SFPE Foundation Announces New Report: BIM

March 18, 2024: GAITHERSBURG, Maryland – The SFPE Foundation, a charitable organization dedicated to enhancing the scientific understanding of fire and its interaction with the social, natural, and built environments, proudly announces a new report that examines Building Information Modeling, commonly known as BIM, in relation to the fire engineering landscape.  

The Integration of Building Information Modeling with Fire Protection Systems, Software, and Workflows is the culmination of a year-long research project led by Stephen B. Roth, PE, President and Chief Technology Officer of Carmelsoft. When the Foundation awarded a research grant to Roth, he set out to investigate BIM software tools and schemas available to fire engineers (FEs).  

Through interviewing over 40 stakeholders, Roth learned that improvements could be made to software, data, and interoperability to enhance the design experience and expand BIM adoption amongst FEs. Roth’s recommendations include that equipment manufacturers design more usable Revit families and that updates be made to the IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) schema for better interoperability. The report also explores the future of BIM in fire engineering, which includes adoption of artificial intelligence tools and digital twins of physical buildings for smarter firefighting.  

Accompanying the report is a supplementary User Guide that includes expectations and recommendations on overcoming some of the workflow bottlenecks that occur when fire engineers are using FE-related software tools. Readers who wish to focus on the practical application of the research should check out the User Guide first. 

“This research highlights the need for the fire engineering community to align efforts and collaborate with a diverse array of stakeholders to ensure greater adoption of BIM,” stated Leslie Marshall, Ph.D., Director, SFPE Foundation. “The SFPE Foundation remains committed to advancing the science around Building Fires and Fire Service needs, as prioritized in the SFPE Research Roadmap, as well as Digitalization, Artificial Intelligence, & Cybersecurity, as outlined in the Grand Challenges Initiative white papers published by the Foundation in 2023.” 

Access the full report and user guide on the SFPE Foundation website.