Manage the IDS requirements library

Introduction

The "BIM requirements" library holds your IDS requirement sets. This article covers what happens after creation: versions, exchange formats, the check of the IDS file itself, the automatic check of models and the BCF export of failures. To create a requirement, import a first IDS or link it to a Folder, see Check BIM requirements with IDS.

Prerequisites

• A SeveUp App account.
• At least one requirement set in the library, imported or extracted with AI.
• For model checks, a Folder that contains IFC models.

Versioned requirements library

Open "BIM requirements" in the library. The list shows, for each set, its "Name", its "Type", the number of "Revisions" and the "Updated" date. The Level column says where each set lives: organisation-level requirements show up here automatically.

Click a name to open its page. The info strip shows the number of "Revisions" and "Rules", the targeted "IFC versions" and the update date.

Each new file creates a version, without erasing the previous ones:

1. In the "Revisions" tab, click "Upload revision".
2. Choose an .ids or .xlsx file.
3. The "New version published" message confirms it.

The "Displayed version" selector lets you view an older version, and "Back to latest" returns to the most recent one. The "Reader" tab presents the rules of the displayed version, with a search and a "Required", "Optional" or "Prohibited" filter.

The "Versions used elsewhere" block lists the Folders, models or dashboards that use a specific version. The others always follow the latest version: a new version applies to them automatically.

IDS or Excel import and export

Import. The "New requirement" button opens the "Import IDS files" window. It accepts .ids files and IDS Excel workbooks (.xlsx).

To write your requirements in Excel, click the "IDS requirements Excel template" card. It downloads a zip with the blank template and a filled example showing every combination, with built-in help. Fill in the template, then upload the .xlsx with "New requirement": it is converted to IDS 1.0 and the original is kept.

Export to IDS. In the "Revisions" tab of the requirement page, the "Download" button of each version gets its file.

Export to Excel. Two paths:

• in the list, the "…" menu of a requirement, then "Download as Excel (SeveUp template)": the latest version;
• in the "Revisions" tab, the "Excel" button of a specific version.

The workbook follows the SeveUp template: you can edit it, then upload it again as a new version with "Upload revision". If an item of the IDS has no equivalent in the template, the message counts it and the Avertissements sheet of the workbook details it: read it before uploading again.

buildingSMART validation of the IDS file

When you open the requirement page, SeveUp App checks the displayed version with the official buildingSMART tool (ids-tool). The result shows under the info strip:

• "buildingSMART compliance check in progress…" while it runs;
• "Compliant with the buildingSMART IDS standard (official ids-tool check)." when all is well;
• a number of buildingSMART issues or notes, with the code, the lines involved and the number of occurrences.

An issue means that software applying the standard strictly may reject or misread these rules. Fix the source file, then publish a new version. Beyond four issue types, "Show all N issue types" displays the full list.

This check covers the file, not a model. It is not a certification: buildingSMART issues none for IDS.

Automatic IDS check of models

Once a requirement is linked to a Folder, "BIM requirements" tab, "Add" button then "From library", SeveUp App checks the Folder's models without any action from you. A check starts:

• with each new model version imported into the Folder;
• when you link a requirement to the Folder;
• when a new version of a followed requirement is published.

A notification tells you when it starts, then when it ends. On the model page, the "IDS validation" line of the processing jobs shows progress ("Check in progress: N%"). If no IDS is attached, it says "No IDS".

When the same IFC file was already checked with the same IDS file, SeveUp App reuses the result without running the computation again. Each check counts toward the "Compliance checks per month" volume of your plan.

BCF export of IDS failures

Compliance failures are exported to BCF from the 3D viewer:

1. Open the model in 3D.
2. In the "Coloring" menu, choose "IDS conformity". The "IDS requirements" panel lists each requirement with its failing and compliant objects.
3. Click a failing requirement to export only that one, or keep the full view.
4. Click "Export BCF".

Without a filter, you get one .bcfzip file per model, with one topic per failing requirement and the failing objects selected. With a requirement selected, only that one is exported. An unmet presence requirement gives a topic without a viewpoint, since there is no object to show.

A topic selects at most 2,000 objects, and a file 200,000 in total: the rest is counted in the description. Importing the same export again updates the topics instead of duplicating them.

The button only appears when there is at least one failure. To track these failures as issues, see Manage and track BIM issues with BCF.

What can go wrong

“Excel export not possible”

The IDS contains a construct the template cannot represent. The message gives the reason. Keep this requirement in IDS format.

“The buildingSMART compliance check did not complete”

It will run again automatically the next time the page is opened.

“No non-conformity to export”

The model has no failure for the selection. Nothing is downloaded.

“Model not ready yet”

The compliance computation is not finished. Try again shortly.

FAQ

Does a new requirement version erase the old one?

No. Every version stays in the "Revisions" tab and can be displayed or downloaded.

Do I need to run the check again after each model upload?

No. Each new model version in a Folder linked to a requirement is checked automatically.

Which BCF version does the failure export produce?

The export produces a .bcfzip file in BCF 2.1 format.