About Level of Development
Introduction
The
Level of Development (LOD) Specification is a reference that enables
practitioners in the AEC Industry to specify and articulate with a high level
of clarity the content and reliability of Building Information Models (BIMs) at
various stages in the design and construction process. The LOD Specification
utilizes the basic LOD definitions developed by the AIA for the AIA G202-2013
Building Information Modeling Protocol Form[1] and is organized by CSI
Uniformat 2010[2]. It defines and illustrates characteristics of model
elements of different building systems at different Levels of Development. This
clear articulation allows model authors to define what their models can be
relied on for, and allows downstream users to clearly understand the usability
and the limitations of models they are receiving.
The
intent of this Specification is to help explain the LOD framework and
standardize its use so that it becomes more useful as a communication
tool. It does not prescribe what Levels of Development are to be reached
at what point in a project but leaves the specification of the model
progression to the user of this document. To accomplish the document’s intent,
its primary objectives are:
To help
teams, including owners, to specify BIM deliverables and to get a clear picture
of what will be included in a BIM deliverable.
To help
design managers explain to their teams the information and detail that needs to
be provided at various points in the design process.
To
provide a standard that can be referenced by contracts and BIM execution plans.
It
should be noted that this Specification does not replace a project BIM
Execution Plan (BIMXP), but rather is intended to be used in conjunction with
such a plan, providing a means of defining models for specific information
exchanges, milestones in a design work plan, and deliverables for specific
functions.
In 2011
the BIMForum initiated the development of this LOD Specification and formed a
working group comprising contributors from both the design and construction sides
of the major disciplines. The working group first interpreted the
AIA’s basic LOD definitions for each building system, and then compiled
examples to illustrate the interpretations. Because BIM is being put to
an ever increasing number of uses, the group decided that it was beyond the
initial scope to address all of them. Instead, the definitions were
developed to address model element geometry, with three of the most common uses
in mind – quantity take-off, 3D coordination and 3D control and planning.
The group felt that in taking this approach the interpretations would be
complete enough to support other uses.
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