Resources center - Definition of your data charts

The data quality and governance are two key elements for the success of a digital project (for the building just as for all the other digital projects, in all fields of activity). To prescribe a high-quality data chart as well as an architecture for data governance is therefore a fundamental exercise for your strategy and smart project.

The common models, the common usernames and the naming conventions are prescribed in your chart (BIM chart, BMS naming convention, fire security system, safety, CMMS, room organization...)
The data governance architecture is prescribed in your chapter on the BOS. It defines the BOS's skills and the global architecture of your new-generation building IS

This page focuses on the data chart prescription (BIS chart). You will find the prescriptions on the architecture and the BOS's functions further in the resources center.

The principles and markers of a unified information system

A "unified" information system rests on three principles:

A common indexation basis: unique usernames for each object shared by the whole of the IS or by sub-parts of the IS.
Shared semantics: common Bills of Material (BOM), objects, descriptions and shared attributes
Shared ontology: tree views, graph, shared data organizations

The data chart specifies the basics for the shared usernames, semantics and ontology in order to implement a (digital) quality procedure to build the digital twin of the built environment.

Which projects are impacted by the data chart (new or renovation)?

The guideline for these specifications is that all the systems, applications or data sources which participate in the building administration are impacted by the transversal data governance and therefore by the smart project (BIM/OT/IT).

If we go back to the organization scheme of the smart project (page Organization of a smart project), we can see that all the blue bricks which relate to the IS or the existing data sources in the building are impacted. We can quote for example:

For the applications installed during the procurement & construction phase:

the BIM model
the BMS system
the safety system
the fire security system
the energy management system
...

For the applications installed during the occupant's layout work:
- the room reservation system application
- the IT monitoring system for the IT department
- the application environment for the occupants
- ...
For the applications installed in the operating phase:
- the CMMS of the maintainer
- the IWMS system for asset management
- ...

This diagram shows that each IT system integrator/installer is now part of a more global integration project of a building information system (BIS). It must therefore respect charts, more precise specifications that aim to homogenize the different systems in order to allow for their compatibility, integration and synthesis through the BOS.

The BIM / OT & IT charts

The building's IS (some have been named in the previous chapter) can be gathered into 3 big families:

The BIM model which brings a precise static description of the building
The OT systems (Operational Technology) which correspond with the industrial automation systems that implement the sensors and actuators in the building (BMS, CTM, SCADA, fire security system, access control, IoT...)
The IT systems (Information Technology) that make it possible to manage transaction processes and that are more and more deployed in the cloud (CMMS, IWMS, occupant applications, room reservation calendar...)

We offer 3 chart models adapted to each big application family.

The BIM modelling chart occupies a special place in this data procedure. The BIM model(s) being the support for the precise physical description of the building, the data model of the building model will supply the description reference frame of the building to all the other applications. The BIM model takes on the role that was previously held by the plans by adding the possibility of data management which was not conceivable with the plans. In that sense, the BIM is at the heart of the building's digital transition, as much for construction, renovation as operation. This is the reason why respect and verification of your BIM charts is an essential aspect of the smart procedure and why we start by defining the vital BIM chart elements for the rationalization of your BIS.

The BIM chart

The unique space reference frame

The unique space reference frame of the building's description constitutes the first step in the construction of the digital twin. This step is the most important because this space reference is the foundation of the common data for all the other building's systems. This space reference frame corresponds to:

The descriptive tree view of the building (building / floor / room / structure element or furniture or equipment...)
The whole of the unique usernames and the naming conventions of the elements constituting the tree view
The 3D geometric representation and contextualization in the digital twin of all the elements constituting the tree view.

Seen by a user, this reference frame describes and organizes in a comprehensive manner the physical objects describing the building.

Seen by the data architect of the BIS, this reference frame gathers the "pivot" data of the system to which all the other pieces of information will relate to.

Seen by an integrator (BMS, CMMS, IWMS, room management...), this reference frame is the essential resource at the first step of the integration process: the description of the building and its resources.

All the applications functioning through a building need a descriptive reference frame of the building! Today, all applications offer their own space reference frame, it's specific and limited to its application silo. This does not allow for cross-checking the data between applications and also makes it impossible to create a real evolution towards smart building.

The procedure rests on the convergence of the reference frames and focuses on three main points:

To break the silos, it is necessary to make the space reference frame converge and offer a management tool for the space reference frame
To build this reference frame, it is necessary to rest on the richest and most transverse space description tool. The BIM model is the only technology capable of bringing this description. It constitutes the foundation of the reference frame
To make this convergence possible, it is necessary to motivate the integrators participating in the deployment of the IS to commit to a common procedure of data management. This convention or chart is one of the element that make it possible to obtain this commitment from the stakeholders of the digital building

Modeling the space/rooms

The room-space-units are very important objects for the building's operation. For the use of the BIM at the operation phase and its integration in a BOS, it is asked to respect the following requirements:

All rooms (spaces) are contained in a same type of model (for example the CEA models)
There must be room objects in all spaces of the project:
- - of the building: space, office, corridor, terrace, rooftop, parking lot (one "room-space-unit" per space to park and objects for all parts of circulation in the parking lot), etc.
  - of the outside spaces: delivery zone, green space, circulation, etc.
  - the rooms follow the geometry of the actual space (it is not a simple name tag ) and allows to calculate the surfaces and volumes
The rooms go from the floor slab to the roof slab to embrace all the objects on the flooring (technical flooring for instance, U-bend, ...) and false ceilings.
The sum of the all rooms must equal to the whole project, there is no space without a "room-space-unit".

