BIM for Facility Management: Challenges and Research Gaps

Abstract

This writing presents research gaps in the area of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in Facility Management (FM) industry, and identifies practical challenges that facility management professionals are facing in utilizing BIM. Although this issue, BIM for Facility Management, has gained attention both in literature and practice, and it is highly demanded in FM industry, still it is far away from effective implementation. It is not clear for facility manager whether BIM is helpful to accelerate the process or it is a cost effective solution, and what skills are required for them. The key for effective BIM implementation in FM industry is to enhance collaboration among different parties in project lifecycle. However, still there is a doubt about the importance of FM in Construction industry. In other words, construction does not understand FM. Furthermore, there are issues over interoperability and data exchange. Thus, to assist BIM implementation, it is required to prove the correctness of benefits, uses, and challenges identified in the literature. This paper uses an intensive literature review and highlights the potential research issues in terms of BIM for FM to assist effective implementation of BIM in facility management phase of projects.

Identifying Motivators and Challenges to BIM Implementation Among Facilities Managers in Johannesburg, South Africa

“…However, lack of knowledge (trained personnel) on how to use BIM in facilities management had the highest mean score (MS= 4.06), followed by lower data management standards (quality) at the operational stage (MS= 3.94). These findings are in line with the views expressed in [9], [10], [15], that the lack of best practice and guidelines on how BIM can be used to support facilities management functions hinder adoption and implementation of BIM. In addition, poor information quality and issues around data exchange and transfer have been highlighted.…”

“…Facilities management encompasses multiple interdisciplinary functions and integrates people, place, process and technology required to coordinate with organisation strategies and achieve set goals and activities including preventive maintenance and retrofits, space management, energy use monitoring and decision-making [12], [14], [15]. Achieving the goals of an organisation, efficiently, therefore requires effective processes in place.…”

“…Achieving the goals of an organisation, efficiently, therefore requires effective processes in place. New technologies such as BIM can be used in facilities management functions to cut down operations, boost efficiency, enhance the quality of the facilities and ensure sustainability and overall performance of the organization, which encompasses the aim of facilities management [15]. In the same vein, the goal of BIM is total resource management which aims to reduce waste and costs, increase productivity, improve service delivery, cash flow and profit [16].…”

“…In addition, poor information quality and issues around data exchange and transfer have been highlighted. The quality as well as suitability and accuracy of BIM information and flow is crucial for facilities management decision-making [15]. However, most models created for design and construction phases contain significant quality issues including inaccurate (in terms of spatial association), incomplete, or unnecessary information [15].…”

An Exploration of Synergies between Lean Concepts and BIM in FM: A Review and Directions for Future Research

“…COBie, though identified as "promising", has not reached sufficient maturity for successful implementation [34], needing further work with software and guideline organizations for better integration and classifications. Naghshbandi [37] further highlighted the issues in working with COBie as the inclusion of unnecessary architectural and structural information which increase the complexity of the spreadsheets; noting that only 15% of BIM users utilize COBie as a data exchange format. Additionally, due to the fact that existing FM tools, guidelines and software platforms are quite well developed in their own right and compatible with other technologies, it would be difficult at this stage to unthinkingly integrate BIM technologies to these systems without introducing a lot of waste [36].…”