# IFC for Road Signage

**URL:** <https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/ifc-for-road-signage/5687>\
**Category:** Infrastructure\
**Created:** [October 18, 2024, 8:29am UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/ifc-for-road-signage/5687 "2024-10-18T08:29:52Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Joel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Joel](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/u/Joel)\
**Post date:** [October 18, 2024, 8:29am UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/ifc-for-road-signage/5687/1 "2024-10-18T08:29:52Z")

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Hoping this is the correct category for this.

I’m looking into the exporting of IFC files for Road Signage and it’s associated posts and footings.

So far I’m exporting the sign plate as the IfcEntity: IfcSign.  
And also for footings there is IfcFooting (kind of, as most of the info is related to buildings).

But for the post, I have found nothing. Is there any reason IfcPost, or IfcPole, don’t exist? I would have thought these would be common entities, even in the building world?

What IfcEntity are people using for sign posts?  
Or is IfcSign used to group the sign, post, and footing?

Cheers,

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**Author:** ![jwouellette](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.buildingsmart.org/jwouellette/32/2140_2.png) [@jwouellette](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/u/jwouellette)\
**Post date:** [October 22, 2024, 9:52pm UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/ifc-for-road-signage/5687/2 "2024-10-22T21:52:03Z")

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Good question. Upon my inspection it looks like it may be:

IfcElementAssembly.SIGNALASSEMBLY, where SIGNALASSEMBLY is _“An assembly to physically aggregate together one or more signal instances (and also sign instances) including any supporting structural elements such as a simple pole or a rigid frame gantry.”_

Within the IfcElementAssembly, you’ll aggregate:

- IfcSign.MARKER or .PICTORAL
- IfcMember.POST
- IfcFooting.PAD\_FOOTING

Anyone else concur or disagree?

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**Author:** ![Joel](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/b9bd4f/32.png) [@Joel](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/u/Joel)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 6:01am UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/ifc-for-road-signage/5687/3 "2024-10-23T06:01:18Z")

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Thanks for that info.

I personally would tend to view IfcMember as more of a Structural/Building element. It seems a bit out of context for Civil works, but it will do the job for now.

I’m still coming to grips with “assemblies” and how we can group objects when exporting the IFC file. That’s next months hurdle.

Cheers,

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**Author:** ![jwouellette](https://sea2.discourse-cdn.com/flex016/user_avatar/forums.buildingsmart.org/jwouellette/32/2140_2.png) [@jwouellette](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/u/jwouellette)\
**Post date:** [October 23, 2024, 3:41pm UTC](https://forums.buildingsmart.org/t/ifc-for-road-signage/5687/4 "2024-10-23T15:41:49Z")

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> [@Joel](#):
>
> I personally would tend to view IfcMember as more of a Structural/Building element. It seems a bit out of context for Civil works, but it will do the job for now.

This is why for IFC4.3 much/most of the previous “building-centric” concepts were further abstracted/generalized by renaming “IfcBuildingElement” as “IfcBuiltElement”, to work across ANY construction context, semantically.