Software Certification

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Development of a New Three Tier Software Certification Program

The buildingSMART Software Certification Program provides validation for implementation of standards and solutions based on Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and in the future BIM Collaboration Format (BCF) and possibly other standards.

The service helps software vendors and users evaluate the quality of their IFC and BCF workflows.

In 2022 the Software Certification Program is undergoing a redevelopment. A Software Certification Market analysis has been performed and the conclusions are being processed into a new IFC Software Certification setup. There will be multiple options for certification and validation of IFC data and software.

In parallel the Software Certification program will be extended with BCF Certification. A complete overview of the upcoming certifications is shown below:

For more information, please contact technical@buildingsmart.org

Current MVD based Software Certification for IFCs

buildingSMART has two active software certification services to match two previous versions of its standards that are in use. These are commonly known as IFC2x3 (introduced in 2010) and IFC4 (introduced in 2016). The certifications for each address specific end-user functionality requirements. These use-case based requirements are stored in (base)MVDs with specific exchange requirements inside the MVD.

More info about MVD based software certification can be found on b-cert.org. Current participants are listed here or here.

Current software certifications available

IFC2×3 Coordination View Certification

Information about IFC2x3 coordination view certification can be found on this page.

Export of IFC2x3 files tests the following exchange requirements:

  • Architect model
  • Structure Engineer model
  • Building Service Engineer model – Import

All three exchanges must be supported while the importing application deals with it according to its purpose and functionality.

Data-roundtrip is not included in this view definition and therefore is not tested by this certification.

IFC4 Reference View and Design Transfer View Certification

IFC4 is in the early stages of development and adoption. Based on the experience with Coordination View 2.0, IFC4 Certification has been split into two more specific view definitions to better support the purpose of IFC data exchange.

Reference View

Purpose: Support the coordination of the planning disciplines architecture, structural analysis and building service. Especially support clash detection and resolution of issues resulting from geometry. This can be understood as a CV2.0 with slightly reduced and more focused range.

Information about IFC4 Reference view certification can be found on b-cert.org.

These view definitions do not cover data-roundtrip.

Current participants are listed here or here.