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Breaking Down Barriers: A BIM-to-GIS Workflow Toward an Integrated City Model

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Description

Join us on an enlightening journey as Khatib & Alami explore the boundless potential of integrating building information modeling (BIM) with geographic information system (GIS). The collaboration between Autodesk and Esri has streamlined the integration process, and delivered tailored solutions to meet the evolving needs of global enterprises. Throughout this engaging session, participants will gain invaluable insights into optimizing workflows and the numerous use cases that open up once the floodgates of data interoperability are open. We'll equip you with the best strategies to use the combined power of BIM for buildings and infrastructures and GIS for districts and cities. Our focus on seamless integration of BIM and GIS data has yielded substantial benefits, facilitating effective communication and innovative applications for stakeholders throughout the spectrum of operations and asset management, and ensuring designs alignment with site conditions.

Key Learnings

  • Learn the power of integrating BIM and GIS in streamlining the facility management activities.
  • Discover the importance of adhering to standards when providing a seamless integration between BIM and GIS.
  • Discover the best strategies and workflows that optimize the efficiency of the project.

Speakers

  • Avatar for Mohyeddine Al-Khatib
    Mohyeddine Al-Khatib
    With a degree in Mechanical engineering, and a background in Construction, BIM consultancy, and GIS, Mohyeddine is involved in managing & supporting Digital projects, including Digital Twins and BIM/GIS projects from early stage into completion for all project life cycles, including establishing business requirements, developing roadmaps, processes, documentation, delivering robust digital platforms, and monitoring implementation through establishing best practices for large scale organizations, and giga-projects in Saudi Arabia and GCC. Mohyeddine has been also involved in managing projects for establishing physical Emergency Operations Centres (EOC), and EOC systems, from concept design to Project Closeout and handover.
  • Avatar for Vijaya Venkata
    Vijaya Venkata
    A client-focused, enthusiastic Design Architect by profession and presently working as Digital BIM Manager at Khatib & Alami Engineering Consultants since 2015. And has been involved in establishing digital processes, methodologies, workflows, and digital standards enabling global offices to work efficiently to optimize results through design and construction excellence for project delivery.
  • ahmad zaiour
    Ahmad Zaiour is the Lead BIM & GIS Specialist at Khatib & Alami. After completed his Bachelor degree in Mechanical Engineering, Ahmad has started his career as a Site Engineer where he acquired experience about the various systems installed in Buildings. After spending 7 years in construction, he had the opportunity to enter the BIM sector where he utilized the capability of BIM to optimize the design of the buildings MEP systems. Ahmad is currently responsible of the delivery of smart cities projects that is based on BIM & GIS integration.
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      Transcript

      MOHYEDDINE AL-KHATIB: Hello, everyone. This is Mohyeddine Al-Khatib, and I'm happy to have you here with us on this session on breaking down barriers, a BIM-to-GIS workflow towards an integrated city model. With me is Ahmad Zaiour, and also this presentation was done with the support of our colleague Vijaya Venkata.

      So about the speakers-- Ahmad and myself actually are colleagues from university and at work. So we both have a BE in mechanical engineering. Ahmad is a lead solutions and products developer. While also we are both from Beirut, he's based in Lebanon, and I am based in Saudi. He's an expert in BIM and GIS integration and developing BIM and GIS standards for large enterprises and organizations, especially in the GCC area. Myself, as well, based in Riyadh, my role is supporting KSA's giga projects, digitization, standardization, and process optimization for engineering activities.

      Our colleague Vijaya is an architect. She is also a digital BIM manager, and she has wide experience working in hospitality and health care projects.

      So about Khatib & Alami, Khatib & Alami is an international multidisciplinary company, engineering company that specializes in design, project supervision in multiple disciplines. Khatib & Alami's core values are integrity, teamwork, client focus, of course, innovation, and sustainability.

      We have offices throughout the region, throughout the MENA and GCC region, from Morocco to India and as well as an office in the US. And our core markets are in architecture, infrastructure, digital services, of course, project management, and utilities and the energy sector.

      Khatib & Alami has around 6,500 employees from 30 different nationalities. It has operated for the past 60 years and is recognized yearly as one of the top 10 companies and engineering companies in the Middle East region, as well as number 31 in the world.

      So about the session, we'll take you through why it is necessary to integrate BIM and GIS. And this integration will take us on a journey. So it's a kind of an unexpected journey. We'll also discuss some aspects of automation, of automating this integration, and then we'll just finish on an overview to go through what we discussed during the session.

