Use of Building Information Modeling technology in the integration of the handover process and facilities management

Alvarez-Romero, Sergio Omar

Etd

Use of Building Information Modeling technology in the integration of the handover process and facilities management

Public

The operation and maintenance of a constructed facility takes place after the construction is finished. It is usually the longest phase in the lifecycle of the facility and the one that substantially contributes to its lifecycle cost. To efficiently manage the operation and maintenance of a facility, the staff in charge needs reliable and timely information to support decision making throughout the facility’s lifecycle. The use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) is gradually but steadily changing the way constructed facilities are designed and built. As a result of its use a significant amount of coordinated information is generated during this process and stored in the digital model. However, once the project is completed the owner does not necessarily receive full benefits from the model for future operation and maintenance of the facility. This research explores the information that in the context of educational facilities has value to the owner/operator and that can be delivered at the end of the construction stage through a BIM-enabled digital handover process. It discusses the importance of the Information Delivery Manual and Model and proposes an open standard approach for the creation of a Model View Definition that combines Industry Foundation Classes (IFCs) with COBie standards or with Owner defined standards. The research conducted an extensive literature review and an in-depth case study of an academic institution examining in the detail its current practices and needs for the handover of information, operation and maintenance and space management requirements as well as of the future needs of the facilities management department information system generated by the use of BIM technology. The proposed approach is validated in two parts. The first part is conducted through an online survey distributed to academic institutions across the nation and through selected interviews with facilities management staff in the local area. The second part creates a proof of concept by applying the proposed approach to an existing BIM model and then creates the model version for the handover.

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