Development of the IFC Schema Extension Methodology for Integrated BIM

Although increasingly more projects and industries use Building Information Modeling (BIM) worldwide, the application of BIM is difficult and limited due to problems related to information exchange and interoperability. Accordingly, a neutral format called Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) was developed to enable information exchange between fields. However, it still has a gap with objects in various fields due to the nature of IFC structure. This study, therefore, presents an IFC Schema extension methodology applicable in each field by analyzing various cases and expanding the Entity so that the integrated BIM can be utilized. The case of extending Entity for the generation and extension of the current IFC Schema was analyzed. Through WBS analysis and specific establishment, the common point of extending Entity matched to IFC Schema was found. In addition, a methodology to extend Entity by matching with IFC Schema stage and general matching structure system were derived. This study is significant in that it can promote collaboration between the architecture field and other fields based on BIM through this methodology and matching structure system. The efficiency of using BIM is expected to be maximized.