      So do we really need to integrate BIM and GIS? What's in it for us? In a lot of projects, we've heard that, and project managers have asked us, why is the client asking for GIS? Why does it take this much effort and time to do that conversion and to develop the GIS data?

      And to be completely honest, it's always about having different aspects of the truth. So the only way to see the whole truth is to bring together all the parts of it, and you cannot see all aspects of a project just from seeing it through BIM or through GIS. And then combining them together, it provides immense capabilities for developers, for clients, for governmental entities to see their projects and initiatives. BIM and GIS can bring together different parts of the truth for a project, an initiative, an operation, activities, and they support strategic big-picture view.

      Through collaboration, Autodesk and ESRI has emphasized the importance of streamlining the integration between these two. And integrating BIM and GIS is not only about creating 3D data, but it takes us to one step towards digital twin and then another step towards immersive reality.

      And BIM and GIS enriches each other with different data. I've heard it a lot that BIM provides content for GIS and GIS provides context for BIM, and it's completely true. And then once that integration is possible, is done, we can actually use it for a multitude of applications, from dashboards into actual applications, web, mobile, or other.

      And we come back to the question, why do we integrate? So we integrate to solve a business requirement or to support a business requirement. And GIS is a powerful platform that allows developing applications and solutions that support different aspects of a project life cycle.

      And enriching this data with BIM unleashes or opens the door for amazing capabilities and solutions. And so through these applications, we can use, during the project initiation, for example, field inspection applications, mobile, or others. You can have surveys, site surveys and actual surveys. We can have a 2D and 3D viewer as well.

      During design, you can have a master plan view. You can have a geodesign review. So basically, you can view your model versus the environment and what's happening there. And as well, you can always see the 2D master plan or a 3D master plan. You can see your data that is combining together with other sources of data, like utilities and others.

      During construction, you can use it for project tracking, again, field inspections, security, workforce planning, permit tracking for the different contractors. And even during operation, you can still use it for, as well, security, health and safety, integrating with ERP systems, with CAFM systems, with a multitude of systems, and even use it eventually for commercial sales and leasing, for example.

      So like pieces of a puzzle, we can take apart every aspect of the BIM model and use it differently. So the sum of the parts, in that case, becomes even more valuable than the whole BIM model itself. You can use the rooms. When you combine them together, you can use them as-- see them as units and then use them, for example, to track energy consumption, to track commercial aspects, to see them as a 3D floor plan.

      You can use the actual floor plans, which is a very nice feature, by the way, when you input a BIM model into GIS or ArcGIS. These floor plans can be a very good input to an indoor navigation application.

      You can use the different 3D elements, for example, security and access control. You can use them for integration with CCTV and see live feeds when you click on a camera and see its live feeds. On the screen, you can see, for example, or monitor the mechanical and electrical equipment and accessories, the status when you integrate these objects with the BMS, and you can even take the asset information itself separately and integrate it with CAFM systems or other systems or Maximo, for example, or other systems.

      So the parts then become valuable in by themselves. And we're not only talking about seeing the 3D model in GIS but then also using its different parts for a multitude of use cases and applications.

      So we talked about basically the why. Why do we need to integrate BIM and GIS? We need to integrate BIM and GIS to extract all of that value out of it.

      But also, that integration takes us on a journey of sorts. And that journey is not only the journey for the integration, and by itself, it's a journey towards a geo-enhanced city model. It's a journey towards an integrated city model where all of the data come together to benefit basically the end users, who can be governmental districts or corporates and commercial.

      And this journey starts from building a foundation, because you always need to start from a strong foundation. And building that foundation can be through developing a roadmap for a number of years-- and then after those number of years, of course, you need to continue working on the roadmap-- developing infrastructure to accommodate all of the data and application and everything; building BIM, CAD, and GIS standards-- and we'll talk a little bit more about these-- modeling the data or creating GIS-BIM data, adding them to a data warehouse, data capture.

      And then all of this combines into a static digital twin that we can also, at a later stage, by supporting, depending on the use cases, link to IoT devices, show in applications, as I said, use the different parts for different use cases, build dashboards, or integrate with IoT sensors towards a live digital twin.

      So we mentioned building the foundation, and building the foundation starts by understanding, what do we really need? And where are we now and where we should be in the future, or where do you want to be within the next few years? And that comes by developing a roadmap that actually sets a direction for us, for the company, for the enterprise, for the corporate aspects to define the current and future needs, the gaps and the restrictions being human security otherwise, set the mission and vision, define the use cases.

