Metadata properties in Model validation

In this article, we will cover how to set up and use property checks for metadata validation.

The purpose of metadata validation is to ensure that property requirements are being met. These could be the requirements in a BEP (BIM Execution Plan) or DDP (Digital Delivery Plan), or a specific purpose, like a quantity takeoff.

How to set up property checks

Create property rules

Property rules are sets of rules applied to objects to verify if information is added and if project requirements are met.

These property rules are set up independently of any disciplines or object groups, so you can use them across all disciplines.

Create a new property rule by going to:

 DesignSelect a buildingModel validationAddProperty rulesAdd

Then, type in the name of the property rule, choose the property that should meet specific requirements, and then specify what exact requirements the property should meet. For these requirements, you can choose between the following values:

• Must exist: There must exist a value for the property.
• Equals (Text): The property value must be a text string that is precisely equal to what is written here
• Equals (Numeric): The property's value must be equal to this number.
• Greater or equal: The property's value must be greater than or equal to this number.
• Less or equal: The property's value must be less than or equal to this number.

In this example, the federated model's walls must follow the BEP, requiring structural wall metadata to include the materials used. In this case, we set the property to 'Material' and the value to 'Must exist':

Create property checks

To create property checks, go to

DesignSelect a buildingModel validationAddProperty checks.

From this new window, you can create and design the property check. Give it a name and choose the discipline for which it should be set up.

Add checks to the disciplines

After you have set up the property rules and property checks, you can apply them to your object groups.

To do this, open the discipline with the defined property check and click  in the relevant object group cell.

Now select all property rules that are relevant for this object group. In this example, walls should be delivered with information about fire ratings, whether they are load-bearing, and their material:

Click 'Save' and the property check is ready to be used in the model validation to validate the metadata.

Validate metadata using property checks

When the property checks have been created and set up, they can be used in the model validation to validate the metadata they have been set up for. 

To use the created property checks, go to

DesignSelect a building Model validation.

Then select the building. From here, you can either run all checks at once or select a specific property check you want to run.

The model will now display all of the objects in the model that don't comply with the property rules. You also get an overview of all the violations for further investigation.

Selecting one of the objects will also display what missing properties it has:

You can then inform the relevant person by creating a comment or editing the properties yourself in the modelling software. To make this even easier, you can also use the Dalux Revit plugin.

Correct the data using the Revit Plugin

After finding the lacking metadata using property checks, you can now use the Revit plugin to open Revit directly to the relevant object that needs to be changed.

First, start Revit and load the model. Then go to the 'Dalux' tab and open up Dalux using the Model Validation button:

With Dalux open, select the right building and file, then select the metadata purpose, as described earlier in the article.

Now, select the highlighted object in Dalux that you want to change and click Open in Revit:

This will select the object in Revit (works in both 2D and 3D) and you can then edit it:

To make it easier to see the object itself, you can use the Selection Box function:

This process can be repeated for as many elements/objects as you want to change.