Extract BIM requirements with AI

Introduction

A BIM charter, a specification or a parameter table holds requirements written for people. The "Create BIM requirements" assistant has AI read them, lets you decide rule by rule, then produces IDS files that SeveUp App can check on your IFC models. AI proposes, you decide: no rule goes into an IDS without your approval.

The assistant has five steps: "Documents", "Extraction", "Axes", "Rules" and "Compile".

Prerequisites

• A SeveUp App account.
• One or more requirement documents in an accepted format.
• To test the rules before publishing them, a model already imported into the Folder.

Upload a document

Three paths lead to the assistant:

• on the "Tasks" page, the "Generate requirements from a BIM charter" task;
• in a Folder, "BIM requirements" tab, the "Create BIM requirements" button;
• in the "BIM requirements" library while it is still empty, the "Generate from a charter (AI)" button.

At the "Documents" step, enter a "Ruleset name", then upload your files. Accepted formats are xlsx, xlsm, csv, docx, pdf, txt, md, eml, html and ids, up to 200 MB per file. You can attach an existing IDS: its requirements are used as the starting point and AI suggests fixes for you to review.

Before launching, the assistant shows what the action uses from your plan. Then click "Launch AI extraction".

Follow the extraction

The screen shows "AI extraction in progress…" and the elapsed time. The analysis usually takes a few minutes. You can switch pages or close the tab: a notification tells you when it is done. To come back, open the "Tasks" page: the "BIM requirements in progress" section lists your drafts with their status ("Documents uploaded", "Extracting…", "Needs review", "Compiling…", "Compiled" or "Error").

At the end, the assistant sums up the result:

• "Rules extracted", "Conflict groups" and "Source documents";
• "Documents that could not be read" and scanned pages read by OCR, to check;
• "AI review: possible gaps";
• non-IDS requirements, such as deliverables or process requirements, which you can take out with "Export (CSV)".

Click "Review axes". The "Zones", "Disciplines" and "Phases" axes detected in the documents drive how the IDS files are split. Correct them with "Add a code", then "Save axes".

Review and validate the rules

The "Rules" step lists each rule with its status: "Proposed", "Approved", "Rejected" or "Edited". Filter by status, tick "Conflicts only" or use "Search rules…". Each rule points to its source: the page of the document ("p. 12") or the sheet and row of a workbook.

For each rule, choose "Approve", "Reject" or "Edit". The edit form offers six rule types: "Property (pset)", "IFC attribute", "Classification", "Material", "Part of (partOf)" and "IFC class", with the "Severity" and the "Required in the model" box. "Add rule" creates a rule by hand.

When several rules target the same thing with different constraints, they carry the "Conflict" badge: keep one, merge them or reject one.

"Approve all proposed" approves the proposed rules in one go, except those marked "Quote not found": their passage was not found in the document, so check them one by one.

Before compiling, "Test on a reference model" checks the rules against a model of the Folder. Pick it, then "Test the rules". A rule that "Never applies" would check nothing once published.

Compile into IDS

Only approved or edited rules are compiled. At the "Compile" step:

1. Choose the target project. With "None (global library)", the created requirements will be invisible from the library, which is filtered by project.
2. Tick the "IFC versions targeted by the IDS": IFC2X3, IFC4 or IFC4X3_ADD2. With none selected, the IDS targets IFC4.
3. Click "Compile IDS files".

SeveUp App generates the IDS files, validates them with ifctester and creates the BIM requirements. Each file carries a badge: "Passes bSI audit" when the official buildingSMART tool finds no error, "bSI audit: remarks" otherwise, or "bSI audit not run" if the tool did not answer. This check is not a certification: buildingSMART issues none for IDS.

"Open BIM requirements" leads to the library. If you correct rules afterwards, "Recompile" publishes a new version of the requirements already created, without duplicates.

What counts toward the quota

The "Pages read by AI per month" volume of your plan counts the document pages actually read during an extraction:

• for a PDF, each analysed page counts as one page, including a scanned page read by OCR;
• for other formats, SeveUp App estimates the page count from the volume of text: one page per 3,000 characters, rounded up.

Pages are counted when the extraction finishes and proposes its rules, even a partial one. A failed extraction does not count, and compiling reads no page. Running the extraction again reads the documents again: their pages count again.

Each launch also counts as one AI extraction. Follow both counters in "Usage". During the trial, a launch can be refused once the monthly limit is reached. On a paid plan, going over is billed, never blocked.

Limits

• An IDS cannot check deliverables or process requirements: they stay in the CSV export, to track separately.
• A classification rule cannot be checked on the reference model.
• Running the extraction again replaces every rule with a new proposal. SeveUp App asks for confirmation if rules were already approved or edited.
• AI can miss a passage: compare the result with your document.

What can go wrong

“The extraction has not started”

The draft and its documents are saved, but the launch was refused (quota, service unavailable). Click "Retry extraction", without uploading anything again.

“Unsupported format”

The file is not in the list of accepted formats. Save an old Word document as docx, or export it to PDF.

“No requirement was extracted from these documents”

Check that they do contain BIM requirements, or add the rules by hand.

“IDS generation failed”

Your approved rules are kept. Fix them if needed, then run the compilation again.

FAQ

Are rules published without my approval?

No. Only the rules you approved or edited are compiled into IDS.

Can I start from an existing IDS?

Yes. Attach the .ids file at the "Documents" step. Its requirements are taken over and AI suggests fixes, shown next to the original rule.

Does an Excel sheet count as one page?

No. Outside PDF, the count is based on the volume of text: one page per 3,000 characters.