Case-based reasoning and BIM systems for asset management

Abstract

Purpose – The next generation of Building Information Modelling (BIM) seeks to establish the concept of Building Knowledge Modelling (BKM). The current BIM applications in construction, including those for asset management, have been mainly used to ensure consistent information exchange among the stakeholders. However, BKM needs to utilise knowledge management (KM) techniques into building models to advance the use of these systems. The purpose of this paper is to develop an integrated system to capture, retrieve, and manage information/knowledge for one of the key operations of asset management: building maintenance (BM). Design/methodology/approach – The proposed system consists of two modules; BIM module to capture relevant information and case-based reasoning (CBR) module to capture the operational knowledge of maintenance activities. The structure of the CBR module was based on analysis of a number of interviews and case studies conducted with professionals working in public BM departments. This paper discusses the development of the CBR module and its integration with the BIM module. The case retaining function of the developed system identifies the information/knowledge relevant to maintenance cases and pursues the related affected building elements by these cases. Findings – The paper concludes that CBR as a tool for KM can improve the performance of BIM models. Originality/value – As the research in BKM is still relatively immature, this research takes an advanced step by incorporating the intelligent functions of knowledge systems into BIM-based systems which helps the transformation from the conventional BIM to BKM.

The building information modelling trajectory in facilities management: A review

“…Commonly established CAFM tools are: computer aided design (CAD) (ibid. ); integrated workplace management systems (IWMS) [28]; enterprise asset management (EAM) [29]; and computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) [30]. Although these disparate tools have inherently different capabilities and functions, a vital prerequisite to implementing an appropriate CAFM system is that an organisation perceives data as its most invaluable asset [31].…”

Building information modeling for facilities management: A literature review and future research directions

“…BIM with its capabilities as a data conduit can provide an easy retrieval of the FM information required for senior management decisions. Current solutions include integrating BIM and FM systems' information using different technologies, such as semantic web technology, to help maintenance personnel to efficiently track and control the whole maintenance management process [72], and integrating BIM and knowledge systems in a case-based reasoning module to enable maintenance information retrieval and knowledge sharing to solve maintenance problems [73,74]. Other attempts focused on developing automated approaches to define possible causes and retrieve related information to facilitate the process of HVAC troubleshooting [75,76].…”

Digitalising asset management: concomitant benefits and persistent challenges

“…Deployment of digital modelling in asset management can greatly improve the quality of data transfers between development stakeholders (Jiao et al, 2013;Lindkvist, 2015;Khaddaj and Srour, 2016). Traditional, manual handover of data often leads to inaccuracies (or worse, loss of data), diminishing the operational information held on a building during its lifecycle (Lindkvist, 2015;Motawa and Almarshad, 2015;Love et al, 2016a). Studies have shown that facility owners regularly encounter incomplete as-built data documentation, fostering dissatisfaction, particularly where transferred operations and maintenance (O&M) data proves wholly unsuitable for asset management (Mayo and Issa, 2016).…”