The promise of automated compliance checking. (March 2021) - Amor, Robert
Abstract: The quest to automate compliance checking processes needed for planning, design, construction and operations has been an active research topic for half a century. Literature has provided evidence of extensive research effort, with varying degrees of success, alongside the evolution of computing and supporting technologies. New innovations in theoretical and applied computing, coupled with a strong industry demand, has opened up opportunities that promise to bring this quest closer to reality. This paper reviews evolving approaches for automated compliance checking, addressing challenges in sharing digital architectural and engineering design information, formalising normative provisions as computable rules, and methods of processing them for compliance. The paper identifies current state-of-the-art implementations, discusses challenges faced in national efforts, and highlights future pathways. Highlights: Automated compliance checking approaches have evolved over more than 50 years leading to commercial viability. Open standard representations exist for the built environment and its governing codes and standards. More research in BIM model quality control and data enrichment is necessary. AI approaches can provide consistent translation of codes and standards, but quality assurance is still necessary. Evolving solvers need to better support important concepts in buildings as well as performance-based requirements.