A BIM model that nobody has checked is just a 3D drawing. Solibri is the global standard for BIM model checking and quality control — what makes a model good enough to coordinate with consultants, hand over to a contractor, and submit for sanction.
If you're using Archicad or Revit and skipping a model checker, you're flying without instruments. This is the practical guide we share with firms who add Solibri to their BIM stack.
What Solibri actually does
Solibri loads IFC files (from Archicad, Revit, Tekla, anything) and runs rule-based checks on them. The output is a structured report saying:
- "These 14 walls overlap structural columns" (clash detection)
- "37 doors are missing fire-rating data" (information completeness)
- "These 6 rooms have ceiling heights below 2.4 m" (code compliance)
- "The model has 124 duplicate components" (model hygiene)
- "These 9 sanitary fittings are not connected to a plumbing route" (logical consistency)
The reports include screenshots, severity levels, and exportable PDFs you can share with the consultant who needs to fix them.
That's the magic. It turns "the model has problems somewhere" into "fix item 7, 14, and 23."
Why this matters more in India than people think
In India, the contractor-architect-consultant relationship is famously informal. Drawings change late. RFIs pile up. Rework on site eats project margin.
Most of those problems are present in the BIM model before anyone goes to site — they're just invisible without checking. A Solibri pass before tender catches:
- Clashes between structural beams and HVAC ducts (saves 2–4 weeks of rework on a typical commercial project)
- Missing fire ratings, missing acoustic specs, missing finish codes (saves dozens of late-stage RFIs)
- Inconsistent room schedules (saves the BoQ team from manual reconciliation)
- Doors that won't actually open (yes, this happens — and it gets caught only on site without Solibri)
We've seen Solibri pay for itself on a single project for a 10-architect practice.
When to run checks
Don't run Solibri once at the end. Run it at three stages:
1. Internal check before sharing with consultants
Before you send your IFC to the structural or MEP consultant, run:
- BIM Validation rules
- Information Takeoff (does every door have a type code? Is every room categorised?)
- Architectural Construction Site Activities (basic geometry sanity)
Catching your own model's mistakes before consultants see them protects credibility.
2. Coordination check after consultants return their models
Federate architecture + structure + MEP in Solibri. Run:
- Hard clash detection (geometry intersecting geometry)
- Soft clash / clearance (insufficient space for installation/maintenance)
- Discipline-bridging checks (e.g. ducts passing through structural columns)
This is the meeting that should happen before any drawing is issued for tender.
3. Pre-handover check before contractor receives the model
Run:
- Quantity Takeoff sanity (totals match BoQ)
- Property completeness (every component has the data the contractor needs)
- LOD verification (model detail matches what was contracted)
This is what protects you when the contractor says "the model didn't have X."
Setting up rules for Indian projects
Solibri ships with a global rule library; it doesn't ship with IS-code rules. You build them once. Examples we've configured for Indian residential projects:
- NBC 2016 minimum room sizes: bedroom ≥ 9.5 m², kitchen ≥ 5.5 m²
- Staircase compliance: tread ≥ 250 mm, riser ≤ 190 mm, headroom ≥ 2.1 m
- Fire compartment doors: must have fire-rating attribute set
- Universal access ramps: slope ≤ 1:12 for public buildings
- Setback compliance: distance-to-property-line ≥ local DCR requirement
These rules are reusable across every project. Build the office library once, save it, and you're checking compliance automatically forever.
The "bad IFC" problem and how to solve it
The single most common reason Solibri checks "fail" is that the input IFC is bad. A consultant exports IFC with the wrong settings and you get a model where walls aren't classified as IfcWall, fixtures aren't classified at all, and Solibri can't run rules.
Solutions, in order of preference:
- Standardise IFC export settings across the project. We provide our clients with vetted Archicad and Revit IFC presets that produce Solibri-friendly output.
- Add IFC validation as a contractual deliverable. "All consultant models shall pass Solibri's BIM Validation ruleset before milestone sign-off."
- Run preflight on consultant IFC — even a 30-second sanity check tells you whether the model is worth coordinating against.
If your consultants don't know how to export clean IFC, our team runs short training sessions on IFC export fundamentals.
What it costs
Solibri offers three tiers:
- Solibri Anywhere (free, view + comment only) — useful for clients and contractors
- Solibri Site (mid-tier) — running checks on a single coordinator's machine
- Solibri Office (full) — central rule management, multiple checkers
Most Indian practices need Solibri Site. Cosmicstar is the authorised partner — contact us for current pricing.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need Solibri if I only design, not coordinate? If you only ever produce architecture-only models with no consultants, no, you can skip it. The moment you exchange IFC with a structural or MEP consultant, you need a checker.
Can I use Navisworks instead? Navisworks is Autodesk's clash detection tool. It works for clash detection but is weaker on rule-based code checks and on cross-platform IFC. Solibri is OpenBIM-native and broader.
How long does training take? A practising architect with BIM experience can run their first useful Solibri check after 2–3 days of training. Building a custom rule library takes longer — budget 2–3 weeks of part-time work for a typical practice's first ruleset.
Where can I see Solibri on a real project? We run live demonstrations using anonymised models from past projects. Get in touch and we'll set one up.