      So based on those needs, I would have specific use cases, and those specific use cases will translate into defined applications. And that's done.

      Once you do that, you identify also the technology that you need to do. And then based on that technology, do I have this technology today? Do I have the software? Do I have the hardware? Do what should I procure, and how should I move forward with this?

      And this is all done in a scalable approach. So it's done in phases. We don't have to do everything today because it will cost a lot of money. It will have a lot of effort. And maybe the added value today is not as much as it will cost.

      However, if we take it scalable and we look at where we can really improve and where we can really touch and then start by attacking those areas and trying to fix them in phase 1 and then having that phased approach, it will provide more value in the future.

      So again, part of building the foundation is building the roadmap but also creating standards. And in any area in the world, language is key, and coordination is key. And communication is key.

      And specifically on an engineering project, it is always the case that data changes hands a lot on a project. So you have, from project initiation to design, data is moved from the owners to the designers. And then once the design is done, that data, that design moves hands to the construction team, and then the construction team adds information as build data and others and then move it forward to the operation team.

      And while it's changing hands, if we don't have the same language, a lot can be missed, and this causes a lot of issues when there is no coordination or proper coordination or proper communication. And the note as well here is that, to be honest, BIM and GIS practitioners don't always speak the same language.

      So even with our standards, we need to map BIM elements to GIS, find the common language between the two. And now we are even seeing documentation that are common. Something like a BIM execution plan is now called sometimes BIM and GIS execution plan.

      So again, on that journey, part of identifying your use cases and then building the applications and building the infrastructure and building everything, we need to take into account of what do we currently have as data. So what information do I have today? And that information normally is collected at the start of a project. It is assessed.

      You'd normally have a data inventory. You'd have a data assessment, data inventory. And then based on that, you can identify-- these sources of data, I need to see them in these multiple different ways. And then these sources of data, based on their size, I need to size my infrastructure in a specific way as well.

      And this also would help me to create this application and that application because actually the information is there, and I can utilize it. And some of the sources are here, so CAD, BIM, GIS as well, site scans, site surveys, imagery, tabular data, et cetera.

      Part of the data capture or data collection is actually data capture through scanning, and we all know the usual scan-to-BIM workflow. However, I would like to add or introduce something here that maybe is like a detour from the normal workflow by going through ArcGIS Pro.

      ArcGIS has amazing-- has applications for point cloud that are really easy to use for normal practitioners. And I'm not a point cloud expert, and for me, it was a great added value to be able to see, edit a point cloud data in ArcGIS before taking it into ReCap. And we'll see an example of how that can even optimize our work later on within Revit or other systems.

      So in ArcGIS, you have a number of tools to manipulate point cloud data, simple tools, but they allow you to, for example, reduce the number of points, extract specific areas. For example here, you can see that the rail is extracted from a very narrow part of the point cloud so that once you take it into-- and then you can also reduce the number of points, so the file size is smaller. And then when you take it to ReCap and from there to Revit, the data is easier to create, or creating the 3D models is much simpler.

      So an example here, you can see that point cloud-- now you can use sections, elevations, floor plans after, of course, you georeference the file in Revit to actually create a very accurate 3D model of those elements. And we can have this can be for structural elements or mechanical elements or electrical elements.

      So we talked about the journey starting from the foundation. We discussed the roadmap, the standards, and data collection and the importance of assessing the data and identifying the available data. My colleague Ahmad will take us further on actually designing the proper database that will house this data and also be the core for our future use cases and applications. Ahmad?

      AHMAD ZAIOUR: Thank you, Mohyeddine. Yes, like Mohyeddine said, the first step of the BIM-to-GIS journey is the data collecting. So now the data is-- we collected this data. We need to do the database design.

      But before diving into the database design, we need to define, what is a database, or what is a database? So a database is the physical store of the data, and it is the native data structure for ArcGIS.

      So it consists of feature data sets, as we can see on the right. The feature data set is equivalent to the discipline in BIM. So we have the architectural data set. We have the mechanical. We have the structural.

      And each data set contain a range of feature classes. Those feature classes are equivalent to the categories in BIM.

      So in the architectural data set, we have the columns. We have the doors. We have the parking. We have the windows, the walls. And each feature data set has attributes which describe the characteristics of the data included in the feature class.

      But what is the difference? Can you go back, Mohyeddine? So what is the difference between a BIM database and a GIS database?