N.B. on special volumes

The vertical circulations: elevator, stairs... are divided in demarcated units in height by the level of reference and the slab level
The sheaths and vertical passages apply the same rule.

Modeling the systems and sub-systems

For the physical networks:

The physical networks modelled are:

The air conditioning, heating, ventilation and smoke extraction
The plumbing

For each element belonging to the network, a sub-system attribute is required. This attribute has a homogeneous label for all the elements in the network and takes as a value the username of the parent object in the network.

HVAC network example

PLB network example

For the logical networks:

The logical networks are the networks in which the terminals and intermediary equipment are modelled but the connection cables are not. For instance:

The BMS network
The access control network
The video surveillance network
The IP network and the equipment of the IP network
The network of the parking lot signals automatons
The fire security system network

All the equipment composing these networks have to be modelled in the model. For each element belonging to the network, a sub-system attribute is required. This attribute has a homogeneous label for all the elements in the network and takes as a value the username of the parent object in the network.

For example:

For the BMS:

- - Lights
  - Blind (or window of the store is not modelled)
  - Multi-system sensors
  - Wall remote control
  - Air conditioning vent
  - Rabbet contact
  - Opening contact
  - …

The objects possess in the sub-system attribute the automaton ID of the rooms that manage them ("master" automaton).

For access control:

Badge scanner terminals
Connected lock
…

The objects possess in the sub-system attribute the intermediary automaton ID that manages them

For video surveillance:

The cameras
Intercom
…

The objects possess in the sub-system attribute the intermediary automaton ID that manages them

For the luminous parking lot system:

The sensors
Local viewer
Level viewer
…

The objects possess in the sub-system attribute the intermediary automaton ID that manages them

For the fire security system:

The detectors
The sound systems
The alarm devices
…

The objects possess in the sub-system attribute the automaton ID that manages them

For the IP network:

The WiFi access points
The Switch
The routers
…

The objects possess in the sub-system attribute the automaton ID that manages them

The quality chart on data and OT systems (BMS example)

Identification of the physical equipment

It is essential to have parameters that can make the link between the equipment identification and the measure point on the building's network and the representation of this same equipment of the concerned project's model.

In this case, the installer and integrator of the equipment participates in the BIM process and directly parameters its system by either using the BIM username supplied by the BIM Manager, or by reporting the site username in the BIM model. This will translate in the following manner:

the integrator will add or will have the important objects for him added into the BIM model (all the physical objects that he deploys)
the integrator will add, directly in its system, the metadata or the attribute "BIM_ID" to each object from the system's database.

In the example of a BMS:

It will therefore be possible to make BOM imports/exports allowing the BIM model's data and the specific systems' data to be brought together.

For instance, in the BMS frame or of any other automated system resting on a list of measure points:

Use of the shared reference frame

To make the building evolve towards a "smart building", all the IS that you install in the building and that allow you to act or understand your building will have to contain a description of the building, a space reference frame. For instance:

A room reservation system will have to contain a list of all available rooms/floor, of the equipment installed in each room and of the rooms' capacity.
A BMS supervisor will have to offer views per floor level with the alarms and comfort data (temperature...) associated to each room or to each connected piece of equipment.
A fire security system supervisor will have to offer views per floor level with each room's fire alarm

In order to cross-check the information coming from the different systems, it is essential to "merge the database". The proposed method makes it possible to have each system rest on a unique space reference frame (the one created for the digital twin, from the BIM model and maintained by the BOS). Thus, the merge will be automatic. Consequently, it is crucial for the integrators of these different systems to respect a naming convention and use the same usernames as the ones in the BIM model to index, in the system for which they are responsible for, each object with the username of the reference object to which they are associated in the space reference frame.

The goal is to supply the reference frame and its usernames to the integrators for all the other systems (BMS, CMMS, energy management...) to ensure they can associate each object from their database with a physical piece of equipment represented in the digital model. This task replaces the task they already did by associating each piece of data with the name of the object it references in a plan. The BIM comes in to transform a positioning procedure on a plan (drawing) into an integration procedure of a piece of data in a database (the digital twin).

The quality chart on data and IT systems

(example of the CMMS)

Shared reference frame and username

In the same way as for equipment and OT systems, it is required from the IT system integrator to use the shared reference frame of the existing building from the BIM model and kept updated by the BOS in order to ensure a complete compatibility with the building's IS.

For instance, the index base that supplies the unique usernames for the spaces (building/floor level/room) must supply a tag corresponding to the room's username in the BIM model.

Case of an already installed and configured system

For the existing buildings, it is frequent to have already integrated IT systems when we produce the digital twin. It is sometimes complicated to edit the IT system's configuration to add or enrich the objects with the unique usernames from the BIM. Within this framework, some correlation tables can be established. For example :

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