15-02-2013, 04:31 PM
Application Areas and Data Requirements for BIM-Enabled Facilities Management
1Application Areas.pdf (Size: 2.62 MB / Downloads: 24)
Abstract:
Facilities management (FM) encompasses and requires multidisciplinary activities, and thus has extensive information requirements.
While some of these needs are addressed by several existing FM information systems, building information modeling (BIM), which is
becoming widely adopted by the construction industry, holds undeveloped possibilities for providing and supporting FM practices with its
functionalities of visualization, analysis, control, and so on. This paper explores how BIM can be a beneficial platform for supplementing FM
practices. An online survey and face-to-face interviews were conducted to assess the current status of BIM implementations in FM, potential
applications, and the level of interest in the utilization of BIM. Interactions between BIM and FM are defined by illustrating application areas
and data requirements for BIM-enabled FM practices.
Introduction
More often than not, owners and project stakeholders are focused
on the initial construction costs of a project. However, the subsequent
operation and maintenance costs of a building over the life
of the building could amount to many times more than its initial
construction cost. Effective maintenance and management of buildings
could significantly reduce the $15.8 billion annual costs associated
with inadequate interoperability, as reported by a NIST study
(Gallaher et al. 2004). Building information modeling (BIM) is “a
new approach to design, construction, and facilities management,
in which a digital representation of the building process is used to
facilitate the exchange and interoperability of information in digital
format” (Eastman et al. 2008). In the construction industry there is a
growing interest in the use of BIM in facilities management (FM)
for coordinated, consistent, and computable building information/
knowledge management from design to construction to maintenance
and operation stages of a building’s life cycle.
Research Objectives and Motivation
Rapid advances in BIM offer new opportunities to improve FM
processes and enhance the use of project information, not only during
design and construction, but also throughout project’s life cycle.
There are some pioneering organizations pushing the use of BIM,
but industry-wide adoption of BIM in FM has not been embraced
yet. One of the primary motivators for stakeholders in FM is the
opportunity for direct gains and benefits in their operations.
Although this topic attracted attention in both academic circles
and the private consulting industry, there are no studies that would
spur the industry stakeholders toward faster adoption of BIM in
FM. There is a lack of understanding as to where BIM can provide
benefits to FMpractices, what some of the challenges are, and what
the expected value is. This study aims to provide an overview for
the current implementation status of BIM in FM and tries to outline
opportunities and challenges for the use of BIM in FM practices.
The specific goals of this study are (1) to explore the current status
of BIM implementation in FM, (2) to set examples of BIM implementation
and use for FM functions, and (3) to provide a set of data
and process requirements for resource planning.
Expert Interviews
A significant amount of information was gathered from face-to-face
and phone interviews, which were conducted with 22 industry professionals
from June 2010 to September 2010. Each interviewee
represented an organization, identified by the authors in the first
stage, that is involved in BIM development and application in
FM. Additional interviewees were selected from the group of survey
respondents, who indicated that their organizations had implemented
BIM in FM. The interviewees were selected on the basis of
their knowledge of and experience with the topic. Of all the interviewees,
55% were from campus FM organizations throughout the
United States, and 27% were from technology companies. The rest
of the interviewees were from architecture, engineering, and construction
companies that work closely with FM organizations to
implement BIM in operations and maintenance. The goals of
the interviews were to identify (1) semantic and graphical data that
need to be captured and stored in BIM for FM use, (2) needs for
data exchange—when, how, and by whom the required data should
be provided and recorded throughout the life cycle of facilities,
(3) current status of the implementation of BIM in FM, and (4) challenges
and barriers to BIM implementation. The interviews resulted
in distinct insights which provided a perspective of the industry on
the topic. Interview results were used to design the survey questions,
which aimed at understanding the status of BIM implementation
in FM operations.
Status of BIM Implementation in Facilities
Management Practices
Respondents’ profiles are classified according to the market segment
they serve, as shown in Fig. 1. The highest response rate
was from educational organizations (universities, schools, colleges,
and other institutions) with 53% of the total responses. These were
followed by government agencies (13%), large architecture, engineering,
and construction (AEC) firms with campuses to maintain
(9%), healthcare organizations (5%), and professional FM organizations
(4%). Organizations varying from finance to transportation
are represented by the category “other” as each constituted less than
3% of the total respondents. On the basis of the detailed personal
information provided, 69% of the respondents were in top management
positions (presidents, vice presidents, directors, coordinators,
and managers).
Locating Building Components
To perform commissioning or preventive and corrective maintenance,
FM personnel regularly need to locate building components
(equipment, materials, and finishes) and related information for
prompt problem detection and resolution. Conventionally, on-site
FM personnel rely on paper-based blueprints or on their experience,
intuition, and judgment in finding and locating building
equipment such as HVAC systems and electrical, gas, and water
lines, which are located in places not readily visible such as above
the ceilings, behind the walls, or under the floors. Locating the
equipment is a repetitive and time- and labor-consuming task
for either the repair technician or the equipment manager. Locating
equipment becomes critical especially during an emergency, or
when newly assigned personnel and/or when an outsourced FM
group takes over responsibility for the facility, or when equipment
has been replaced or removed without the awareness of the FM
personnel in charge.