Exploiting BIM for the Management, Operation and Maintenance of your assets [Part 2]

In the first part of this section on the adoption and exploitation of BIM for the Operational and Maintenance Management of its assets, we discussed the best practices promoting the adoption of a BIM working method and the exchange and maintenance of digital model data. In this second part, we offer you some use cases associated with BIM in Facility Management (digital DOE, integration with GMAO tools, GTB, GTC, etc.).

What are the interests of facility management in BIM?

The digital DOE/DIUO, the basis of BIM GEM

The DOE (Dossier des Ouvrages Executed) is a document sent to the contracting authority at the end of the work. It traces all the work carried out and must contain all the information on the building and its components allowing owners and operators to optimize the care, maintenance and general operation of the building. Among the documents it includes, for example, we can mention execution plans, calculation and operating instructions, product sheets or technical information on materials, for example.

The digital DOE/DIUO (Dossier des Interventions Subsequent de l'Ouvrage) corresponds to a dematerialized version of classical DOE/DIUO, which can be based on an “AS-built” digital model of the building (representative of its condition upon receipt of the work) playing a dual role:

• that of a spatial and geometric frame of reference;
• that of a standardized, shared and usable database of technical information on the structure, from its conception to its use.

The summary plans and the associated digital model are generally produced at the end of the design-build by the project management team. Specific specifications must be defined by the facility manager in order to ensure the relevance and completeness of the information present in the digital DOE.

This use is the basis of all the others since it provides information for each of the cases mentioned below.

To be sure of having a complete digital DOE, all design/construction actors must be involved:

• Project management, in order to compile all the technical models used and update them;
• Businesses to integrate all technical details, compile commissioning and receiving information, integrate GEM user manuals and procedures.

It is then up to the Facility Manager to operate and maintain the model, as soon as it has been received.

Management of spaces, meters and schedules

The management of surfaces and volumes is a crucial point for controlling costs. Among the main actions related to this use, we can mention:

• edit surface control tables (rentals, maintenance, etc.);
• edit tables of rental expenses according to presence (positions or open offices for example);
• check the availability of a room and its occupancy (weekly, monthly or annual)

Here, it is also a question of being able to generate quantities in order to consult service providers, in summary, it is necessary to be able to measure:

• linear structures (walls, pipes, etc.), for example as part of a network insulation project;
• surfaces (floors, walls, ceilings) for example as part of the renovation of flooring;
• volumes (pieces) during storage and/or logistics issues.

The BIM model, ideal support for BMS, GTC and CMMS solutions?

GTB and GTC information systems

A GTB/GTC (for Technical Building Management and Centralized Technical Management) corresponds to the information system for the various technical states of the building (energy management, comfort, security, etc.) aimed at centralizing data and providing usable dashboards.

Frequently used by Facility Managers, their main objective is then to optimize the operation of technical installations through several actions (non-exhaustive list):

• monitor temperatures;
• monitor the electrical loads of equipment;
• pilot predictive regulation;
• implement predictive maintenance;
• have an overview of each piece of equipment and its up-to-date technical manuals;
• issue alerts when thresholds are exceeded (temperature, consumption, etc.).

CMMS, a method for centralizing and managing maintenance

The bigger a building is, and the more complex its components and equipment are, the more important CMMS tools are for managing and maintaining it.

CMMS (Computer-Assisted Maintenance Management) tools make it possible to centralize and manage a set of information as well as the actions of building maintenance personnel such as:

• all building equipment and data on their condition;
• the history and schedule of maintenance interventions;
• the metrics that feed the various dashboards (from building documentation, components, calculations or data reported in real time by IoT sensors)

How does the BIM model make it possible to improve the CMMS and the GTB/GTC of your building?

For the facility manager, the GMAO/GTB/GTC tools aim to improve their ability to react and make decisions by providing them with a knowledge base on their assets. The data from the sites concerned must be exhaustive and reported as quickly as possible (even in real time) in order to inform the facility manager about the condition of his building and to position it in a preventive rather than corrective logic.

This is why the BIM model of buildings has a major role to play in the evolution of CMMS. By offering a spatial repository in which to consult, share, and locate the technical, geometric and structural information of a building more simply, it offers the Facility Manager a gain in reactivity. For example, it becomes possible for the operator to identify the location and information of a machine directly in the model (technical characteristics, associated intervention history, etc.), and to decide what actions to take to ensure its proper functioning, or to verify that certain tasks have been carried out. Then, we can also emphasize that benefiting from a common framework with customers, service providers or colleagues facilitates collaboration. Since the facility manager is regularly at the center of a multitude of actors, this element should not be overlooked!

The interest of a “simplified” BIM

3D visualization is an asset for the management/operation/maintenance of buildings. However, today the exploitation of BIM models requires equipment (software, machines) and training that are obstacles in terms of ROI to the democratization of these tools. The advantage of a “simplified” BIM is then to propose a relevant first step before considering a global transformation of the organization towards a full BIM approach.

At My Digital Buildings, we highlight the use of a Google Street View-style virtual tour with the creation of hotspots and potential links with IoT sensors as a simplified collaboration tool. This format is interesting because it combines the accessibility of the image environment but also a 3D sublayer (point cloud) on which the images are superimposed and, which allows several advantages and uses such as:

• the generation of georeferenced information;
• significant precision (centimetric);
• a set of data available if we want to produce BIM models in the long term;
• simple access from a web browser and therefore reduced hardware and software investments;
• the possibility of interfacing with GTB/CMMS tools.

In addition to allowing democratization and access to digital building management, the simplified BIM that we want to implement at My Digital Buildings makes it possible to have a real vision (understood not distorted by digital simulation) of buildings and to be an intermediary allowing to switch to BIM at the appropriate time, by easily exporting the data integrated and positioned in the virtual visit to the new BIM digital model.

A first step towards the BOS (Building Operating System)?

With a reliable digital model, well-informed initial information and an efficient method of updating it, it is possible to meet the challenges and requirements of tomorrow, in particular those related to the implementation of Smart Building structures. Indeed, many labels and/or certifications are beginning to emerge in this field such as the R2S label (Ready2Services) initiated by the SBA (Smart Building Alliance) which “is a foundation that defines the level of requirements expected from a Smart Building, an open and communicating building ready for services”. BIM is then a tool that is fully complementary to the implementation of such an approach.

Finally, we cannot finish this series of articles devoted to the use of BIM in the management, operation and maintenance phase without introducing the concept of BOS (Building Operating System). Indeed, to offer occupants, maintainers and owners applications that are relevant and useful in their daily lives, service providers must be able to produce them without changing the management of local data. And this is where the BOS makes perfect sense since it acts as an operating system (such as iOS, Android or Windows) and makes it possible to link smart building equipment to service applications.

Are BIM and BOS the two terms to remember for the future of building maintenance?

To go further:

The reference framework for the R2S label

The BOS, the essential part of Smart Building

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