Current facility management practice relies on different systems which require new technologies to integrate and manage information more easily. Building information modeling offers a good opportunity to improve facility information management by providing a unified platform for various data sources rather than an intuitive information interface. Although current research trends reveal that there is a continuously growing interest in facility management aided by building information modeling, an integrated model is still hard to obtain. This paper aims at developing a novel methodology based on building information modeling and facility management systems integration, underpinned by a performance information model. The implementation process of a performance information model is described, including information technologies involved, the data and process requirements, and the building performance assessment methods used. A first pilot case-study has been conducted with regards to surgery rooms in healthcare buildings. The proposal can support condition-based maintenance work schedule, as well as the achievement of organizational, environmental, and technical requirements. Among the practical implications found: Improved technological and environmental performances assessment; better visualization of building condition; improved decision-making process; facilitated maintenance tasks planning and maintenance records management.
In the field of infrastructure, the development and application of the openBIM (open Building Information Modeling) approach and related standards (principally Industry Foundation Classes) remain limited with regard to processes in O&M (Operation and Maintenance) phases, as well as the broader context of AM (Asset Management). This article deals with the activities carried out as part of a pilot project based on the need to manage the operation and assess the condition and value of existing infrastructure along the Cancello–Benevento railway line. The principal goal was to systematize information by digitalizing the infrastructure, in order to enable the assessment of possible performance gaps (compared to national railway standards) in the event of integration within the national infrastructure. In compliance with the project requirements, a digitalization strategy was designed for the definition of surveying activities and the implementation of openBIM systems for the development of an object library and a federated digital model, structured within the collaborative platform that was used, and allowing management, maintenance, and subsequent financial evaluation in the broader context of asset management. The project involved the collaboration of railway operators, a university, and a software company that implemented innovative concepts concerning IFC (specifically, IFC4x2 was used) through the development of dedicated software solutions. The digital solution we proposed enabled the use of digital models as access keys to survey and maintenance information (ERP platforms used by the railway operators) that was available in real time. This project was nominated at the buildingSMART awards 2021 and was one of three finalists in the “Asset Management Using openBIM” category.
Regulatory activity concerning the management of existing bridges has recently been affected by updates, for instance, in Italy, which calls for a speedy and pragmatic approach based on new technologies such as building information modeling (BIM), when dealing with the survey and risk classification as well as the evaluation and monitoring of structural safety. This paper focuses on the development and integration of a digital solution, based principally on the specific framework developed by the authors, which supports BIM modeling and information management activities, in the structural setting under investigation, through the use of several technologies and tools, namely BIM-authoring, CDE platform and visual programming, in addition to programming in Python. Starting from the organization of a specific BIM object library and the initial data, inserted by means of a custom-made input environment, it was possible to reproduce digital models of bridges in accordance with specific information requirements following the new Level of Information Need setting. The applicability of the proposal is tested on two judiciously chosen real-life cases with different characteristics. Through this implementation, a series of advantages emerge, including expediting traditional procedures for BIM modeling, accessibility and traceability of information—which are constantly updated to support the monitoring of structural safety over time—and the decision-making process related to the bridge management context.
Inefficiency in maintaining and managing architectural heritage threatens both heritage conservation and public safety. Damage related to collapsed building elements requires an investigation into the factors which cause these phenomena in order to prevent them and to mitigate their effects. This paper aims to define a methodological approach for assessing the risk to humans of falling bodies from historic buildings’ façades. The method is based on the identification of a group of parameters to assess façade’s hazards, vulnerability and public exposure. The results provide the identification of risk factors and related affecting parameters, proposing a synthetic indicator to quantify the risk. The proposal is original in the field of both maintenance planning and preventive maintenance, intending to preserve architectural heritage and public safety. The results lead to an easy tool, as a map, to prioritise risk mitigation interventions. Such a tool, if integrated into maintenance tenders, allows the evaluation, in the context of condition-based maintenance, of the need for interventions.
The External Thermal Insulation Composite System (ETICS) is one of the most common passive strategies to obtain energy savings in existing buildings. Despite previous studies dealing with ETICS durability in real building case studies or involving accelerated ageing tests in climatic chambers, little progress has been made in the knowledge of the long-term durability and energy efficiency of the system. In this work, following previous experiments on ageing cycles, different climatic chambers are used to accelerate performance decay by simulating the natural outdoor exposure to assess the thermal transmittance decay of a building wall. After evaluating through laboratory tests the decay of the thermal performances of grey expanded polystyrene sintered (EPS) and polyurethane, the results are applied to an existing building. The case study building is virtually located in three different Italian climatic zones and an evaluation in terms of thermal transmittance values and their influence on heating energy consumption is made by using the dynamic simulation software DesignBuilder. The results show no significant variations during ETICS service life; the thermal performances are reduced little over time and therefore there is an increase in consumption for building heating of about only 2% after a time t1 equal to 8 years.
Because the production of aggregates for mortar and concrete is no longer sustainable, many attempts have been made to replace natural aggregates (NA) with recycled aggregates (RA) sourced from factories, recycling centers, and human activities such as construction and demolition works (C&D). This article reviews papers concerning mortars with fine RA from C&D debris, and from the by-products of the manufacturing and recycling processes of building materials. A four-step methodology based on searching, screening, clustering, and summarizing was proposed. The clustering variables were the type of aggregate, mix design parameters, tested properties, patents, and availability on the market. The number and the type of the clustering variables of each paper were analysed and compared. The results showed that the mortars were mainly characterized through their physical and mechanical properties, whereas few durability and thermal analyses were carried out. Moreover, few fine RA were sourced from the production waste of construction materials. Finally, there were no patents or products available on the market. The outcomes presented in this paper underlined the research trends that are useful to improve the knowledge on the suitability of fine RA from building-related processes in mortars.
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