There are many abbreviations in use within the construction industry and in order to aid in the naming of BIM objects, classifications and Layers etc… a list of common abbreviations have been supplied:
| Description | Abbreviation |
| Air brick | AB |
| Air conditioning (Mech) | AC |
| Alternating Current (Elect) | AC |
| Asbestos Cement | AC |
| Asbestos Containing Material | ACM |
| Alternate | ALT |
| Annotation | Anno |
| Balcony | Balc |
| Boosted cold water service | BCWS |
| Bore Hole | BH |
| Beam height | BHt |
| Boosted hot water service | BHWS |
| Back inlet gully | BIG |
| Building | Bldg |
| Blockwork | BLK |
| bending momentor bench mark | BM |
| Bill of quantities | BOQ |
| Brick retaining wall | BRW |
| British Standard Pipe (Parallel thread) | BSP |
| British Standard Pipe Taper Thread | BSPT |
| Building_transport_systems | BTS |
| British Thermal Unit | BTU |
| Brick wall | BW |
| Builders’ work in connection with services | BWIC |
| Brickwork | BWK |
| Contract administrator | CA |
| Close boarded fence | CBF |
| concrete block wall | CBW |
| Close Coupled Cisterm | CC |
| Construction (Design and Management) Regulations | CDM |
| Compression Fitting | CF |
| Corrugated galvanized iron | CGI |
| Circular hollow section | CHS |
| Cill height | CHt |
| Cast iron | CI |
| Corrugated iron fence | CIF |
| Construction joint | CJ |
| Cover level or centre line | CL |
| Chain link fence | CLF |
| Cleaning Maintenance | CM |
| Communications | COMS |
| Concrete panel fence | CPF |
| Concrete paving slabs | CPS |
| Concrete retaining wall | CRW |
| Commissioning valve -services | CV |
| Cold water service | CWS |
| Data_networks | Data |
| Drain cock | DC |
| Depot_cleaning_and_maintenance | DCAM |
| Double check valve | DCV |
| Domestic hot water | DHW |
| Distribution | Dist |
| Dead load | DL |
| Drain off valve | DOV |
| Down pipe | DP |
| Damp-proof course | DPC |
| Damp-proof membrane | DPM |
| Double switched socket outlet | DSSO |
| Electricity control box | ECB |
| End Feed | EF |
| Existing level | EL |
| Electrical | Elect |
| Elevations | ELES |
| Escalators_and_moving_walkways | EMW |
| Electric_power EP | EP |
| expanded polypropylene | EPP |
| Expanded Polysterene | EPS |
| Expansion relief valve | ERV |
| External_site_works | ESW |
| External | EXT |
| flexible connection | FC |
| Far face | FF |
| Finished floor level | FFL |
| Fire hydrant | FH |
| floor level | FL |
| factor of safety | FoS |
| Fire Suppression | FS |
| Fire_security_and_protection | FSP |
| Foul Water | FW |
| General Lighting | LIGHT |
| General structural | GS |
| High alumina cement | HAC |
| Heating_and_cooling | HC |
| high density fibreboard | HDF |
| Heat_emitters | HE |
| High Level | HL |
| High Level balanced Flue | HLBF |
| Heat Output | HO |
| height | HT |
| high tensile | HT |
| Heating_ventilation_and_air_conditioning | HVAC |
| hot water service | HWS |
| inspection cover or inspection chamber | IC |
| invert level | IL |
| Internal | INT |
| intermediate switch | INTER |
| iron railing fence | IRF |
| isolating valve | IV |
| interwoven fence | IWF |
| Keynotes | KEYN |
| local authority | LA |
| live load | LL |
| Low Level | LL |
| lamp post | LP |
| laminated strand lumber | LSL |
| lockshield valve | LSV |
| mass concrete or moderately conservative | MC |
| mains cold water | MCW |
| medium density fibreboard | MDF |
| manhole | MH |
| man made mineral fibres | MMMF |
| mild steel | MS |
| near face (reinforcement) | NF |
| Non-plotting | NPLOT |
| non return valve | NRV |
| not to scale | NTS |
| outside diameter or Ordnance datum | OD |
| over head | OH |
| ordinary Portland cement | OPC |
| palisade fence | PALF |
| Precast Concrete | PC |
| Portland cement concrete | PCC |
| Liquefied_petroleum | Petrol |
| picket fence | PF |
| pulverised fuel ash | PFA |
| parallel flange channel | PFC |
| pocket (RC) | PKT |
| plate (steel connection) | PLT |
| Post and wire fence | PPWF |
| Post and rail fence | PRF |
| Power | Pwr |
| Radiator | RAD |
| Insitu Concrete | RC |
| Rain Screen | RSC |
| Reinforced concrete | RC |
| Rodding eye | RE |
| Retaining | RET |
| Revisions | REVS |
| Rapid hardening Portland cement | RHPC |
| Rectangular hollow section | RHS |
| ready-mixed concrete | RMC |
| Rolled steel angle | RSA |
| Rolled steel joist | RSJ |
| Rain Water Pipe | RWP |
| Rain water pipe | RWP |
| Stop cock | SC |
| Structural engineer | SE |
| Sections | Sec |
| square hollow section | SHS |
| Systeme Internationale | SI |
| soffite level or sky light or sill level | SL |
| setting-out line | SOL |
| setting-out point | SOP |
| arch springer height | SP |
| single pole double throw switch | SPDT |
| stone paving slabs | SPS |
| single pole single throw switch | SPST |
| Soldier Ring | SR |
| sulphate resisting cement | SRC |
| stainless steel | SS |
| structural slab level | SSL |
| single switched socket outlet | SSSO |
| strainer | STR |
| Survey | Surv |
| safety valve | SV |
| soil and vent pipe | SVP |
| stone wall | SW |
| Symbols | Symb |
| tongued and grooved | T&G |
| Temporary bench mark | TBM |
| Terminals | Term |
| top of beam | TOB |
| top of concrete | TOC |
| top of steel | TOS |
| top of wall | TOW |
| temperature/pressure relief valve | TPRV |
| Television | TV |
| underside | U/S |
| universal beam | UB |
| universal column | UC |
| urea formaldehyde | UF |
| Volts | V |
| Ventilation_extract | VE |
| Ventilation | Vent |
| Vertical | Vert |
| vent pipe | VP |
| Ventilation_Supply_and_extract | VSE |
| Watts | W |
| window | Win |
| water level | WL |
| wire mesh fence | WMF |
| wooden panel fence | WPF |