Building Asset Management Research Articles

Elicitation of Rank Correlations with Probabilities of Concordance: Method and Application to Building Management.

Constructing Bayesian networks (BN) for practical applications presents significant challenges, especially in domains with limited empirical data available. In such situations, field experts are often consulted to estimate the model's parameters, for instance, rank correlations in Gaussian copula-based Bayesian networks (GCBN). Because there is no consensus on a 'best' approach for eliciting these correlations, this paper proposes a framework that uses probabilities of concordance for assessing dependence, and the dependence calibration score to aggregate experts' judgments. To demonstrate the relevance of our approach, the latter is implemented to populate a GCBN intended to estimate the condition of air handling units' components-a key challenge in building asset management. While the elicitation of concordance probabilities was well received by the questionnaire respondents, the analysis of the results reveals notable disparities in the experts' ability to quantify uncertainty. Moreover, the application of the dependence calibration aggregation method was hindered by the absence of relevant seed variables, thus failing to evaluate the participants' field expertise. All in all, while the authors do not recommend to use the current model in practice, this study suggests that concordance probabilities should be further explored as an alternative approach for the elicitation of dependence.

A Review on Possibilities of Artificial Intelligence in construction Industry

Abstract: At present if we see construction industries, they are facing lot of problems which finally create project delay. The progression of the construction industry is strictly limited by the countless complex challenges it faces such as cost and time overruns, health and safety, productivity and labour scarcities. Working on these complex problems of construction industries is not easy in many aspects but if these problems are countered with the help of AI results will be robust. Therefore, many research efforts in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction community have recently tried introducing AI into building asset management processes. AI is also able to make the process of decision making faster, decrease error rates, and increase computational efficiency. Among the different AI techniques, machine learning, pattern recognition, and deep learning have recently acquired considerable attention and are establishing themselves as a new class of intelligent methods for use in structural engineering. A present review of existing literature on AI applications in the construction industry such as activity monitoring, risk management, resource and waste optimization was conducted. Additionally, the opportunities and challenges of AI applications in construction were identified and presented in this study. This study focuses on AI and its application in construction industry.

Artificial intelligence in construction asset management: a review of present status, challenges and future opportunities

The built environment is responsible for roughly 40% of global greenhouse emissions, making the sector a crucial factor for climate change and sustainability. Meanwhile, other sectors (like manufacturing) adopted Artificial Intelligence (AI) to solve complex, non-linear problems to reduce waste, inefficiency, and pollution. Therefore, many research efforts in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction community have recently tried introducing AI into building asset management (AM) processes. Since AM encompasses a broad set of disciplines, an overview of several AI applications, current research gaps, and trends is needed. In this context, this study conducted the first state-of-the-art research on AI for building asset management. A total of 578 papers were analyzed with bibliometric tools to identify prominent institutions, topics, and journals. The quantitative analysis helped determine the most researched areas of AM and which AI techniques are applied. The areas were furtherly investigated by reading in-depth the 83 most relevant studies selected by screening the articles’ abstracts identified in the bibliometric analysis. The results reveal many applications for Energy Management, Condition assessment, Risk management, and Project management areas. Finally, the literature review identified three main trends that can be a reference point for future studies made by practitioners or researchers: Digital Twin, Generative Adversarial Networks (with synthetic images) for data augmentation, and Deep Reinforcement Learning.

Data strategies for improving infrastructure value and performance in New Zealand

This paper reviews three digitalisation projects in the Building Innovation Partnership, an industry-led research and innovation initiative based at the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, focused on improving the transfer of infrastructure information within and between organisations. The building information modelling (BIM) to building asset management project focuses on the use of client-facing information managers and asset information specification tools to improve information transfer between building designers, contractors and facility/asset managers. The Infrastructure Asset Data project focuses on the use of metadata standards to federate and analyse data on three waters pipe networks managed by different councils. The BIM-Based Building Consenting project focuses on using BIM data to automate the assessment of building designs against the requirements of digitised building regulations and standards. Case studies associated with the three projects show that the capability of industry to transfer digital information needs to be lifted, to exploit the benefits of digital information, processes and technologies in the construction and infrastructure sectors.

Management of Land and Building Assets in Tolotio Village, Tibawa District, Gorontalo Regency

This study aims to determine the Management of Land and Building Assets in Tolotio Village, Tibawa District, Gorontalo Regency. The research method uses a qualitative type. The results of the study indicate that the management of land and building assets in Tolotio Village, Tibawa District, Gorontalo Regency has not been running well, where 1 (one) of 4 (four) indicators measured, namely the planning indicator is optimal, namely the existence of planning activities by the Tolotio Village Government together with other stakeholders. those in Tolotio Village plan for the village's needs every year which are contained in the Village Government Work Plan (RKPDes). Meanwhile, 3 (three) other indicators measured, namely organization, direction and supervision were not optimal. This can be seen from the process of administering and reporting land and building assets that have not organized all land and building assets in Tolotio Village and the inability of the Tolotio Village Government in directing and supervising land and building assets into productive physical resources.

