# Interoperability Analyses of BIM Platforms for Construction Management
## 3 Results
### BIM Interoperability Through Gantt Charts  
_Design2 Management_  
In this subsection, the assessment of the previously introduced Gantt chart produced with Trimble Tekla Structures by software packages commonly used for project management like Microsoft Project (versions 2013 and 2016), Autodesk Navisworks, and Synchro Pro is presented. The evaluation was performed by checking the coherence between the imported Gantt chart and the reference one by checking the fields \"Task Name\", \"Start Date\", \"Task Duration\", and \"End Date\".  
After importing the XML file into Microsoft Project 2013, the obtained Gantt chart was correctly replicated, so in this case, the interoperability of Gantt charts from Tekla Structures to MS Project 2013 was successful (good interoperability).  
However, when testing the newest version of the same product (namely, Microsoft Project 2016), the imported Gantt charts did not give the same results. While \"Task Name\" and \"Start Date\" were properly transferred (good interoperability), \"Task Duration\" and, logically, \"End Date\" were shown to be different with respect to their reference counterparts. In \"Task Duration\", there were slight changes in the assigned values of each task (medium interoperability). The reason for this can be the differences between the two software groups in taking into account non-working days or working hours. As a result, the integration of these two software packages can be successfully obtained if the users make minor adjustments in the output.  
While the previous tests were directly performed through the original XML file exported by Tekla Structures, the assessment of interoperability of Gantt charts with Navisworks required additional processing. In fact, XML files are not accepted by this software, but alternative formats are provided. In particular, the importing of Gantt charts through Microsoft Project 2013 files (previously assessed as good interoperability) and CSV produced by Microsoft Project 2016 (previously assessed as medium interoperability for \"Task Duration\" and \"End Date\" fields) were tested. In the first case, the output of Navisworks was clearly defined, and every detail was visible except for \"Task Duration\" since this is how Navisworks works. Regarding construction/project management, the workflow of sharing Gantt Charts from Tekla Structures to Navisworks through MS Project 2013 proceeded flawlessly according to the test. In the second case, the conversion from XML to CSV file formats through Microsoft Project 2016 was needed. This option can be useful when stakeholders do not have older versions of Microsoft Project 2016. Keeping in mind the conflicts noted when the Gantt chart was imported from Tekla Structures to Microsoft Project 2016, with mismatching on task durations and end dates, the \"Task Name\" and \"Start Date\" exchange was successfully achieved, but this time it was not possible to correct the wrongly transferred \"End Date\" field due to the fact that Navisworks does not show the \"Task Duration\" field.  
The interoperability of the Gantt chart file created in Trimble Tekla Structures was also examined in Synchro Pro through directly importing the XML file. The result of this test was very satisfactory because all the imported parameters, \"Task Name\", \"Subtask Name\", \"Start Date\", \"End Date\", and \"Task Duration\", were correctly exchanged and presented.  
The results of the tests described in this subsection are presented in Table 6. This part of the research shows that, in practical cases, the use of Tekla Structures and Synchro Pro together can reduce errors due to interoperability problems and save time. This will increase the efficiency of communications between stakeholders, and, as a result, stronger collaboration can be achieved.  
\begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c c} \hline \hline
**Solibri Element** & **1** & **2** & **3** & **4** & **5** & **6** & **7** & **8** & **9** & **10** & **11** & **12** & **13** & **14** & **15** & **16**