As per 1st of February, after a two-week testing period, we have published our latest ETIM release on to the buildingSMART Data Dictionary platform.

What is the buildingSMART Data Dictionary?

The bSDD is an online hosting platform for data models like ETIM. The bSDD is used in many types of software solutions used by designers and engineers in the construction world and its technically related industries. It is a perfect way to integrate the ETIM data flow into BIM-models.

New enhancements of ETIM-10.0 also serve its purpose in bSDD.

In ETIM 10.0 we have introduced FeatureGroups, which allows users to organize larger lists of ETIM Features. We have managed to transfer these as “labels” into PropertySets in bSDD. When browsing through the online viewer of the bSDD, the ETIM classes now have their Features (in bSDD called “Properties”) grouped according to FeatureGroups.

We have also added definitions for all classes and for Features we have imported the definitions that were added to ETIM 10.0. A complete set of definitions for all ETIM Features has not been completed yet, but this will remain on our to-do list for the future.

Linked Data becomes a reality using the ETIM ontology.

Another cool feature of ETIM 10.0 in the bSDD are the updates regarding “Linked Data”. By linking to other ontologies or ETIM classes, we can provide more connectivity or our ETIM model, unlocking millions of product data records to the BIM community that are made available globally by companies that have adopted the ETIM standards over the last 3 decades.

In ETIM 10.0 we have started to add relationships to IFC 4.3. So far we managed to link 97 ETIM Groups and 491 ETIM product classes (out of 5799 classes in total). Not all ETIM product classes might be relevant to the BIM engineer, but at least all classes related to ETIM MC (a new standard for parametrized generic objects) have been linked. Linking all ETIM classes to IFC requires more resources than we can provide for the moment, but this will also remain one of our medium term goals for the future.

We have also started to experiment a little further with linked data structures around the concept of a door. We have managed to link ETIM classes not only to IFC, but also to other ontologies such as NL/SfB, Waternet, CCI construction and UniClass. And as an icing on the cake we have linked our own classes related to doors to other ETIM classes that share a relationship of some kind. This provides a great study object for the buildingSMART community, which will enable us to gather valuable feedback to determine next steps.

Check out for yourself

You can browse through the ETIM-10.0 classification model using the bSDD online search tool. 
A great starting point for exploring our linked data sample would be the ETIM class EC003535- interior door (complete with frame).

Meet with ETIM International at the buildingSMART summit in Singapore
(march 18-20)

Benjamin Sjölander, Standardisation Manager at ETIM International will travel to Singapore in March to represent ETIM International on the buildingSMART summit. ETIM International, representing a massive flow of technical product data from suppliers all over the world, is strongly believing in connecting that data from the supply chain into BIM projects. Our partnership with buildingSMART International is an important prerequisite for achieving this goal. Besides doing a presentation, Benjamin’s trip will focus on two key areas: exploring potential expansion in Asia and networking with key contacts in the region. He will also be available to discuss our latest bSDD publications and gather feedback.

Upcoming publications in the bSDD from ETIM

Next on the list will be to publish ETIM Modelling Classes as a second data dictionary on bSDD. Stay tuned for more updates.