As an independent organization, buildingSMART International (bSI) develops authoritative standards for the construction industry, including the two most prominent ones, IFC and BCF. IFC, as an object-oriented specification, was first introduced as IFC1.0 in 1996 and has undergone continuous evolution since then. The current version, IFC4.3 TC1, is currently in the ISO certification process, ensuring long-term usability of the model data.
In addition to structuring data, bSI is also working on international exchange options for product information. The international property server bSDD is based on ISO 12006-3 and the IFD (International Framework for Dictionaries) , a framework for defining classification systems that enables multilingual dictionaries.
The ISO 19650 group of standards specifies process specifications that define the implementation of Building Information Modeling (BIM). This describes the exprocess of information in a project cycle known as the "information delivery cycle". ISO 19650 distinguishes between different BIM Maturity Level. BIM Stage 1 includes the use of 2D CAD planning and 3D models, while BIM Stage 2 provides for the consistent use of ISO 19650 and national and regional annexes. Federated information management is used here, whereby different models are combined into an overall model. Finally, BIM Stage 3 establishes openBIM as the standard for the planning of construction projects.
ISO 19650 divides the time course of a project into two phases, each of which requires a specific information model: the PIM - AIM - Project / Asset Information Model for the planning and construction phase and the AIM - Project / Asset Information Model or Property Information Model (LIM) for the operational phase. These models contain both geometric and Alphanumeric information as well as structured (e.g. geometric models, schedules) and unstructured Information container (e.g. documentation, video clips). In addition, ISO 19650 defines various information requirements, including the Organizational Information Requirements (OIR), Project Information Requirements (PIR), Asset Information Requirements (AIR) and Exchange Information Requirements (EIR), which are intended to ensure that information production corresponds to the overarching strategic objectives.