Challenges and Opportunities Involving Facilities Management in Data Handover: London 2012 Case Study

Abstract

There is an increasing interest of the usage of project data for the life-cycle with the evolution of Building Information Modelling, which promotes the incremental collection of data. This research considers the role of facilities management in developing data for handover at project completion by empirically studying the delivery of the London 2012 games. Eighteen interviews were conducted with project participants. Backgrounds of participants included project sponsors (client representative), delivery partners and facility manager professionals. Our findings suggest a number of approaches taken by a client for the transition of knowledge into the practices of facilities management. These approaches are 1) creating a culture for knowledge transfer in the project; 2) strategic knowledge transfer through guides and processes; 3) knowledge transfer through social interactions; 4) knowledge transfer through the representation of facilities management. There were a number of enablers identified that were aimed at progressing knowledge transfer into facilities management in the project to different degrees such as a transition phase for data handover of up to 6 months in projects. However, there were challenges that limited knowledge transfer as end-user links with the project came to an end with project completion. The contribution of this paper outlines how the client can involve facilities management professionals in the project through incorporating their knowledge during the data handover phase. However, this does not have to be one way and the implications of this study is that having a project representative after the data is handed over to the end user will further enable knowledge transfer from projects into facilities management practices.