Nordic Study of Classification Systems for Infrastructure & Transportation Author: Phil Jackson Version 1.0 July 2020 bSI Document Number: IR-2020-1022-TR Practical Requirements for Classification of Information in Digital Engineering & BIM Report Key Contributors: Knowledge without understanding is meaningless. – Douglas Adams – ‘The Hitchhikers Guide to the Galaxy’ We are stuck with technology when all we really want is just stuff that works. How do you recognize something that is still technology? A good clue is if it comes with a manual. – Douglas Adams – ‘The Salmon of Doubt: Hitchhiking the Galaxy One Last Time’ 2 Table of Contents 1 Executive Summary ................................................................................ 6 2 Conclusions Summary ........................................................................... 6 3 Introduction ............................................................................................. 8 3.1 Background ....................................................................................... 8 3.2 Authors Note ..................................................................................... 9 3.3 Brief ................................................................................................... 9 4 Research ................................................................................................ 11 4.1 Desk Study of Classification Standards and History .................. 11 4.1.1 Related Standards...................................................................... 11 4.1.2 Classification System Implementations ...................................... 11 4.2 Meetings with Organisations ......................................................... 11 4.3 Conversations with Colleagues and Other Projects .................... 12 5 The Digital Information Challenge ....................................................... 13 5.1 Analogue to Digital ......................................................................... 13 5.2 Bridging the Gap ............................................................................. 13 5.3 Labelling Intelligence to Smart Sharing........................................ 14 6 Defining Classification .......................................................................... 16 6.1 What is Classification ..................................................................... 16 6.2 Is Classification Necessary ............................................................ 17 6.3 Classification Principles ................................................................ 17 6.3.1 Taxonomies ................................................................................ 17 6.3.2 Concepts .................................................................................... 18 6.3.3 Enumerated or Hierarchical Classification .................................. 18 6.3.4 Multi-Faceted Classification ....................................................... 18 6.3.5 Example Categorisation, Grouping & Facets ............................. 18 6.4 Critical Criteria for Classification .................................................. 20 6.4.1 Practical, Useable and Understandable ..................................... 20 6.4.2 Sector/Domain Neutral ............................................................... 20 6.4.3 Asset Centric .............................................................................. 20 6.4.4 Digital ......................................................................................... 21 6.4.5 Digital Twins ............................................................................... 21 6.4.6 Support a System of Systems .................................................... 22 6.4.7 Support Full Life Cycle of Assets ............................................... 23 6.4.8 Level of Information (LoX) .......................................................... 24 6.4.9 Consistent Modelling, Referencing and Naming in BIM Applications ............................................................................................. 25 6.4.10 Location & Recognising the Continuous Nature of Infrastructure 25 6.4.11 Discovery of Assets in Point Clouds and Photographs............... 26 6.4.12 Legacy Supporting ..................................................................... 26 6.4.13 Maintained and Freely Available at the Point of Use .................. 26 6.4.14 Global ......................................................................................... 27 6.4.15 Smart Infrastructure Enabling ..................................................... 28 6.5 Support for Cloud/Edge/Internet Semantically Linked Data ....... 30 6.6 Big Data Supporting ....................................................................... 30 7 Why Classify .......................................................................................... 32 3 7.1 Grouping things .............................................................................. 32 7.2 Adding Intelligence ......................................................................... 32 7.3 Intelligently tagging things ............................................................ 33 7.4 Where to find things ....................................................................... 33 7.5 Where things are stored ................................................................. 33 7.6 Naming things ................................................................................. 33 7.7 Uniquely Identifying at Instantiation ............................................. 33 7.8 Templating Properties to Collect ................................................... 33 7.9 Consistency .................................................................................... 33 7.10 Relating and Linking things ........................................................... 33 7.11 Advice on what to store about things ........................................... 35 7.12 Enabling analysis of things ........................................................... 35 7.13 Understanding things ..................................................................... 35 7.14 A holistic view ................................................................................. 37 8 Information Users .................................................................................. 39 8.1 Functional Stakeholders ................................................................ 39 8.1.1 Planners ..................................................................................... 39 8.1.2 Cost Consultants ........................................................................ 39 8.1.3 Designers ................................................................................... 40 8.1.4 Construction Users ..................................................................... 40 8.1.5 Programme and Project Managers............................................. 41 8.1.6 Asset Owners ............................................................................. 41 8.1.7 Asset Managers ......................................................................... 41 8.1.8 Asset Users ................................................................................ 41 8.2 Smart Infrastructure ....................................................................... 41 8.3 Social Interaction ............................................................................ 42 9 Classification Uses ............................................................................... 43 Functional Breakdown ....................................................................... 43 System Breakdown ............................................................................ 43 Component Breakdown ..................................................................... 43 Product Libraries ............................................................................... 43 Quantities ........................................................................................... 43 Cost ..................................................................................................... 43 Value ................................................................................................... 43 Work Breakdown ................................................................................ 43 Asset Maintenance ............................................................................. 43 Asset Operation ................................................................................. 43 Location .............................................................................................. 43 Relationships & Connectivity ........................................................... 43 Process ............................................................................................... 43 10 Classification for Data Modelling ...................................................... 44 10.1 Ontologies ....................................................................................... 44 10.2 Modelling Languages and Techniques ......................................... 44 10.3 Object Type Libraries ..................................................................... 45 10.4 Semantic Web ................................................................................. 46 10.5 Linked Data ..................................................................................... 46 10.6 Is infrastructure industry ready for semantically linked data? ... 47 10.7 Object Type Libraries