Smart Proporties

New feature in BIMcollab Zoom: structure BIM data to your needs with Smart Properties

The newest version of BIMcollab Zoom – releasing June 9th – will include a game changing feature: Smart Properties. With Smart Properties, you can re-organize and structure BIM data by creating your own properties and classifications based on existing object attributes. Or map values from different properties to a single new, user-defined property. In other words, Smart Properties offer BIM professionals the opportunity to structure BIM data to their own needs, without the need of authors to change their models.

BIMcollab Zoom’s new feature also improves and speeds up the workflow. Because Smart Properties structure BIM data centrally, they can be used everywhere. For example, to drive Smart views, Clash rules and Lists. Therefore, the data only needs to be structured once and not for every model check again.

Simplify your BIM protocol

As most BIM professionals know, it’s impossible to include every detail in a BIM protocol to prevent modelers from unknowingly making mistakes. When adding data to a BIM model, different languages, abbreviations and typos are inevitable. In order to smooth out these differences, Smart Properties can be defined to get a predictable outcome for consistent model validation.

“With Smart Properties we have raised Zoom to a next level. Users can save time when checking model quality with this powerful and easy to use feature. With Zoom and BIMcollab we are committed to help project teams and BIM coordinators to drive model quality in an easier, cheaper and faster way.”

Erik Pijnenburg, CEO of BIMcollab

Another problem is that values can be found in different attributes for different elements. For example, for one element volume is defined in base quantities, and for another element it’s located under dimensions. With Smart Properties a common value can be created for each element, which will be easier when extracting data.

Create your own classification system

In cases where object properties describe a subset of a model, Smart Properties can be used to create a classification system. For example, the criteria can be set as: walls that are both load bearing and internal, get a new Smart Property value of ’22.2x core structure’.

“Smart Properties will become the new way of structuring BIM data. Regardless of role, the versatility of Smart Properties will empower our users to a new level of driving model quality.”

Gerben Bouthoorn, Product Owner of BIMcollab Zoom

Enrich received BIM data

Another example of how Smart Properties can be used, is to collect components based on a set of values. With Smart Properties you can do this by creating a ‘collection’ based on certain conditions. For example, beams shorter than 5 meters are put in a collection called ‘short’ and beams longer than 5 meters in a collection called ‘long’. This allows BIM professionals to enrich received BIM data according to their needs.

Note that Smart Properties are highly dynamic: when a value changes and no longer meets the conditions, the Smart Property changes as well.

For more information on Smart Properties, visit this page.

Smart Properties are available for users with a Zoom license. You can test all features for free during a 30-day Zoom trial.