An approach of constructing integrated client/server framework for operative checking of building code

"The paper presents results from number of investigation over problem of the using of an integrated client/server framework for an automated code-checking system. The changing nature and the complexity of building codes leads to delays in the design and the construction processes. The designer must assess which codes are applicable to a given project. Through a similar process must go an inspector and there can be inconsistencies in interpretation of a given section of the code between different inspectors. After that, he must sort the codes through potential ambiguity in the code provisions. The process of design checking and approval can prolongs the construction and delays the operation of a facility. Automating this process can alleviate the inconsistencies and delays with manual checking. Most previous studies on the process of checking of building code have focused on the processing of design codes for conformance checking. In the present article is proposed to add additional criteria of a building model. On the base of that are summarized representation of code provisions. The structure and attributes of a product model and building code model needed to provide design information are examined by a code-checking program. This program can read the design data and reorganize the information in a form that can be analyzed and compared to the model of the building code. The building code model is described as a mapping of building code provisions in an object-oriented framework. For automation of the process of checking of a building design for compliance to a building code document is developed a program for analysis of a building design. As a design environment is used AutoCAD. Building model is based on IFC Release 1.5 and on additional layer of building component objects. This layer is created with semantics corresponding to the IFC specifications. The designer during the process of design can send the building model to the code-checking program. A program in Auto Lisp extracts the IFC information from the AutoCAD database and converts the information into IFC EXPRESS file. The building code model is based on the same structure as the IPC project model hierarchy. The code-checking program reads in a stream of IPC data to populate its database of building components. The program reads in a stream from a building code file, which is mapping from the text of provisions of a building code document to an EXPRESS file. The code-checking program is on the server of client/server framework. This program reads in a building code EXPRESS file and populates a data structure containing instances of the building code provisions. Finally, the system determinates if a set of provision is relevant to the specific building component associated with a specific space."