Improving maintenance performance by developing an IFC BIM/RFID-based computer system

Abstract

Building maintenance includes actions that aim to ensure the components of a building are in acceptable conditions. In traditional maintenance methods, as-built drawings and maintenance manuals are regarded as essential documents for the operation and maintenance of buildings. In this method, the time and cost of facilities management are increased due to managing a large number of documents. Thus, the necessity of creating a range of fields from the information generation to the development of automation systems is evident in the maintenance services from the technological perspective. This research presents a computerized system that integrates the building information model objects in industry foundation classes and radio-frequency identification to improve building maintenance performance. The computerized system is successfully applied to the building of a soccer stadium via the proposed research methodology using a qualitative and practical approach. The main contribution of this research is to provide an innovative framework for the implementation of the proposed system with a step-by-step approach, and also to evaluate the maintenance methods to help different building maintenance stakeholders decide on the appropriate method. The research indicates that with a slight effort on the implementation of the proposed system, a significant improvement of overall maintenance performance can be achieved compared to the traditional method in terms of time, cost, and functionality. It is also hoped that the proposed system can join with other new technologies to promote the system’s value in the field of building maintenance.