buildingSMART USA Webinar Series
Join us on the second Wednesday of each month at 12 noon Eastern for informational webinars explaining buildingSMART, openBIM, IFC, etc. Our plan is to provide speakers who can share insights into the benefits of using open standards for your building and infrastructure projects. We will also be highlighting opportunities for you to participate in buildingSMART thought leadership whitepapers, working groups, domain expert review panels and international projects.
Upcoming
August 12, 2026 | 12pm Eastern = 9am Pacific
Implementing IFC in Transportation: Automated Validation and Connected Workflows
Speakers: Mike LaFontaine, PLS, PMP & Kourosh Langari, GISP, PMP (HNTB)
As transportation owners continue to adopt open standards, ensuring that infrastructure models contain complete, accurate, and interoperable information is becoming increasingly important. This webinar demonstrates a practical approach for implementing IFC 4.3 and Information Delivery Specifications (IDS) to validate infrastructure data before publication.
Using a real-world transportation project, we'll demonstrate how Information Delivery Specifications (IDS) can be used to automatically validate owner-defined information requirements and verify compliance with buildingSMART standards prior to IFC delivery.
The session will also demonstrate how IFC enables seamless information exchange across multiple Common Data Environments (CDEs), illustrating how open standards support collaboration throughout the design, construction, and operations lifecycle.
September 23, 2026 | 12pm Eastern = 9am Pacific
Leveraging open data standards to support the Bridge & Structures lifecycle at Caltrans
Speakers: Lynn Hiel, PE, ENV-SP & Bin Shen, PhD, PE (Caltrans)
Caltrans Bridge Engineers design, build, and maintain complex highway Connectors, but the information required to support the lifecycle of a Connector is often divided.
The California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) is strategically advancing the BIM for Infrastructure (BIM4I) digital delivery program. This presentation will focus on the key role of open data standards in the Bridge Design workflows. How is BIM4I adding value in our current projects and what challenges are we facing? What national efforts are driving the development and adoption of open data standards at Caltrans? What is on the horizon at the bridge department and how do we anticipate leveraging open data standards in the future?
October 14, 2026 | 12pm Eastern = 9am Pacific
openBIM in Action for Transportation | Practical Demonstrations by Autodesk
Speaker: Tyler Gester (Autodesk)
Join us for a multi-part webinar series spotlighting leading technology providers in the openBIM ecosystem. Each session features different solution providers demonstrating how their tools leverage open standards to support seamless data exchange, model coordination, and interoperable workflows. Participants will gain practical insights into real-world applications of openBIM, see live platform demonstrations, and learn how these solutions can enhance collaboration, improve project outcomes, and support compliance with emerging digital delivery requirements.
November 11, 2026 | 12pm Eastern = 9am Pacific
Streamlining Codes & Standards Coordination through
NIBS' Unified Digital Codes & Standards Initiatives
This webinar highlights how the National Institute of Building Sciences, in collaboration with buildingSMART USA, is advancing a coordinated, digital-first approach to codes and standards across the built environment. We will showcase 2026 initiatives that have advanced the structuring, linking, and operationalizing of requirements across local, state, federal, and international frameworks; enabling project and portfolio teams to move from fragmented interpretation to integrated execution. Attendees will gain a clear view of emerging tools, data models, and workflows that empower cohesive project planning and execution, reduce work churn, accelerate compliance, and improve consistency across planning, design, and construction delivery. This session is designed for leaders and practitioners seeking to modernize project delivery by turning standards into actionable, machine-readable intelligence - unlocking faster decisions, lower risk, and scalable digital transformation across projects and portfolios.
On-Demand
Title | Webinar Date | Speaker(s) |
|---|---|---|
openBIM for FHWA Digital Delivery National Deployment Overview | 2025-07-08 | James Gray (Federal Highway Administration - FHWA) & Allen Melley (Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT) |
Level of Information Need and Level of Development | 2025-06-11 | Jim Bedrick (BIMForum) & Tony Rinella (buildingSMART USA Education Committee) |
openBIM in Action: By Nemetschek Group | 2025-05-14 | Joel Martineau (dRofus), Miles Smith (Graphisoft), Robert Manna (dRofus) |
openBIM in FTIA – What, How and Why | 2025-04-09 | Tarmo Savolainen (Finnish Transport Infrastructure Agency FTIA) |
Update to buildingSMART USA Certification and Education | 2025-02-12 | Eva Yu (Strategic Building Innovation) & Paul Woodard (buildingSMART USA Education Committee) |
AI and Data Governance: Building Trust in Machine Learning | 2024-12-11 | Scott Yates (Woolpert) |
From Virtual to Reality: How Digital Twins Make Data Actionable | 2024-10-09 | Chris Harmon (WSP) & Jerry Schwinghammer |
How IFC is paving the way for model-based workflows | 2024-09/11 | Oystein Ulvestad (Arup) |
openBIM-based Estimation | 2024-07-16 | Aleksandar Ilić (BEXEL Manager), Brent Pilgrim (The Beck Group) |
Seeing is Believing (Part 2) | 2024-06-12 | Scott Lecher (HNTB) |