BIM-integrated portfolio-based strategic asset data quality management

A building's strategic asset management (SAM) capability has traditionally been limited by its site-based management. With the emergence of needs from clients about delivering a long-term portfolio-based building asset management plan that minimizes the asset risk and optimizes the value of their asset portfolios, SAM Units have emerged as a new business form to provide various SAM services to their clients. However, the quality of their current data model is still hindered by many issues, such as missing important attributes and the lack of customized information flow guidance. In addition, there is a gap in integrating their existing data collection with various data sources and Building Information Modeling (BIM) to enhance their data quality. By evaluating a SAM Unit's portfolio case study, this paper identifies the factors limiting the quality of SAM Units' data model and develops a guide to integrating various data sources better. We develop a BIM-integrated portfolio-based SAM information flow framework and a detailed hierarchical portfolio-based non-geometric data structure. The proposed framework and data structure will help SAM professionals, building asset owners, and other facilities management professionals embrace the benefits of managing the portfolio-based SAM data.

A Smart Building Resource Prediction, Navigation and Management System Supported by Radio Tomography and Computational Intelligence

This article presents research results on a smart building prediction, navigation and asset management system. The main goal of this work was to combine all comfort subsystems, such as lighting, heating or air conditioning control, into one coherent management system supported by navigation using radio tomographic imaging techniques and computational intelligence in order to improve the building’s ability to track users and then maximize the energy efficiency of the building by analyzing their behavior. In addition, the data obtained in this way were used to increase the quality of navigation services, improve the safety and ergonomics of using the room access control system and create a centralized control panel enriched with records of the working time of individual people. The quality of the building’s user habit learning is ensured by a network of sensors collecting environmental data and thus the setting values of the comfort modules. The advantage of such a complex solution is an increase in the accuracy of navigation services provided, an improvement in the energy balance, an improvement in the level of safety and faster facility diagnostics. The solution uses proprietary small device assemblies with implementation of popular wireless transmission standards such as Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, ZigBee or Z-Wave. These PANs (personal area networks) are used to update and transmit environmental and navigation data (Bluetooth), to maintain the connection of other PANs to the master server (Wi-Fi) and to communicate with specific end devices (ZigBee and Z-Wave).

Condition assessment model of building indoor environment: a case study on educational buildings

PurposeThe purpose of this study is to develop a condition assessment (CA) model for a building's indoor 21 environments and to improve the building's asset management process.Design/methodology/approachThe methodology is based on dividing the building into spaces, which are the principal evaluated elements based on the building's indoor environmental quality (IEQ). An evaluation scheme was prepared for the identified factors and the analytical hierarchy process (AHP) technique was used to calculate the relative weight of each space inside the building as well as the contribution of each IEQ factors (IEQFs) in the overall environmental condition of each space inside the building. The multi-attribute utility theory (MAUT) was then applied to assess the environmental conditions of the building as a whole and its spaces. An educational building in Canada was evaluated using the developed model.FindingsEach space type was found to have its own IEQFs weights, which confirms the hypothesis that the importance and allocation of each IEQF are dependent on the function and tasks carried out in each space. A similar indoor environmental assessment score was calculated using the developed model and the building CA conducted by the facility management team; “89%” was calculated, using K-mean clustering, for the physical and environmental conditions.Originality/valueIEQ affects occupants' assessment of their quality of life (QOL). Despite the existence of IEQ evaluation models that correlate the building's IEQ and the occupants' perceived indoor assessments, some limitations have led to the necessity of developing a comprehensive model that integrates all factors and their sub-criteria in an assessment scheme that converts all the indoor environmental factors into objective metrics.

An integrated decision support system for building asset management based on BIM and Work Breakdown Structure

The asset management phase of a building constitutes approximately 60% of its total lifecycle costs. However, significant unnecessary expenses occur in current asset management practices because of the separation of the design and construction phases from operation and maintenance and the lack of an effective building asset management system covering all types of buildings with numerous components. Asset management decision-making is inherently a process that requires the assimilation of a multitude of data, processes, and software systems. Therefore, this paper proposes an integrated decision support system for building asset management that addresses the systematization and coordination of lifecycle data. In this approach, a lifecycle work breakdown structure (WBS) for the asset management system is developed to provide a unified hierarchy to categorize and organize building assets. It is then used to develop the WBS-based integrated building lifecycle asset management model through a relational database management system (DBMS). Since building information modelling (BIM) is a rich information-based platform with large volumes of asset data needed, it is integrated with the WBS-based DBMS to achieve an effective integrated building asset management. A case study of an educational building is presented and discussed in the paper to demonstrate how the proposed automated solution is used for asset management. The research contributes to the body of knowledge by formalizing a WBS-based unified asset inventory hierarchy and mapping BIM data to the proposed hierarchy for effective asset management.

