Lifecycle Exchange for Asset Data (LEAD)

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to outline the problems associated with asset information management using the Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) standard and to analyse the causes of industry failure to successfully adopt the standard. Based on this analysis, the paper will propose a process model, namely, Lifecycle Exchange of Asset Data (LEAD) to manage asset dataflow between all building stakeholders from design to construction and ultimately to the facility management team. This model aims to help the construction supply chain to produce complete and high-quality asset data that supports the operation phase of the built environment. Design/methodology/approach A review of relevant studies provided a theoretical background for this study. The authors then collected and analysed COBie data from five live construction projects using building information modelling (BIM) projects from different design and construction companies. The process model is based on an industry placement within Bouygues UK construction company, which was a Tier 1 building contractor in London in the period from December 2016 to December 2018. The researcher used an inductive approach observing current practises in two construction projects to produce “LEAD” model. Then a focus group was conducted with industry experts to discuss and refine the process model. Findings Analysis of literature and data collected in the course of this study revealed that although COBie is a BIM Level 2 standard in the UK, there is currently a low success rate in producing complete and accurate COBie data in the UK construction industry. This low rate is because of COBie’s rigid data syntax/structure, complexity and ambiguity of its data exchange process, which suggests that COBie may not be the future of the industry. Based on these findings, the study proposed a process model, namely, “LEAD,” to improve COBie output and also to be used with project-specific information requirements. Practical implications To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first to focus solely on asset data exchange process using COBie standard and highlights the problems the industry faces in this remit. The study is based on industry placement for two years, so the analysis is based on actual and current industry problems. Current industry practices also informed the “LEAD” model, and the model provides a step-by-step guidance in producing and exchanging BIM asset data in all stages of the building lifecycle. Originality/value This paper provides a detailed analysis of the most common problems associated with COBie as an asset data exchange standard. Understanding these problems is of high value for industry practitioners to avoid them in projects. The paper also proposed a novel process model that can be used either to improve COBie quality or can be used with any project-specific data requirements.

Asset information requirements for blockchain-based digital twins: a data-driven predictive analytics perspective

“…The adoption of BIM throughout the AECO-FM industry has entailed an increase of BIM-based AM both in practice and research. Although BIM has been successfully implemented in the design and construction phase its contribution during OM has been limited (Alnaggar and Pitt, 2019; Heaton, 2020; Heaton and Parlikad, 2020). While BIM is a capable AM tool during OM it lacks the analytical capabilities and level of information richness for the complex situations and comprehensive data management required, especially during the OM phase (Boje et al ., 2020; Lu et al ., 2019, 2021; Shahzad et al ., 2022).…”

“…As opposed to asset or project-level requirements the OIR are organizational-level requirements (ISO, 2018). While there are a handful of standards aimed at utilizing building information modeling (BIM) data within OM and AM stating that organizations shall develop an AIM (Heaton, 2020), there are no comprehensive overarching frameworks supporting the alignment of strategic, process and technical standards (Alnaggar and Pitt, 2019; Heaton, 2020; Lu et al ., 2019).…”

A Systematic Review of the Extent to Which BIM Is Integrated into Operation and Maintenance

“…Other studies addressed data accessibility and handling issues which are also crucial for effective integration with BIM [82,[106][107][108][109][110]. Lucas et al [111,112] proposed a sevenmodel function to support facilities management in healthcare that allows better storage, retrieval and management of data.…”

“…The plan should include all the required information for specific roles and responsibilities for all stakeholders, the schedule and clear deliverables. However, facility managers and business owners do not fully understand or realize the information requirements for integrating BIM with the O&M environment [82,183]. The review shows that there are a lack of best practice and case studies addressing such integrations.…”

Building Information Modelling Facility Management (BIM-FM)

“…It does not encompass all types of assets [65]; • Some elements have limited practical value [66]; • The structure is not easily customisable [66];…”