machine-readable AIA, to structure it systematically along concrete use cases, and to provide a digital platform that supports the creation, editing, and export of AIA and BAP. The focus was on developing a web-based solution that combines textual requirements with structured data models and enables exports in human- and machine-readable formats, including IDS.

Methodologically, AIA4ALL was initially based on a systematic analysis of existing AIA documents from literature and practice, as well as on expert interviews with representatives from planning, execution, and BIM management. At the same time, relevant standards and tools such as IDS, bSDD, and existing commercial platforms were examined. Building on this, prioritized use cases—including dynamic thermal simulation, model-based cost calculation, and functional testing of technical systems—were described in a structured manner, backed up with precise information requirements, and converted into machine-readable IDS specifications. The prototype implementation took the form of the publicly accessible platform www.bimbibliothek.at.
The key result was the development of a functional platform that enables the guided, modular creation of AIA and BAP and automatically exports their content into structured data formats. In addition, the IDS4ALL Converter, an open-source tool that converts tabular information requirements into the IDS format, was created. The project shows that use case-based structuring in combination with open standards provides a practical basis for automated model checks and interoperable BIM processes.

There is considerable potential for the future in the further dissemination of the platform, the integration of additional use cases, and its application in demonstration projects, particularly in public construction. AIA4ALL thus creates a robust basis for standardized, quality-assured, and digitally verifiable information requirements in the interests of sustainable and future-oriented construction practices.

Project management

AIT Austrian Institute of Technology GmbH

Project or cooperation partners

• buildingSMART Austria, Zentrum für offene Datenformate und Digitalisierung
• e7 Energie Markt Analyse GmbH
• Plandata GmbH
• Technische Universität Wien-Institut für interdisziplinäres Bauprozessmanagement

Dr.DI.Zucker, Gerhard
Giefinggasse 4
A-1210 Wien
Tel.: +43 (505) 506 591
E-mail: gerhard.zucker@ait.ac.at
Web: www.ait.ac.at