Advancing Semantic Enrichment Compliance in BIM: An Ontology-Based Framework and IDS Evaluation

As BIM projects grow in volume and complexity, automated Information Compliance Checking (ICC) is becoming essential to meet demanding regulatory and contractual requirements. This study presents novel controlled vocabularies and processes for the management of information requirements, along with a structured evaluation of the Information Delivery Specification (IDS) and its associated tools. The controlled vocabularies are important as they provide support to standardization, information retrieval, data-driven workflows, and AI integration. Information requirements are classified by input type and project interaction context (phase, origin, project role, and communication), as well as by applicability (data management function, model granularity, BIM usage, and checkability). The ontology comprises seven categories: identity, geometry, design/performance, fabrication/construction, operation/maintenance, cost, and regulatory category, each linked to verification principles such as uniqueness and consistency. This enables systematic implementation of validation checks aligned with company and project needs. We introduce three ICC workflows in relation to the BIM authoring tools (inside, outside, and hybrid) and suggest key criteria for the functional and non-functional evaluation of IDS tools. Empirical results from a real project using five IDS tools reveal implementation issues with the classification facet, regular expressions, and issue reporting. The proposed ontology and framework lay the foundation for a scalable, transparent ICC within openBIM. The results also provide ICC process guidance for practitioners, a SWOT analysis that can inform enhancements to the existing IDS schema, identify possible inputs for certification of IDS tools, and generate innovative ideas for research and development.