BIM AND GIS INTEGRATION FOR INFRASTRUCTURE ASSET MANAGEMENT: A BIBLIOMETRIC ANALYSIS

Abstract. The integration of Building Information Modelling (BIM) and Geographical Information Systems (GIS) is gaining momentum in digital built Asset Management (AM), and has the potential to improve information management operations and provide advantages in process control and delivery of quality AM services, along with underlying data management benefits through entire life cycle of an asset. Work has been carried out relating GeoBIM/AM to buildings as well as infrastructure assets, where the potential financial savings are extensive. While information form BIM maybe be sufficient for building-AM; for infrastructure AM a combination of GIS and BIM is required. Scientific literature relating to this topic has been growing in recent years and has now reached a point where a systematic analysis of current and potential uses of GeoBIM in AM for Infrastructure is possible. Three specific areas form part of the analysis – a review of BIM and Infrastructure AM and GIS and Infrastructure AM leads to a better understanding of current practice. Combining the two, a review of GeoBIM and Infrastructure AM allows the benefits of, and issues relating to, GeoBIM to be clearly identified, both at technical and operational levels. A set of 54 journal articles was selected for in-depth contents analysis according to the AM function addressed and the managed asset class. The analysis enabled the identification of three categories of issues and opportunities: data management, interoperability and integration and AM process and service management. The identified knowledge gaps, in turn, underpin problem definition for the next phases of research into GeoBIM for infrastructure AM.

A unified work breakdown structure-based framework for building asset management

PurposeAsset inventory is an essential part of any building asset management system and is needed by such functions as condition assessment and deterioration prediction. Previous studies in asset management systems have suggested the use of one of the many standard construction classification systems, such as UniFormat or MasterFormat, in achieving the goals of asset management. However, each classification system has its unique features, and it has been developed for different purposes and may not necessarily be directly adaptable to asset management. A proper classification system is thus needed to achieve the goals of building asset management effectively. Such a system must take into consideration the objectives and functions of asset management. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to establish a unified work breakdown structure (WBS)-based framework for building asset inventory.Design/methodology/approachThe WBS-based framework aims to cover the entire lifecycle of an asset so as to provide the unified classification system for asset inventory. The proposed framework is developed based on appropriate building standards. Also, comprehensive levels of details are included for space functions and locations for all assets in any type of building. Furthermore, this framework takes into consideration utilities in any kind of building project. As such, the WBS-based framework proposed in this research endeavor provides the basis for effective asset management. An educational building case study is presented and discussed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for asset management.FindingsThe unified WBS-based framework for building asset management effectively classifies asset inventories and facilitates decision-making in asset management during the lifecycle of an asset.Originality/valueThis research synthesizes a unified WBS-based framework for building asset management, which allows for a more effective lifecycle building asset management.

Building Information Modeling (BIM) Utilization for 3D Fiscal Cadastre

Parcels data in Indonesia are still stored in 2-dimensional (2D) geometry which are integrated with other attribute data, such as the case with the Directorate of Land and Building Tax Indonesia. Whereas, building taxes assessment refers to a number of details that require the information to be stored in 3-dimensional (3D) forms. This study aims at the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) technology, which widely used in building asset management in 3D. This research illustrates the usability of the role of BIM in assessing and managing building taxes in Indonesia. The point clouds were obtained using Terrestrial Laser Scanner (TLS) technology. The point clouds processed so that it can form 3-dimensional geometrical apartment. The attributes of the 3-dimensional model integrated with the geometric model using the BIM concept. The results analyzed to assess whether BIM concept was able to fulfill the needs of the 3D fiscal cadastre in Indonesia.