      So the main difference is that in the BIM, the list of the categories are static. So the list of categories are similar from one project to another, whereas in the GIS, the structure of the database is configurable and can differ from one project to another, depending on the client business needs.

      So for the database lifecycle, the database development undergoes several phases. So we start by the planning, where we get or we build our design based on the available BIM data, or it can be a tabular or imagery data. And the second factor in building our design is the business requirements and the user stories.

      After that, we go to the design, where we carry the design on different iterations. So we start by the conceptual, which is considered a high-level structure of the database. After that, we move to the logical, and if the logical is approved, we go to the physical, which is the final database structure.

      After that, we go to the implementation where the project database schema is issued and the data dictionary is issued, which is a descriptive document which defines all the components of the database. And we start loading the data that we have to the empty database schema.

      And it is crucial to do maintenance to the database. So we regularly update the database. If an update is held to the database, we have to submit a change request form in order to inform the client that there are some changes in the database. And we need to periodically archive the database, so we back up it from instance to another.

      So for the database design and implementation, we start by the conceptual, as we said, which is a high-level diagram. It used to communicate ideas to several stakeholders.

      And the conceptual database is considered the foundation for the logical data model. The logical data model is a more detailed structure of the data elements, and it includes the relationships between them.

      And it serves as the foundation for the physical model. The physical model is considered the final data model, and it is a comprehensive structure of the database. It includes all the feature classes, all the subtypes, the domains, the relationships, the tables.

      And from the physical data model, we can issue the database schema, which is an empty database. It is used like a template. And we have the data dictionary, which, as we said, it is a document that describes the structure of the database schema.

      So what are the things that we should consider while designing the database? So these are some tips. So we need to take into account that the database cover all the use cases or the application use cases. We need to identify, what are the elements of the BIM data needed for conversion for the GIS? So not all the elements is needed for the GIS.

      We need this database to be utilized to visualize scene layer package, which is a version of the GIS data, which is a light version, and it is easy in visualization. We need to determine, what type of geometry are the feature classes? So whether it is a multi patch-- multi patch is like a 3D object. Or we could represent it as a point or a polyline.

      We need to determine whether we need all the components of a building or only we need the building envelope. So if the case we need only the building envelope, we need to create a feature class for the building exterior shell. We need to determine whether we need to merge all the instances or we need to keep them separate, and we need to know what level of detail we need our feature classes to be on.

      So the database maintenance-- so it is crucial to do maintenance for the database. So the client users need to work with the latest database that reflect the project changes. So if they found the database is not up to date, they are probably-- they will not use it.

      So the reasons why we need to update the database periodically is to adapt with the new client business requirements, new use cases of the applications, ensure that the database can accommodate the new data, support automation, and improve performance.

      Changes in the database can be major changes, like a change in the data set structure or the grouping of the feature classes. And we have minor changes, like adding a field or a domain or a subtype. And it is we need to emphasize that any change in the database should be addressed to the client by submitting a data model change form.

      So now we have our database is complete and is ready to accommodate the new data. We need to build our system infrastructure. So we need to decide whether it is on premise or on cloud.

      The main components of the system infrastructure are the data tier. We have the service tier. We have the application tier and the web tier. So the data tier is responsible for the storage and management of the GIS data. It includes the ArcGIS relational and tile cache. It is used to store feature data and caches it for optimized performance.

      In the data tier also, we have the 3D enterprise geodatabase, which is a centralized database used for storing and management of 3D data. We have the file share, which serve as an external storage for large data set. That includes imagery, vector files, and other geospatial content.

      The other tier is the service tier, which is responsible for hosting and managing geospatial services. It consists of the ArcGIS hosting server. This server will host web layers, such as feature, maps in, and layers. And this provides the processing power necessary to publish, update, and query geospatial information.

      We have the ArcGIS image server. This server is able to serve, process, analyze, raster data, including imagery and point cloud data.

      The application tier is the interface between the user and the system. So it acts like a link between the user and the solution and includes the ArcGIS portal, which provide tools for managing geospatial data and creating web scenes and apps. Some of those apps are ArcGIS Pro 2D, 3D viewer, field map, ArcGIS GeoBIM.

      And for the last tier, we have the web tier, which act as an entry point between the external client applications and the systems. It is responsible for matching the incoming web request to the corresponding server. So the use of multi-tier architecture ensures that the geospatial data is efficiently stored, managed, and processed and delivered to users through a secure and scalable system.

