How do I validate a model against IDS?

An IDS (Information Delivery Specification) defines exactly what information each element in a BIM model must carry at a given project stage: which properties, which values, which classifications. Validating a model against the IDS manually is impractical at scale — a large model has thousands of elements.

Bildstak automates the check:

1. Connect the IFC model — via a direct IFC file, Speckle, or Autodesk APS. Bildstak indexes all elements by GlobalID. 2. Load the IDS file — connect or upload the project's IDS specification (the buildingSMART open XML format). 3. Run the validation — Bildstak checks each element against the applicable requirements in the IDS: required property sets, property names, values and data types. 4. Review the compliance report — the output lists each element with a pass/fail/missing-data status per requirement, cited by element GlobalID and IDS clause. 5. Query the results — ask "which structural elements are missing the fire-rating property?" or "what percentage of MEP equipment passes the COBie requirements?" and get a direct answer.

Why this matters: IDS validation is increasingly a contractual milestone gate — models must be information-compliant before handover or before a stage payment. Running the check early and continuously (rather than once at the gate) means non-conformances are caught while the model is still being authored, not in a last-minute scramble.

Bildstak surfaces IDS validation alongside COBie readiness scoring and clash status, so the full information quality picture is visible in one place.