IFC standard for Project Management and beyond

DimitrisDimitris
edited July 2025 in General

I'm gonna leave this picture here and ask you how beautiful it is....
Not for the beauty of the colors or design or the visual it self, but instead of the beauty of the standard it self, the tools that allow you to work with it and explore the untapped potentials.

How many of you have considered using the standard for :

  • Construction Work Situations
  • Project Controls
  • Resource Quantity take off
  • Earned Value Analysis
  • Getting the site personnel involved in BIM for their specific use case
  • Time Series analysis
    All of these generated and processed natively in IFC
Tagged:
steverugiMassimowalpaatomkarincaGerardT

Comments

  • steverugisteverugi
    edited July 2025

    @Dimitris
    amazing stuff! this is gold in project management (and it's IFC compliant..)
    it would be nice if you could share the workflow to produce such a beautiful S-curve chart
    or at least the basics
    thanks a lot

  • DimitrisDimitris

    @steverugi said:
    @Dimitris
    amazing stuff! this is gold in project management (and it's IFC compliant..)
    it would be nice if you could share the workflow to produce such a beautiful S-curve chart
    or at least the basics
    thanks a lot

    @steverugi

    Thank you, yes I intend to provide the workflow as soon as I finish the use case
    Keep you posted

    RoelsteverugiatomkarincawalpaNigelShegs
  • theoryshawtheoryshaw

    i wish i knew what i was looking at. ha.
    looks cool though. :)

    steverugicarlopavNigelbruno_perdigaoDimitrisSamppa
  • DimitrisDimitris

    Still working on the POC and I would like to share with you the following resources.
    I am using IDS for schedule and task data validation and I would like to get your opinions on other type of properties that in your opinion would be good to be included in the data validation test.
    please find bellow the IDS file as well as a printout from the test in a small example.
    One thing that I could observe is that the entityTaskTime doesnt include a GUID so when having a report from IDS you cannot quite identify for which task is the entity TaskTime refering to. To get around this I have populated the TaskTime name with the task GUID it is refering to so the IDS report and in extension the BCF report have identifiable task entities where the issues rely.

    Really looking forward into your thoughts.
    Thank you

    steverugi
  • steverugisteverugi
    edited August 2025

    @Dimitris

    you cannot quite identify for which task is the entity TaskTime refering to.

    did you try with model.get_inverse(task_time) ? it returns all entities with inverse relationship

    since there is only one IfcTaskTime assigned to an IfcTask in the returned list, you can match it with the following (tested) script:

    import ifcopenshell
f = ifcopenshell.open("model.ifc")
def task_from_tasktime(model, task_time):
    return next((e for e in model.get_inverse(task_time) if e.is_a("IfcTask")), None)

    then you can test it with:

    tt = f.by_type("IfcTaskTime")[0]
task = task_from_tasktime(f, tt)
print(task)

    as reported in the function explanation it could be a slow process but maybe practical in this case?

    PS credit to ChatGPT5 for the pythonic simplification of the function

  • steverugisteverugi

    I'm not sure you can use allow_duplicate=False to return a set, to avoid the is_a("IfcTask") but might be worth a try?

    def task_from_tasktime(model, task_time):
    inv = model.get_inverse(task_time, allow_duplicate=False)
    return next(iter(inv), None)  # returns the single IfcTask or None
  • DimitrisDimitris

    Hi @steverugi thank you for your input,
    With IfcOpenShell you can achieve this, however I was referring to IDS as means of validation.
    Unfortunately from what I understand IDS at the moment (maybe in versions to come?) doesn't support inverse relations to be defined in the applicability facet.

    steverugi
  • DimitrisDimitris

    As mentioned above,

    The workflow has been presented at the buildingSMART Romanian Chapter where I had the opportunity to showcase this among others to @SigmaDimensions
    Bonsai Scheduling and Costing Workflow from resource built ups

    MassimosteverugitheoryshawJohnwalpaBimETS
  • DimitrisDimitris

    Hi everyone,
    I have crafted a panel for Bonsai on the 3D view to help with the Task information Classification and assigned Actors
    you can grab the script for the repo for testing
    https://github.com/DimitriosThe/Bonsai-Bim/blob/main/README.md

    If you want to upvote the feature
    https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/issues/7427
    What you can do with the Panel:

    • View Selected Task information
    • Task Name
    • Task Description
    • Task Classification (if any)
    • Currently assigned actors to the Task
    • Actor Name and Description
    • The underlying Person or Organization representing the Actor
    • Actor Classifications
    • Existing actors in the loaded file along with any Classification
    • You can also Un-assign the actor from the task and reassign another by selecting from the list of available
    steverugiJanFMassimoShegsJohnwalpaBedsonDavidEemiliotasso
  • DimitrisDimitris

    WIP Update


    So as you will observe I've gone a lil bit further

    Now you can see further more information about the task and the resource assigned to the task.