      So now we have the system infrastructure is completed, and we have our database is ready. So we need to start creating the GIS data. And if we're lucky, we can create the GIS data by loading data from BIM to GIS. But if we're not lucky, we shall create this data itself in the GIS for certain cases where we were not able to get this data from the BIM or the CAD models.

      So I'm going to cover the loading of data from the BIM to geodatabase. So here, I need to point out that the conversion of data or loading from BIM to GIS is not just like pressing a button or running a script. So this undergo several steps.

      So we need to assess the BIM data needed for conversion. We need to check that or identify, what are the categories required for GIS? We need to check the categories versus the feature classes of the database match the categories to the feature classes, and if the feature classes cannot accommodate the data, we need to update the database. And if we are able to load this data or the database to host all the data required for the conversion, we need to check if the process can be automated.

      So once the data is loaded and the infrastructure is ready, applications and dashboards can be developed to serve the business use cases that were defined in the roadmap. Now executive stakeholders and users can now leverage the power of applications to monitor, analyze, visualize the data and check the project progress.

      So when we talked about loading the data from GIS or loading the data to GIS, I told you that it's not a matter of running a script. That's true. However, sometimes, we can run a script to speed up the process or automate some of the workflows associated with the conversion. So using Dynamo, Model Builder, and FME can automate the conversion of large data sets, can resolve project issues that usually time consuming if they are taken manually, reduce errors and data loading, and support end users' trust in solutions that are continuously updated.

      So here is an example where we leverage the power of tools. As in one of the projects, we have a building that is repeated several times, and we received this building as a separate Revit file with multi-site locations. And since the GIS only read the current site location-- so we have to save as each location in a separate file. Using Dynamo, we were able to save each instance in a separate Revit file without the need to do it manually.

      So another example for leveraging the power of tools-- here, we need to convert the pipe fittings and pipe accessories, like valves, to GIS. However, in the GIS, those components are represented as 3D points.

      So in order to be able to do that, we need to convert the 3D object modeled in the BIM to 3D points. So using Dynamo, we created the 3D points for the fittings and accessories, and we were able to load this data to the destination GIS database.

      Another use of the tools is the model builder in the GIS, where we created an automated tool that automatically convert several files located in a folder to the GIS. Mainly, it takes the floors and the walls included in those files, and it load them into the GIS feature classes. And it match the parameters with the attributes.

      And it is important, these files, to follow the standards and to follow a specific schema so that this tool will function properly. And now I will leave the floor to Mohyeddine to conclude this presentation.

      MOHYEDDINE AL-KHATIB: Yes. Hi, everyone. Welcome. So as a summary, we've seen how the journey itself takes us from developing a very strong foundation towards collecting data, developing also standards, and then identifying or basically building our database infrastructure and then applications.

      So we can see it, and if we see it this way, we have main use cases that come from projects, commercial projects or governmental projects, that are related to execution or planning, that are related to security or health and safety, facility management, marketing, even for command control centers within large districts or large projects.

      And then these use cases need to be visualized through different ways, and basically, that's your requirement. You have a use case that needs to be visualized as 2D, as 3D, as a dashboard, as an application, as an immersive view, as an XR, AR, VR solution.

      So you would have data sources, geodata sources or data sources that coming from imagery, field survey, scanning, GIS, BIM, CAD, others. These will go through a standards process to make sure that they align with the standards.

      And then data is created, manipulated, converted. It goes through a quality control process. It is analyzed, and analysis is extracted such as heatmaps or other data.

      And then it goes through multiple workflows where it is visualized on different tools, on Azure technology, Autodesk. That data can even be-- also, IFC data that is used within the application.

      This data is housed in a common data environment, and then this common data environment actually integrates with other systems and other IoT platforms through the ESB, through the bus layer so that data is transferred both ways in a secure process.

      And that integration allows us to see everything on applications, on dashboards, and eventually on a platform of the platforms or to give a strategic overview or be at the heart of a platform where-- imagine people sitting in front of a large screen. And they're getting data feeds from everywhere, from a district or from a project. And at the heart, you have your basically digital twin that is built on BIM and GIS, and that has data from both and actually can connect to everything around it.

      So this was our session. I hope that you found it useful. And we try to cover three main learning objectives-- learning the power of integrating BIM and GIS, the importance of developing a unique language between BIM and GIS and between different stakeholders also on a project through standards, templates, and others, and strategies and approaches for BIM-to-GIS workflow. Thank you very much, and hope you enjoyed this session. Thank you.