BIM and Linked Data Integration for Automated Compliance Checking: A Literature Review

Abstract

The construction industry is multidisciplinary. It requires strong collaboration and seamless data exchange between all engaged stakeholders across various project phases, including design, construction, and operation. Within these phases, quality and compliance control is essential. It ensures that the project meets requirements and helps identify errors or missing information. However, traditional model control processes, which rely on manual methods conducted by people, are often error-prone and time-consuming. To address these challenges, adopting automated workflows for compliance checking have become crucial to improve overall efficiency and minimize errors in construction projects. Aligned with this objective, Building Information Modeling (BIM) has emerged as an effective methodology for data exchange and collaboration. Despite its advantages, the information contained in BIM models can be challenging to manage and is often overlooked for updates, especially in large-scale projects. Integrating BIM with Semantic Web technologies significantly enhances its potential by enabling more efficient automated compliance checking processes. The primary objective of this research is to underline the potential of integrating Semantic Web technologies with BIM methodologies for automated compliance checking. It aims to provide an overview of the affordances, potentials, and limitations of these technologies within the Architecture, Engineering, Construction, Operations (AECO) domain, offering professionals a comprehensive technological foundation on how Semantic Web technologies can be applied in combination with BIM methodologies. Within this scope, the paper particularly examines the use of Linked Data approaches of the Semantic Web, for automated compliance checking within the construction industry, by conducting a systematic literature review following the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines. The findings highlight four key approaches, namely Web Ontology Language (OWL), Semantic Web Rule Language (SWRL), SPARQL Protocol and RDF Query Language (SPARQL), and Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL). Notably, SHACL emerges as the most extensively adopted and suitable approach for automated rule verification workflows within the broader Linked Data paradigm, as well as being the latest recommendation by the World Wide Web Committee (W3C). However, the existing literature also underscores persistent challenges, including the frequent development of custom ontologies, limited reuse of validation rules, and the absence of standardized constraint libraries. Overall, the research findings demonstrated that integrating Building Information Modeling with Linked Data technologies establishes a robust foundation for extendible and automated compliance verification, contributing to the rapid digital transformation within the AECO domain.

Keywords

• AEC (Architecture, Engineering, Construction)
• Automated Compliance Checking
• BIM (Building Information Modeling)
• Linked Data
• Semantic Web

Otomatik Uygunluk Kontrolü İçin YBM ve Bağlantılı Veri Entegrasyonu: Bir Literatür Taraması

Abstract

Çok disiplinli bir yapıya sahip olan inşaat sektörü, tüm paydaşlar arasında güçlü bir iş birliği ile kesintisiz veri alışverişini gerektirir. Bu aşamalar boyunca kalite ve uygunluk kontrolü temel bir gereklilik olup, projelerin belirlenen gereksinimleri karşılamasını sağlayarak hata ya da eksik bilgilerin tespit edilmesine olanak tanır. Ancak geleneksel, manuel model kontrol yaklaşımları zaman alıcı ve insan hatasına açık olduğundan, otomatik uygunluk kontrolüne yönelik yöntemlere duyulan ihtiyaç giderek artmaktadır. Bu hedef doğrultusunda, Yapı Bilgi Modellemesi (YBM), veri alışverişi ve iş birliği için etkili bir metodoloji olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Ancak, YBM modelleri içerisinde yer alan bilgilerin yönetimi, özellikle büyük ölçekli projelerde zorlayıcı olabilmektedir. YBM’nin Anlamsal Web teknolojileri ile entegrasyonu, daha verimli otomatik uygunluk kontrol süreçlerinin gerçekleştirilmesine olanak tanıyarak bu yaklaşımın potansiyelini önemli ölçüde artırmaktadır. Bu araştırmanın temel amacı, otomatik uygunluk kontrolü bağlamında Anlamsal Web teknolojilerinin BIM metodolojileri ile entegrasyonunun potansiyelini ortaya koymaktır. Çalışma, AECO (Mimarlık, Mühendislik, İnşaat, Operasyon) alanında bu teknolojilerin sunduğu olanaklar, potansiyeller ve sınırlar hakkında genel bir değerlendirme sunmayı amaçlamaktadır. Bu kapsamda makale, PRISMA (Sistematik Derlemeler ve Meta-Analizler için Tercih Edilen Raporlama Öğeleri) yöntemlerini izleyerek bir literatür taraması gerçekleştirmekte ve inşaat sektöründe otomatik uygunluk kontrolü için Bağlantılı Veri yaklaşımlarını incelemektedir. Elde edilen bulgular, dört temel yaklaşımı öne çıkarmaktadır. Bunların arasından özellikle Shapes Constraint Language (SHACL), otomatik kural doğrulama iş akışları için en yaygın kullanılan ve en uygun yaklaşım olarak öne çıkmaktadır. Bununla birlikte, mevcut literatür; özel ontolojilerin sıklıkla geliştirilmesi, doğrulama kurallarının sınırlı düzeyde yeniden kullanılabilmesi ve standartlaştırılmış kısıt kütüphanelerinin bulunmaması gibi kalıcı zorluklara da işaret etmektedir. Genel olarak çalışma, YBM’nin Bağlantılı Veri teknolojileri ile entegrasyonunun, genişletilebilir ve otomatik uygunluk doğrulaması için güçlü bir temel oluşturduğunu ve AECO alanındaki dijital dönüşüme önemli katkılar sağladığını göstermektedir.

Keywords

• AEC (Mimarlık, Mühendislik, İnşaat)
• Anlamsal Web
• Bağlantılı Veri
• Otomatik Uygunluk Kontrolü
• YBM (Yapı Bilgi Modellemesi)

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