buildingSMART Presentation to DAF Meeting, Adelaide

On the 23 Feb 2007, the IAI's Chairman, John Mitchell, gave a presentation to the Development Assessment Forum (DAF) meeting in Adelaide.

The Development Assessment Forum (DAF) is the development industry, professions and governments working together to lead, reform and harmonise Australia’s development assessment systems nationally.  The DAF electronic Development Assessment Project (eDA) has created a National Communication Protocol for transferring development application information electronically.  This Protocol will facilitate the exchange of information between proponents and regulators in all Australian jurisdictions. 

The Protocol has been developed using the eXtensible Markup Language (XML), supported by agreed non-proprietary formats (file types) for exchanging information related to a Development Assessment.  The developed XML schema is compliant with the “Interoperability Technical Framework for the Australian Government” published by the Australian Government Information Management Office (AGIMO).

The project will not be creating electronic DA systems, but has focused on enabling existing systems and processes to communicate. 

The Department of Industry, Tourism and Resources, through the Office of Small Business has funded 10 projects nationally that will be implementing some component of and electronic Development Assessment (online) solution.  This initiative referred to as the Regulation Reduction Incentive Fund (RRIF), aims to reduce regulation for small and home based businesses at a local government level.  All RRIF funded projects that relate to electronic DA will utilise the DAF National eDA XML Schema.  In total 298 councils nationally have taken part in the 10 eDA related projects.   These projects are currently in the process of being implemented. 

With a demonstration of a pilot eDA system planned at the end of February, it was an appropriate time for the IAI to describe its activity: the specification of a non-proprietary protocol - IFC - for the sharing of building and related land & utilities data. Whereas DAF has been implementing a national system for digital processing of DAs, the IAI has been creating a rich model based protocol for the smart documents attached in a DA submission.

The complementary fit of the two, so far independent activities, could not have been more striking. Some of the technology possibilities:

• An IFC document comprising a model which incorporates all the data and building description needed for either a DA or a BA, such as the systems already in use in Norway, Byggsøk for development assessment, and the Singapore ePlanCheck code checker. Using their equivalent eDA protocols these web-based portals operate 24x7 and radically improve accessability, speed and consistency of compliance processes. Work is also being undertaken by the US ICCC, under the banner SmartCODES
• "Smart documents" such as the PDF format & Adobe's Acrobat 3D application which can contain in a single document structured text, a navigable building model, linked model views (traditional drawings such as plans and sections) etc.

The IAI has invited DAF to the IAI International Summit 22 in Brisbane in November, to meet with Norwegian, Singaporean and US groups already using code checking systems, and a presentation of the eDA work will be included in the Seeing is Believing session of the RAIA National Conference on Saturday 21 April 2007.

For more information on the eDA project follow this link

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