Integration of facility management and building information modeling (BIM)

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that impede the integration of facilities management (FM) into building information modeling (BIM) technology. The use of BIM technology in the commercial construction industry has grown enormously in recent years. Its application to FM, however, is still limited. The literature highlights issues that hinder BIM–FM integration, which are studied and discussed in detail in this paper. Design/methodology/approach A review of literature is conducted to identify and categorize key issues hampering the application of BIM to FM. This paper has also designed a questionnaire based on a literature review and surveyed FM professionals at two industry events. Using the collected responses, these issues are analyzed and discussed using non-parametric statistical analyses. Findings A total of 16 issues are identified through the literature review of 54 studies under the four categories of BIM-execution and information-management, technological, cost-based and legal and contractual issues. The results of the survey of FM professionals (with 57 complete responses) reveal that the single most important issue is the lack of FM involvement in project phases when BIM is evolving. Originality/value The findings of this study could assist the construction industry (e.g. building-material and equipment manufacturers, design professionals, general contractors, construction managers, owners and facility managers) with creating guidelines that would help in BIM–FM integration. BIM is a virtual database that contains important design and construction information, which can be used for effective and efficient life cycle management if building data are captured completely and accurately with a facility manager’s involvement.

Status Quo and Future Directions of Facility Management: A Bibliometric – Qualitative Analysis

“…Among those, BIM has received special attention by contributing to a sophisticated FM system that streamlines operation and maintenance over long-term using 3D geometry and attribute (Kelly, Serginson, Lockley, Dawood, & Kassem, 2013;Gurevich, Sacks, & Shrestha, 2017). However, the application level of BIM in FM is still limited and unsatisfactory (Dixit, Venkatraj, Ostadalimakhmalbaf, Pariafsai, & Lavy, 2019). The application of BIM technology is concentrated in the project design and construction phase.…”

“…At the design phase, facility managers can help reduce procurement costs by offering facilities suggestions that better suit organizational/individual needs and help create an environment to facilitate the operation, maintenance and management of facilities. For example, for the integration of BIM and FM, facility managers could even actually help set up a FM data transfer template to define the type, format and attribute of data to be retained and added during the construction and handover stages of BIM (Dixit et al, 2019). At the construction phase, facility managers can help ensure data consistency from construction to operation, rapid commissioning of the building, and effective communication between all relevant parties throughout the life-cycle.…”

Industrialized and Project-Based Construction - Standards Versus Business Models

“…Research report on a number of impediments for the implementation of digital solutions and adoption of standards in construction, e.g. with references to business risks and challenges related to the implementation of new technology and work processes [12], commercial and legal barriers [13] and, requirements for legal governance and contractual systems [14,15]. Accordingly, construction digitalization and adoption to new standard systems provide thorough change processes for all stakeholders that need to reconsider their business models, protect and/or reconfigure their commercial offers and balance the risk distribution with their customers and suppliers in order to develop their competitive advantage and maintain their revenue [16].…”

Bim and Gis Integration for Infrastructure Asset Management: A Bibliometric Analysis

“…Very broadly, GIS can provide high-level information about the context of an asset and about the asset itself and its operation, covering an extended geographical area, BIM focuses more on structural and engineering detail for specific projects (Ellul, 2018). From the AM perspective, the potential in the employment of these two approaches can be found in the information and process management capabilities offered, enabling the improvement not only in the design and construction phase, but also of operations in the use phase (Dixit et al, 2019). Linking the data provided by GIS and BIM can underpin the development of an integrated digital model of the built asset, supporting advanced information management in the digital built environment.…”