    You can:

    • See cost per U.M. of the assigned resource of the task

    • Assign Resource Actor (which will generate also a new Actor specific resource and replace the assigned resource of the task to reflect the actor)

    • Unassign Resource actor (WIP to get the resource back to the "Actor neutral State" and assign that to the task

    Next step is for the panel to assign and unassign Actors on the resource level by selecting a resource and assigning the Actor
    TBC

    falken10vdlkmnoffShegsMassimowalpasteverugiJohn
  • DimitrisDimitris

    WIP Update
    grab the version from : https://github.com/DimitriosThe/Bonsai-Bim/tree/main
    Upvote (Thumbs up): https://github.com/IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell/issues/7427

    BL_PNL_ACT_TASK_ACTOR_.py

    ####
    Shows:

    • highlighted (selected) task info,
    • task Classification,
    • Task resource (if any)
    • Task resource base cost
    • Task actor Name,
    • Task actor Description
    • Task Actor Organization ("representing" the Actor),
    • Task Actor Classification References
    • Task Resource Actor Name
    • Task Resource Actor id
    • Task Resource Actor Organization
    • Selected Resource Name (From the resource panel)
    • Selected Resource id
    • Selected Resource Name Base Cost
    • Selected Resource Actor
    • You can Assign and unassign a resource actor
      • By assigning an Actor it creates a new actor specific resource build-up
      • if the resource is assigned to a task it creates a copy of the resource for the specific actor and re-assigns the new actor resource to the task
      • If the resource has an actor allready then it creates a new resource for this actor and re-assigns the new resource to the Task and re-assigns the actor to the task
      • When Unassigning Resource Actor:
        • If the resource is assigned to a Task it Looks up for resource build up from the existing resources with the similar name that do not have an Actor. If found it unassigns the Actor from the resource, Unassigns the existing resource from the Task, Assigns the matched resource to the Task
        • If the resource is not assigned to a Task , it un assigns the Actor
    • Actors in file
      • List of existing actors in the file, along with their classification reference and Description
      • Option to import Actors from a csv file and selectable option to Update the actors imported from the file vs the existing ones
    • Selected Actor information
      • Actor id
      • Descrioption
      • Classifications

    falken10vdlMassimowalpaJohn
  • DimitrisDimitris

    The previous panel might in its own way be somewhat confusing when someone considers that an Actor can be applied to a Task, a Resource, or even an Object

    As such and to limit the confusion I've made a simplifying form in which the Actors are assigned at the Task level only.
    grab it at : https://github.com/DimitriosThe/Bonsai-Bim/tree/main/actors_tasks

    And as so you now have the following features:

    • See the current file actors

    • Select them from a list to show further information, such as :

      • id
      • Description
      • Classification

    • By selecting the actor, the "Actor Task Assignments" panel is populated with the tasks the selected actor is assigned to

    • By selecting one of the tasks in the list you have the option to unassign the Actor
    • and by pressing the "button" you are transferred in the workshedule task for further editing of the Task
    • In the "Unassigned ActorTasks" panel, by pressing the find Unassigned Tasks, the list is populated per workschedule and presents the Task that have No Actor Assignments

    Further developing this panel could provide a nice use-case for Construction management of subcontractors where also references to Contract documents could be also populated for each subcontractor/ task from within the model

    let me know what you think

    Cheers,

    Massimowalpa
  • DimitrisDimitris

    I have been contemplating the idea of data drops with respect to Construction/ Project Management, and as such placed the following question:

    What if you could exchange Costing and Scheduling Data without the Geometry using the IFC Standard?

