In the multi-level type modeling community, claims that most enterprise application systems use ontologically multi-level types are ubiquitous. To be able to empirically verify this claim one needs to be able to expose the (often underlying) ontological structure and show that it does, indeed, make a commitment to multi-level types. We have not been able to find any published data showing this being done. From a top-level ontology requirements perspective, checking this multi-level type claim is worthwhile. If the datasets for which the top-level ontology is required are ontologically committed to multi-level types, then this is a requirement for the top-level ontology. In this paper, we both present some empirical evidence that this ubiquitous claim is correct as well as describing the process we used to expose the underlying ontological commitments and examine them. We describe how we use the bCLEARer process to analyse the UNICLASS classifications making their implicit ontological commitments explicit. We show how this reveals the requirements for two general ontological commitments; higher-order types and first-class relations. This establishes a requirement for a top-level ontology that includes the UNICLASS classification to be able to accommodate these requirements. From a multi-level type perspective, we have established that the bCLEARer entification process can identify underlying ontological commitments to multi-level type that do not exist in the surface linguistic structure. So, we have a process that we can reuse on other datasets and application systems to help empirically verify the claim that ontological multi-level types are ubiquitous.

The Centre for Digital Built Britain has been tasked through the Digital Framework Task Group to develop an Information Management Framework (IMF) to support the development of a National Digital Twin (NDT) as set out in “The Pathway to an Information Management Framework” (Hetherington, 2020). A key component of the IMF is a Foundation Data Model (FDM), built upon a top-level ontology (TLO), as a basis for ensuring consistent data across the NDT.

This document captures the results collected from a broad survey of top-level ontologies, conducted by the IMF technical team. It focuses on the core ontological choices made in their foundations and the pragmatic engineering consequences these have on how the ontologies can be applied and further scaled. This document will provide the basis for discussions on a suitable TLO for the FDM. It is also expected that these top-level ontologies will provide a resource whose components can be harvested and adapted for inclusion in the FDM.

Following the publication of this document, the programme will perform a structured assessment of the TLOs identified herein, with a view to selecting one or more TLOs that will form the kernel around which the FDM will evolve. A further report – The FDM TLO Selection Paper – will be issued to describe this process in late 2020.

The review of existing industry data models and reference data libraries will support the development of the National Digital Twin Information Management Framework. The review will have different roles during the development. The envisaged roles are as follows:

- existing industry data models and reference data libraries are identified

- the structure of the models and libraries is summarised

- the extensibility of the models is described

- the documentation of the models is described

- the maintenance and usage of the models is described

The presentation covers:

• Background
• Space-Time Component (plus Names)
• First workstream – Foundations: Quick View
• Second workstream - Overview
• Mapping General : Spatial Objects
• Part 42 – Mapping: Spatial Objects
• OS Open Names: Mapping
• Relations (Foundation Extension)

Launched in July 2018, the National Digital Twin programme was set up to deliver key recommendations of the National Infrastructure Commission 2017 “Data for the Public Good Report”

• to steer the successful development and adoption of the Information Management Framework for the built environment
• to create an ecosystem of connected digital twins – a national digital twin– which opens the opportunity to release value for society, the economy, business and the environment

The presentation covers:

• Is there a workable UML profile for managing ontologies?
• What should the output of such a model be like?
• (we covered how neither UML nor OWL is ideal for this
• there are certainly problems generating OWL ontologies from the current TC211 UML profile
• the TC211 use of UML could be improved, even within its own profile)
• What Chris brings is experience (in his domain) of using UML to create/manage ontologies
• (quite probably not expressed in OWL)

The presentation is an introduction the paper: “A Framework for Composition”, which outlines ‘a step towards a foundation for assembly’It:

• is a contribution to the Foundation Data Model (FDM), which
• is part of the Information Management Foundation (IMF), which
• is part of UK’s National Digital Twin programme (NDTp)

The paper aims to ensure composition (and so the FDM) is built upon a solid foundation. At the core of the notion of a component breakdown is the component as an integral (dependent) part of the composite whole. This has a rich underlying formal structure – which is described in the paper and outlined in this presentation. This structure, in turn, provides a framework for assessing how well a data model (or ontology) has captured the main elements of the structure enabling both the assessment of existing models as well as the design of new models
The paper is technical with a focus on the rich formal structure of the abstract general component breakdown architecture. This presentation provides a short overview of the concerns the paper addresses as such, it provides a simpler introduction to the paper.
Presentation Structure:

• What is composition?
• How is composition modelled?
• What kind of formal structure is emerging?
• The proposed formal structure

This presentation shows a foundational ontology that aims to underpin a range of enterprise systems in a consistent and coherent manner and takes data-driven re-engineering as its natural starting point for domain ontology building. It has two closely intertwined components, a foundational ontology and a re-engineering methodology.

