Preparing A Buindling Information Model For Facility Maintenance And Management

Abstract

Over the past five years Building Information Modeling Software (BIM) has made tremendous inroads in the US-AEC industry. The use of BIM software such as Autodesk Revit is now common place among large US contractors. The model is currently being used for issues such as design, engineering, visualization, conflict resolution, construction simulation, subcontractor co-ordination and cost projection. In theory a BIM model has the capability of being transferred to the owner for use in the maintenance and management of the facility. However these models are not being used by facility managers for maintenance purposes. A significant part of the problem lies in the fact that the model was not created with the information needed by facility managers. This study focuses on the information needed by facility managers in a BIM model. Autodesk Revit is the most popular BIM tool used in the US AEC sector and was hence used in this study. Facility managers were interviewed to obtain the information they would like to see in a BIM model. An existing facility was used and a new BIM model was created with all the information needed by the facility managers. Several innovative techniques were used to input the information in the Revit model. The model was then reviewed by the facility managers and further improved. Some shortcomings were found that the researchers could not resolve using the Revit model. This paper elaborates the creation of a BIM model for facility maintenance and management and the results of the field test.