Nikken Sekkei and Nippon Sekkei Jointly Develop and Release “STB-DiffChecker,” an ST-Bridge Data Consistency Verification Tool for Structural Analysis and BIM Data, Free of Charge
PRESS RELEASE
2021.03.24
Nikken Sekkei Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: President and CEO Atsushi Omatsu) and Nihon Sekkei Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: President and CEO:Atsushi Shinozaki) are releasing “STB-DiffChecker,” a jointly developed application designed to streamline the verification of consistency between analysis data and BIM data in structural design using “ST-Bridge”*1—a standard format for exchanging information in the field of architectural structural design in Japan—free of charge.
*1: buildingSMART JAPAN, a general incorporated association; https://www.building-smart.or.jp/meeting/buildall/structural-design/
To date, Nikken Sekkei and Nihon Sekkei have been working to establish new workflows utilizing BIM.
Through this technical collaboration, we have developed an application that automatically verifies the consistency between structural analysis data and BIM data via ST-Bridge, the standard format for the architectural structural engineering field. This will improve the quality of data used in structural design and enable more efficient workflows.Furthermore, we will make all information—including the application’s source code—publicly available free of charge, and we will explore ways to promote the use of ST-Bridge for consistency checks within the industry and to prepare for future electronic submissions.
Nihon Sekkei and Nikken Sekkei will continue to advance collaboration in non-competitive areas of architectural structural design and contribute to the development of BIM utilization in Japan.
The features of this new application, “STB-DiffChecker,” are listed below.
*1: buildingSMART JAPAN, a general incorporated association; https://www.building-smart.or.jp/meeting/buildall/structural-design/
To date, Nikken Sekkei and Nihon Sekkei have been working to establish new workflows utilizing BIM.
Through this technical collaboration, we have developed an application that automatically verifies the consistency between structural analysis data and BIM data via ST-Bridge, the standard format for the architectural structural engineering field. This will improve the quality of data used in structural design and enable more efficient workflows.Furthermore, we will make all information—including the application’s source code—publicly available free of charge, and we will explore ways to promote the use of ST-Bridge for consistency checks within the industry and to prepare for future electronic submissions.
Nihon Sekkei and Nikken Sekkei will continue to advance collaboration in non-competitive areas of architectural structural design and contribute to the development of BIM utilization in Japan.
The features of this new application, “STB-DiffChecker,” are listed below.
Verifying the Consistency Between Analysis Data and BIM Data Using “ST-Bridge”
In the structural design workflow, structural analysis data and BIM data differ in their intended purposes and the scope of analysis, so they must be handled separately and in parallel. As a result, verifying consistency between these two types of data has traditionally been a time-consuming process.By using this application to automatically verify the consistency of structural analysis data and BIM data—each exported as “ST-Bridge” files—it is possible to improve work efficiency and reduce human error.
[Illustration of Business Workflow and Application Mapping]
*2: BIM Promotion Council for the Construction Industry, Guidelines on Standard BIM Workflows and Implementation Strategies in the Construction Sector (1st Edition)
Main Overview of the Application
● “STB-DiffChecker”
- Compare the ST-Bridge data generated from the analysis data and the BIM data, respectively
- Allows for setting tolerance limits in alignment checks
(e.g., error checks for node coordinates due to beam deflection) - You can filter by each reconciliation result item and each evaluation criterion.
- You can export the reconciliation results to an Excel file
- Available at: Released for free on the software development platform "GitHub"
https://github.com/NS-NS/STB-DiffChecker - Compatible with ST-Bridge ver. 2.0.1
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