The origin and predominant area of application has been the enterprise. Suitability has been demonstrated in many industrial projects across a range of business domains including finance, oil and gas, and defense.

This presentation describes what the 4-dimensionalist top level ontology (TLO) based upon mereotopology and space-time being developed for the Information Management Framework (IMF) looks like. It describes the agile, iterative, modular approach adopted. It situates the 4-dimensional approach in terms of its ontological choices. It outlines the scope of the first iteration, based upon requirements that emerge from industrial standards such as; Building Smart, STEP amd TC211/INSPIRE. It describes the spatio-temporal candidates for ontological analysis that emerge from these standards. It then provides a historical overview of the use of worldlines to characterise these candidates. And builds upon this for one example, coordinate systems. Finally it provides an overview of how space-time can be modularised. 
Presentation Structure

• Preliminaries - overall approach: How, broadly speaking, do we develop the ontology?
• Situating 4D in ontological space: A requirement for space-time is central
• Broad modularisation context
• First iteration: scope : What should the scope of the first ‘MVP’ be?
• Top-down and bottom-up approach
• Space-time – top-down workstream
• Space-time: Foundation Data Model : from worldlines to spatial objects and locations
• Space-time: top-level-ontology: from core to worldlines

This presentation introduces the Core Constructional Ontology (CCO). It firstly provides the background to the development of this ontology. It secondly, provides a summary of the approach to the development, looking at its key features and giving an overview of the formalisation.

This is the first in a series of presentations that should be seen as an integrated whole rather than a collection of separate presentations. It is an introduction to the whole and covers the Information Quality Management angle which is the motivation for our interest in 4-Dimensionalism. Later presentations will go down through the 7 circles of information management showing how 4D permeates what we are doing in developing and using 4-Dimensionalism on the National Digital Twin programme.

An overview of the digitalisation levels being used in the Nation Digital Twin (NDT) programme.

Component breakdowns are a vital multi-purpose tool and hence ubiquitous across a range of disciplines. Information systems need to be capable of storing reasonably accurate representations of these breakdowns. Most current information systems have been designed around specific breakdowns, without considering their general underlying formal structure. This is understandable, given the focus on devising the breakdown and that there is not a readily available formal structure to build upon. We make a step towards providing this structure here.

At the core of the notion of a component breakdown is the component as an integral (dependent) part of the composite whole. This leads to a rich formal structure, one that requires careful consideration to capture well enough to support the range of specific breakdowns. If one is not sufficiently aware of this structure, it is difficult to determine what is required to produce a reasonably accurate representation – in particular, one that is sufficiently accurate to support interoperability.

In this report, enabled by the Construction Innovation Hub, we describe this rich formal structure and develop a framework for assessing how well a data model (or ontology) has captured the main elements of the structure. This will enable people to both assess existing models as well as design new models. As a separate exercise, as an illustration, we develop a data model that captures these elements.

Associated with the notion of component (as an integral, dependent part) is the notion of replaceable part (see Appendix A for more details). We do not characterise this here but will do so in a later report.

This Developing Thin Slices report provides a technical description of the process at the heart of the Thin Slices Methodology with the aim of providing a common technical resource for training and guidance in this area. As such it forms part of the wider effort to provide common resources for the development of the Information Management Framework.
It focuses on the process at the core of the Thin Slices Methodology. In particular, it identifies a requirement for a minimal foundation for these kinds of processes. In the companion report, Top-Level Categories (Partridge, forthcoming), the foundation adopted by the Information Management Framework is described. Together, the two reports cover the details of the developing thin slices process.

This report identifies the top categories that characterise the top-level ontology that will underpin the Information Management Framework’s Foundation Data Model (where top categories exclusively and exhaustively divide the world’s entities by their fundamental kinds or natures). With these in place, the IMF’s top-level ontology has been characterised.

A thin slices approach (described in Developing Thin Slices (Partridge, forthcoming)) has been adopted for the development of the foundation data model. The category structure described in this report is being used as the foundation for that process. With these categories in place, that process has a firm foundation.