What is buildingSMART International, and what does it actually do?
buildingSMART International is a global industry association that develops open standards — including IFC (Industry Foundation Classes), IDS (Information Delivery Specification), and BCF (BIM Collaboration Format) — enabling construction information to be shared across multiple software vendor platforms without lock-in. Structured around 40 chapters worldwide, with buildingSMART International serving as the central office, its work also covers advocating for BIM, digital engineering, and good information management alongside governments and industry groups. Every standard developed by the community ultimately becomes an ISO standard, making it freely accessible to everyone.
The organisation was originally formed in the late 1990s by software vendors who recognised that the construction industry needed a neutral, vendor-agnostic layer for data exchange. That founding impulse — enabling information to travel across platforms rather than being trapped inside proprietary formats — remains the core of what buildingSMART does today. IFC files, for instance, are deliberately designed to remain readable for 30 years or more, with no dependency on a specific software version.
Beyond standards development, buildingSMART acts as an industry advocate. It works with governments and professional bodies to embed structured data practices and digital engineering principles into policy, procurement, and project delivery. You can explore the full episode — including how these standards intersect with AI readiness in construction — on Listenly.
Key open standards from buildingSMART
- IFC — Industry Foundation Classes
- The primary open file format for sharing building and infrastructure data across different software platforms, designed to remain accessible for 30+ years without requiring a specific software version.
- IDS — Information Delivery Specification
- A standard that defines exactly what information must be present in a model, enabling clear, machine-readable requirements between project parties.
- BCF — BIM Collaboration Format
- An open format for communicating issues and coordination tasks around a BIM model, independently of any single software tool.
"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, Chairperson, buildingSMART Australasia & Director, buildingSMART International
About Eric Bugeja
Bugeja began his career as a mechanical engineer at a two-person firm led by a highly experienced Dutch engineer who gave him complete freedom to explore emerging design software — an unusually open environment for a recent graduate. That early exposure to technology-driven efficiency shaped his entire trajectory: he completed a 3D design task in two days that had been allocated a two-week timeline, an early demonstration of what structured digital tools could achieve. He subsequently moved through manufacturing automation and food processing consultancy before transitioning into senior BIM leadership roles at large design and construction firms, where he built digital strategy and drove structured data adoption at scale.
Today, Bugeja runs Kefron, his own consulting and training business focused on digital engineering and information management. Alongside his commercial work, he serves voluntarily as Chairperson of buildingSMART Australasia and as a Director of buildingSMART International — roles that place him at the centre of global open standards development. His experience bridges the practical realities of project delivery and the governance of international standards, making him a rare voice who can speak to both the technical architecture of IFC and the organisational change required to adopt it.