    Quick answer : Yes , you can by tweaking
    The IfcPatch and Extract Elements recipe is the solution and as such I have tweaked it to serve this scope. See the example that follows:

    So here we have a project that includes resource buildups. The idea would be to be able to extract only these resources and share them as a library for resources to be used on other projects

    As such by applying the IfcPatch Extract Elements recipe with the query IfcConstructionResource (of course the query can be further optimised for specific resource buildups etc)

    we get the extracted elements file that:

    Include only the resource builtups without any geometry, however with all the necessary properties and information (Classifications, Property Sets, Productivities etc). The generated file can then be used as a Project Library to "transfer" these resource buildups to other projects to be used.

    And here is the result for the Cost Schedule :

    Again the resulting file contains the Cost Schedule with all the Resources and Products and their Properties assigned to the Cost Items , however without any Geometry. Where can this be useful? Well I can quickly think of the following uses:

    • Cost Budgets Data Drops
    • Standardised Cost Breackdown Structures
    • Specific Information Exchanges
    • Project Library with respect to Cost Buildups
    • Project Costs benchmarking files

    And the following is the WorkSchedule example:

    In the Workschedule file you have the Resources, Products assigned, Calendars, Task Relations, Task Property Sets and Elements Property Sets

    Uses:

    • Specific Information Exchanges
    • Schedule snapshots with task completions populated (SIte Progress snapshot)
    • Library for standardized work schedule structures

    I would like to have your comments / ideas on the aforementioned and if you find them usefull as a feature in Bonsai.
    Cheers

    JanFsteverugiwalpaatomkarincaEnzoA7
  • steverugisteverugi

    @Dimitris
    yes, IFC as cost/plan schedule exchange format (beyond their underlying geometries) is something that deserves much more popularity or a simple app on its own
    thanks

    walpa
  • DimitrisDimitris

    @steverugi said:
    @Dimitris
    yes, IFC as cost/plan schedule exchange format (beyond their underlying geometries) is something that deserves much more popularity or a simple app on its own
    thanks

    Thank you @steverugi ,

    There is so much potential, and I would really like to see more people getting interested in implementing Costing, Scheduling and Resource management workflows within Bonsai, getting ideas and opinions pushing the envelope in an integrated lifecycle approach of using OpenBIM in AECOM industry.

    MassimosteverugiwalpaNigelEnzoA7
  • DimitrisDimitris

    FYI
    For those who are interested in giving it a try on the mentioned above 'extract elements' recipe, you can do so by installing https://github.com/falken10vdl/bonsaiPR/tree/v0.8.5-alpha2603120735 from @falken10vdl bonsaiPR

    Cheers,

    steverugi
  • DimitrisDimitris
    edited March 23

    Next up Resource Requirement Graph

    Having all these information imbedded within the file one can start utilizing them for representations of resource graphs either for 'Construction Phase' or even 'Operation Phase' of assets.

    As such the resulting graphs can help actors realize the resource requirements at any given point in time throughout these phases any validate against real site/ operational conditions.

    This of course is the precursor for resource leveling and resource smoothing activities as well as LOB graphs and Schedule tasks clashing rules

    EnzoA7Roel
  • DimitrisDimitris
    edited April 6

    Actor assignment, Construction Management and Scheduling
    Below is a demo of a POC for information grabbing from Construction Management processes and importing information to the Work Schedule as well as populating Construction Processes Documentation through the Standard

    https://canva.link/a77drpi1g8j4z51

    MassimoNigelsteverugiwalpaEnzoA7
  • DimitrisDimitris

    Following recent days I have been thinking on a panel for Bonsai with regards to model validation for Costing (and in the near future Schedule) use case / workflows.
    As such I have been working on such a panel that would be quite beneficial in my perspective for the said use case.

    What is included?

    • Quantity Psets validation for their existence in IfcBuildingElements
    • Material existence
    • Classification reference existence
    • Geometry representation of 'Body' type
    • Geometry generation validation through ifcopenshell.geometry module
    • Cost Breakdown Structures (CBS) generation from templates using spatial decomposition, attributes, materials classifications, properties etc
    • Generation of groups of elements corresponding to the cost items so that you can return once you have decided on the measurement method of the cost item
      I have uploaded a video showcasing these features.
      Would appreciate the feedback

    MassimosteverugiEnzoA7walpa
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