Frequently Asked Questions
General
Professional Certification is an international program developed by buildingSMART to support openBIM training and competency assurance. It comprises two levels: Foundation and Practitioner.
The Foundation level is the first Phase of Professional Certification
Professional Certification - Practitioner will be released at different times in different countries. We expect the first release to be in late 2021.
The process for professional ‘certification' is defined in the international standard ISO 17024 and must conform to fairly strict requirements. The Foundation level does not adhere to these requirements and therefore uses the term 'qualification' in place of 'certification'.
The Professional Certification program is currently only offered in specific countries, Please refer to our website, for contact details in your region. https://education.buildingsmart.org/contact/
buildingSMART Qualification is conferred on a candidate after successfully completing an online Qualification exam as part of the Foundation level.
The Qualification Exam is a 25 question mutliple-choice test. It is administered through the buildingSMART Qualification Platform, which is built on the Moodle learning platform.
buildingSMART International sets no restrictions on where the online test is taken, however, Chapters are free to require the test be undertaken in training centres. Please contact your local Chapter or training provider for further details.
Yes. Upon successfully completing the Qualification exam, the candidate will be issued with a digital certificate to attest to their qualification.
No, there is no qualification conferred with the Foundation level. However, you will be able to state that you have completed the buildingSMART Professional Certification - Foundation exam and will have a certificate to prove this.
It will demonstrate that you have a basic knowledge of BIM that is consistent with international standards and best practices.
The cost of the exam is set by each buildingSMART Chapter, however, the cost will fall within the range of 75.00-125.00 Euro. This fee is included in the course fee and is paid by the training provider on behalf of the candidate.
Candidates can sit can sit the exam for a second time, however, they will have to pay a re-exam fee of 50.00 EUR.
No. You must attend a buildingSMART approved course from a registered training provider before you can sit the qualification exam.
Yes. buildingSMART registered training providers can offer online trainings.
Only the Basic curricula is currently available, however, the COBie, Energy Performance curricular will be released at the end of 2020, with other to follow in early 2021.
Training Providers
This is to be decided by each chapter individually. Contact your local Chapter to find out more. https://education.buildingsmart.org/contact/
The company must have at least three years' experience in organising and delivering professional training. The training personnel must have three years' experience in the construction industry, experience with Building Information Modeling and didactic experience.
Registered training providers can offer their courses in any country where there is no established buildingSMART Professional Certification program. In countries where there is an established program, the training provider must have their course approved by the national buildingSMART chapter.
Learning Content
The Learning Outcome Framework lists the individual Learning Outcomes (25-30) for a specific curricula that must be delivered in an approved course.
Yes. The Learning Outcomes are made publicly available by buildingSMART, however, the learning content (the so-called Body of Knowledge) is only provided to registered training providers.
The Body of Knowledge is a resource of all learning content that is covered in the learning outcomes. It is provided by buildingSMART to registred training providers to develop their courses.
Chapter Enquiries
buildingSMART Chapters can start the process by signing an agreement with bSI and forming a local committee
bSI provides Chapter instructions, as well as indication of likely work-hours required for administration duties. Each chapter is to form a local Professional Certification Committee to manage the adoption and administration of the local programme
The Learning Outcomes cannot be modified, however, Chapters may add up to 20% of additional content (Six learning objectives & associated questions)
Yes, however these must not deviate from or contradict the bSI process. bSI reserves the right to overrule a chapter bylaw if it is believed to be not in keeping with overall programme goals
All bSI financial transactions (incoming and outgoings) will be managed by the bSI Accounts, until such time as a separate Professional Certification accounts department is established.
The Chapter company secretary and/or accounts department will be responsible for all financial transactions with bSI. Payments are to be made quarterly to bSI on a quarterly basis, until otherwise decided.
The assessment fees is to be incorporated into the training fee (to encourage as many participants as possible to sit the exam). Payment must be made from the training body to the chapter at the time of the course delivery. The chapter will then forward the bSI fee onto bSI.
The chapters are free to provide and charge for additional services, such as introduction seminars for the training bodies etc...
The training provider shall pay a fee (between EUR1,500-2,500 to be decided by each Chapter) to have their course ‘approved’ by buildingSMART. This is valid for two years and includes the provision of the Body of Knowledge and other relevant material.
The Qualification Platform is fully owned by bSI. It is made available to chapters at no cost, in return for a fee split from each individual exam (€50)
The Platform is flexible enough to allow Chapters to translate content into the local language and modify the interface and functionality. This modification and development must be carried out at their own cost.
There is no title conferred in the Foundation level. The student will have a certificate that attests to the knowledge level achieved.
