This post explores the potential of big data in building and the data structure built into BuildUSA’s environment that will support and enhance Big Data’s potential
Almost all parties agree that the greatest challenge in big data analysis is the lack of clarity and clean structured data sources. This is absolutely true in the world of building. Immense amounts of data are created in developing, designing, constructing and operating buildings. But the data structures range from messy to inconsistent to non-existent, even within a single building project. Every business, vendor, device, sensor…etc. captures data in its own proprietary manner, and then it is up to the Owner or interested vendor to try and manipulate the multi-sourced data to make it useful. This task is often overwhelming given the fact that the data typically sits in multiple geographic locations, as well as digital and paper formats. For the past 30 years, building innovation has typically focused on new data collection methodologies which, although increasingly proficient, are located within narrowly focused, and siloed databases. Yes, the process is improving, yet again the industry is creating multiple new information silos, that must be spliced together, structured and cleaned to be able to assess and create useful analytics. Much of the efficiency that is theoretically gained is lost in the ongoing need to manipulate data to make it useful. But, more importantly there are immense opportunities that cannot truly be accessed in understanding and operating both new and existing structures that are lost because of the lack of true data structure.
Having spent the better part of 35 years thinking through the challenges in building, one issue has become crystal clear; “how data is created, structured and stored needs to be standardized”. This will improve accessibility to the data for future analysis, and allow people to better understand the impact of their decisions, improve document quality and workflows. In short assisting the project team during construction and staff/vendors during the building’s operational life.
Content developed at the beginning of a building’s life (construction and project documentation) must be organized in a manner that can be accessed, updated and shared across the lifespan of a building, and across multiple analytic and operational functions. This is not an easy task. Developing the “Standards, Templates & Workflows” (STWs) that enable this, just within an architectural document is extraordinarily challenging, let alone all engineering, construction and operational workflows.
A key feature of BuildUSA and the evolving STWs it has developed has been the ability (overtime) to develop and test the STW’s in conjunction with the Syntec Group in real project conditions. The current work is focused within the discipline of architecture, but the decisions being made within the architecture field will apply to and work within all the engineering disciplines. With that said, BuildUSA and Syntec will be reaching out to the engineering community to find strategic partners to expand the capabilities of the current architectural STWs into the MEP/FP disciplines.
A few of key issues that have been worked on and continue to be studied and refined include (but are not limited to):
- What data needs to be collected?
- Where should the data reside?
- What data structure and coding need to be created to hold and identify the data?
- Who should be providing what data?
- What data file formats must be supported to allow the data to flow as seamlessly as possible between different software environments?
- What software must be included within a building’s eco-system to allow sufficient control within the design, construction and operation phases
This work is extraordinarily challenging within a real project environment and both BuildUSA and Syntec made the decision long ago (after more than a decade of efforts, from ~1995-2015) that the STWs that drive BuildUSA, the Prototype Initiative and Optimized Building, had to be developed completely outside of a project environment. Then when various solutions were sufficiently developed and understood, they would be moved within a project environment and tested. This iterative process has been taking place in some form since the mid-1990s but is has been the sole methodology since ~2015.
It could be argued that the building in its entirety represents the largest database that impacts directly on daily human behavior, experience and the quality of life that can be attained. Not only does this database still have no structure as a system, but it could be argued that most folks within the overall building industry don’t have a clue of the potential that resides within their own businesses. They still struggle to develop and maintain their data structure, which represents a tiny, tiny fraction of the industry. This prevents many in the industry from envisioning a different and better future. One could argue that the current digital tools shackle them to a “siloed data” past without the tools and resources to create a better future.
Establishing Standards, Templates and Workflows, (clear protocols STWs) which allow project data captured within the BIM models (sheets, families, details, notes, schedules…) and specifications, needs to be able to be imported/exported into multiple software environments, which provide unique functionality to design, construct, operate or analyze a building, is the critical starting point for buildings future.
That has been BuildUSA’s focus for many years. How to develop STWs within the design and construction environment, so the foundational data describing the building and project, is structured to enable the sharing of data across multiple software apps, platforms and functionalities.
This is the key difference with BuildUSA’s approach and the most current innovation into the building industry. Most other initiatives are focused on singular solutions, often with proprietary data and file environments. With the goal of gaining and then protecting market share, at the expense of creating an eco-system that will solve the challenges building faces. For building to improve, “data structure” is perhaps the single most important area of improvement that needs to be realized.