{"id":818,"date":"2022-03-02T09:34:03","date_gmt":"2022-03-02T09:34:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/definehub.com\/?page_id=818"},"modified":"2022-12-15T16:39:30","modified_gmt":"2022-12-15T14:39:30","slug":"what-is-a-data-template","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/definehub.com\/en\/data-templates\/what-is-a-data-template\/","title":{"rendered":"What is a Data Template"},"content":{"rendered":"
Home<\/a><\/span><\/span><\/div>

What is a Data Template (DT)?<\/strong><\/h1><\/div>

Advancing the construction industry through standards<\/h2><\/div>

In this article, you will find the most important information about the data templates and how they are developed.<\/p>\n<\/div>

Every construction organisation has its own way of structuring data. And this is perfectly fine. But to make it possible to communicate and exchange information with other organisations and systems in a reliable way, a common ground is needed. An agreed approach to structuring and transforming data into an interoperable asset should be implemented across the construction industry. This will enable organisations of all sizes to bring forward their digitisation initiatives and benefit from the numerous technologies available on the market today.\u00a0More importantly, a common approach to developing data models in construction facilitates data exchange and accelerates the digital transformation of the whole industry.<\/p>\n

To address this need, the data template methodology was created and is further developed by standardisation bodies, such as CEN and ISO, to provide the industry with a guideline on common rules and best practices for structuring data for digital use.<\/p>\n

Following international standards to define and structure product information in common data templates is paramount to achieving a higher degree of digitalisation across the entire industry.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

\"standards<\/a><\/span><\/div>

The data template methodology: International and national standards are among the credible sources that help to define and structure construction product information in common data templates that facilitate digitalisation in the construction world.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

Data templates: What are they for people and for machines?<\/h3><\/div>

For its user, a\u00a0data template (DT)\u00a0is a common data structure describing the characteristics (called \u2018properties\u2019) of a construction object, its performance and its physical qualities, according to a credible source of information \u2013 be it a standard or regulation.<\/p>\n

On the other hand, for any software, the\u00a0data template structure\u00a0is a set of concepts that are connected to each other through different relationships. By establishing these connections between concepts through unique pieces of code, a\u00a0specific logic\u00a0for machines is set. This allows us to create a common technological language, which helps any software convey meaning consistently regardless of the language used in a particular country.<\/p>\n

There are several technical terms that we need to explain further when we talk about the methodology behind data templates. Those are\u00a0construction objects, properties, attributes and groups of properties.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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What is a construction object?<\/h4>\n

One of the major, and mandatory, prerequisites to define and create a data template is to have a construction object which to associate the data template with.<\/p>\n

The construction object<\/strong>\u00a0identifies the object of interest in a construction process which the data template describes further. This could be a window, exterior door, expanded polystyrene (EPS) insulation, masonry wall and many more.<\/p>\n

What is a property, attribute and groups of properties?<\/h4>\n

One can think of a product property as the smallest building block defining a product for digital use.<\/p>\n

Properties<\/strong>\u00a0are characteristics that describe a construction object. In order to create a property, it is a must to define its attributes.\u00a0Attributes<\/strong>\u00a0can be the property\u2019s \u2018measure\u2019, \u2018value\u2019, \u2018unit\u2019, etc. These are the property\u2019s \u201cmetadata\u201d that define what physical quantity the property measures and the unit it is expressed in.<\/p>\n

Defining unique properties with different attributes is a very important step that enables software to compare values. For instance, to compare the percentage of water absorption of two products.<\/p>\n

Last but not least,\u00a0groups of properties<\/strong>\u00a0are simply collections that allow users to group properties based on a certain criterion and then easily re-use and re-distribute them.<\/p>\n<\/div><\/div><\/div>

How do data templates ensure interoperability and transform data into \u2018machine-readable\u2019 language?<\/h3><\/div>

In different countries and within different organisations the product characteristics (or properties) do not share the same name, spelling or abbreviation. Thus, this information is deemed different by various software programs. The data template methodology takes into account all these differences.<\/p>\n

To help machines understand the intended meaning of information there is a need for a common framework of concepts and the relationships between those concepts.<\/p>\n<\/div>

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Names and concepts: Machines cannot compare the values if they cannot link it to the same concept<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

Data templates are built upon a framework, called\u00a0\u2018digital data dictionaries\u2019,\u00a0that enables the mapping of similar concepts to unique codes so that machines will be able to \u201cread\u201d and \u201cunderstand\u201d one common meaning, no matter the local differences in semantics. This way, all devices will \u201cknow\u201d that \u201cthermal transmittance\u201d for example, is the same as \u201cu-value\u201d.<\/p>\n

There is no universal data dictionary available in the construction world. There are many different dictionaries that construction organisations create themselves. However, those\u00a0dictionaries<\/strong>\u00a0need to be\u00a0interconnected<\/strong>. The experts of CEN\/TC442\/WG4 are aligning the available standards to ensure that any dictionary can store properties and their attributes in a consistent way.<\/p>\n<\/div>