What are the most common mistakes organisations make when using IFC files, and how should they be used correctly?
The most common mistake is straightforward: designers export an IFC file with no specific instructions, producing a massive, unmanageable file that contains every attribute and geometry element — whether the receiving party needs it or not. The correct approach is for clients to specify exactly which parameters and level of detail are required before the export is even configured, so that the resulting file serves a defined, practical purpose.
According to Eric Bugeja, speaking on the Digital Construction Podcast, the frustration that surrounds IFC in the industry largely comes down to a lack of education — on both sides of the exchange. Neither the geometry limitations nor the data limitations of IFC are well understood by those requesting or those producing the files. The result is a format that gets blamed for problems that are actually caused by how it is used, not by what it is capable of.
What is an IFC file? IFC (Industry Foundation Classes) is an open, ISO-standardised file format developed by buildingSMART International to enable the exchange of building and infrastructure data across different software platforms. Unlike proprietary formats, IFC files are designed to remain accessible for 30 years or more without requiring a specific software version — making them a foundational tool for long-term asset management and interoperability.
The solution is not technical — it is organisational. Before an IFC export is produced, the client or receiving party should define exactly what attributes are needed, how the geometry should be structured, and what the file is intended to do. This is precisely the role that IDS (Information Delivery Specification) was designed to fill: it allows clients to formally specify information requirements so that an IFC export can be validated against them. Without that clarity upstream, even a technically correct IFC export becomes unusable in practice.
"AI systems are only as good as the data that they are trained on. If our information environments are fragmented and inconsistent and ungoverned, then AI doesn't solve that problem. It actually scales it."
— Eric Bugeja, buildingSMART Australasia & buildingSMART InternationalThis observation about AI applies equally to IFC. A poorly scoped export that floods a downstream team with irrelevant geometry and unstructured attributes does not become useful just because it is in an open format. The discipline of specifying information requirements — knowing what you need and communicating it clearly — is what separates a functional IFC workflow from a frustrating one.
About Eric Bugeja
Eric Bugeja began his career as a mechanical engineer, starting in an unusually formative environment: a two-man company led by a highly experienced Dutch engineer in his 60s, who gave him complete freedom to explore and apply new technologies from his first days as a graduate. That early exposure to both technical rigour and technological curiosity shaped the trajectory of his entire career. He subsequently moved through manufacturing automation and food processing consultancy, developing a reputation for applying digital tools to drive measurable efficiency — at one point completing a 3D design task in two days that had been allocated a two-week timeline.
Bugeja later transitioned into senior BIM leadership roles at large design and construction firms, where he was responsible for building digital strategy and embedding structured data practices across multidisciplinary teams. He now runs Kefron, his own consulting and training business, focused on helping organisations adopt open standards and structured information environments. Alongside that work, he serves voluntarily as Chairperson of buildingSMART Australasia and as a Director on the board of buildingSMART International — the global body that stewards open standards including IFC, IDS, and BCF across its 40 chapters worldwide. His authority on the correct use of IFC files comes not only from his governance role within the organisation that develops the standard, but from years of hands-on experience navigating the gap between how IFC is designed to work and how it is actually used in the field.
See also
If one or two software vendors become dominant and an organisation's data is locked into their proprietary format, that organisation faces serious risk if those vendors change their terms, discontinue a product, or raise prices. Open standards such as IFC provide a vendor-neutral format so that data remains accessible regardless of which software is used.
Bugeja began as a mechanical engineer in manufacturing automation and food processing consultancy, where his passion for adapting technology led him to explore digital tools early in his career. He gradually moved into BIM leadership roles at large design and construction firms, developing digital strategy and driving structured data adoption across multidisciplinary teams.
buildingSMART International is a global industry association that develops open standards — such as IFC, IDS, and BCF — enabling information to be shared across software platforms and throughout a building or infrastructure asset's entire lifecycle, without dependence on any single vendor.