New Partnership Pushes Interoperability
September 25, 2009
Interoperability seems to be a concern in the construction industry, particularly when contractors are looking to enable the BIM (building information modeling) process and establish an IPD (integrated project delivery) environment.
To help, the AGC (Associated General Contractors of America), www.agc.org, Arlington, Va., has funded the agcXML initiative. The project is based on a set of XML (extensible markup language) schemas that will enable contractors to exchange information between disparate software systems.
Earlier this year, e-Builder, www.e-builder.net, Plantation, Fla., and Penta Technologies, www.penta.com, Brookfield, Wis., were the first to demonstrate the benefits of using the schemas to facilitate data exchange for construction.
Recently, Vico Software, www.vicosoftware.com, Boulder, Colo., and Newforma, www.newforma.com, Manchester, N.H., have announced a partnership to develop integration between Vico Office and Newforma Project Center using the agcXML schema for open data exchange.
The Vico Office Suite is a 5D BIM solution, allowing owners and contractors to share and collaborate on schedule, costs, and other project documents. The Newforma Project Center allows contractors to organize and share project information.
According to Ian Howell, CEO, Newforma, the need to share project information in an IPD environment requires a new approach to the role RFIs (requests for information) and change orders play in the design and construction process. Newforma address PIM (project information management) for the design and construction industry in Newforma Project Center.
This partnership will allow integration from a 5D BIM solution to project information management software.
“Our joint implementation of the agcXML schema as a common framework will allow us to tie the transactional information being captured in Newforma Project Center to our Vico Office suite to quickly determine the cost and schedule impact of changes,” says Mark Sawyer, CEO, Vico Software.