Utilising Building Information Models in Facility Maintenance and Operations

Abstract

Utilising the digital capital of buildings, including building information modelling (BIM), is crucial for building owners from the perspective of high-level maintenance. This case study concerns a company in which building information models are received as files complying with the Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) standard. An analysis of the information content of the IFC files was performed to investigate whether the files, which were generated in a construction project using traditional procedures, contained relevant information for maintenance. The critical needs were evaluated based on the aspects highlighted in an online survey. As a result, essential content requirements for BIM are presented for facility maintenance and operations (FMO). It has been shown that existing building information models cannot close the information gap from a facility maintenance perspective. Still, they have significant potential due to their ability to contain technical information and provide a graphical representation. With information exchange requirements (IERs), a great deal of progress could be made by utilising BIM for FMO. A property service company’s capabilities must also be evolved before the benefits of digital capital can be reaped. This paper provides insights for developing the information content of computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS) and demonstrates the crucial need to harmonise them using BIM. Finally, as a new use case for BIM, this paper presents an operations and maintenance model (OMM).