Building information modelling to support maintenance management of healthcare built assets

PurposeThis paper aims to investigate how digital capabilities associated with building information modelling (BIM) can integrate a wide range of information to improve built asset management (BAM) decision-making during the in-use phase of hospital buildings.Design/methodology/approachA comprehensive document analysis and a participatory case study was undertaken with a regional NHS hospital to review the type of information that can be used to better inform BAM decision-making to develop a conceptual framework to improve information use during the health-care BAM process, test how the conceptual framework can be applied within a BAM division of a health-care organisation and develop a cloud-based BIM application.FindingsBIM has the potential to facilitate better informed BAM decision-making by integrating a wide range of information related to the physical condition of built assets, resources available for BAM and the built asset’s contribution to health-care provision within an organisation. However, interdepartmental information sharing requires a significant level of time and cost investment and changes to information gathering and storing practices within the whole organisation.Originality/valueThis research demonstrated that the implementation of BIM during the in-use phase of hospital buildings is different to that in the design and construction phases. At the in-use phase, BIM needs to integrate and communicate information within and between the estates, facilities division and other departments of the organisation. This poses a significant change management task for the organisation’s information management systems. Thus, a strategically driven top-down organisational approach is needed to implement BIM for the in-use phase of hospital buildings.

중소형빌딩 소유주의 자산관리방법 결정요인 분석

본 연구는 중소형빌딩 소유주들의 관리유형을 파악하고, 유형별 선택요인을 분석하였다. 직접관리는 비용절감, 관리회사 불신(금전적요인과 전문성), 개인정보 유출, 소유주 나이, 보유기간이 정의 요인이었다. 부의 변수들은 직업유무, 임대수익, 보유면적이다. 위탁관리는 빌딩가치 증대를 통한 매각, 본업으로 인한 임대관리 불가능, 직업유무, 임대수익, 보유면적, 보유빌딩 수 등이 정의요인이고, 관리경험유무, 해외거주 유무, 소유주 나이, 보유기간이 부의 요인이었다. 혼합관리는 시설관리의 어려움, 임차인을 매번 응대불편, 위탁관리는 비용부담, 위탁관리의 개인정보유출, 소유주 나이, 직업유무, 임대수익, 보유기간, 보유면적 등이 정의 요인이었다.

Development of Office Building Asset Management’s Standard for Public Works Highway in Kabupaten Jember

Government spends a lot of money in infrastructure, including buildings. And it increases by years. Therefore, a research to formulate how to well manage our public building is needed. The method of this research is formulating Standard Building Assets Management which can be rationally implemented in The Office of Public Works Highway in Jember. It should be based on the theory of asset management, the ministrial regulations and best practise guideline of Queensland government building. The results of this study is the cycle of building asset management. These are Planning, Procurement, Administration (Registration and Sertification of assets), Management in Use (Assesment, Operation and Maintenance) and Disposal.

Evaluating the adaptive reuse potential of buildings in conservation areas

PurposeAdaptive reuse of building assets is an important approach to sustainability. Adapting a building for new uses often involves complex factors in the decision-making process, particularly in conservation areas. The paper aims to show an evaluation process of the adaptive reuse potential of historic buildings that are subject to change in the Grand Canal area, a world heritage site in Hangzhou, China.Design/methodology/approachFor this purpose, a model has been established with aggregated views of professionals on the degree to which a variety of factors affect the buildings’ potential for adaptive reuse. The model intends to help prioritise some of the buildings in the area for adaptive reuse, which is important for effective allocation of public resources. Interviews with professionals, analytic hierarchy process and the Delphi method have been used to establish the evaluation model. It is then applied to the Grand Canal area to generate indices for buildings’ adaptive reuse potential and the ranking of priority. The indices are generated through public scoring of historic buildings against the variables and calculated through the model.FindingsThe paper concludes that the evaluation process is an effective way to engage the public in the decision-making process and to balance conflict interests of various stakeholders in the management of historic building assets in conservation areas.Originality/valueThe research has proposed an evaluation model to help set priority of buildings subject to adaptive reuse and to help distribute public fund effectively. It facilitates wide public engagement in the decision-making progress of adaptive reuse of historic buildings.

Asset management determinants of Polish universities

Purpose – The purpose of the paper is to offer insights into university asset management (AM) and describe the impact that the various determinants have on the process of university AM. The process of university AM is influenced by a range of determinants. Design/methodology/approach – A literature review and a case study were used to achieve the research objective. The case study involved two data collection techniques – interviews and document analysis. Findings – Changing conditions of state-run universities, such as decreasing number of students and a tendency to increase the proportion of scientific research activities, require flexible adjustments to the size and structure of the universities’ facility base. Reductions in government grants and increasing maintenance costs of university assets have made it necessary to manage both existing and future assets more effectively to achieve measured improvement of environmental and social performance, to fulfil strategic responsibilities and to create shared value. Research limitations/implications – The paper was limited to one practice case study. Additional cases could be studied to confirm the findings and increase the usefulness of the methodological framework and improve its application. Practical implications – Identifying the various factors that influence the process of university AM would be useful for universities and other public building owners and their decisions-makers, such as chancellors and asset managers. The experience of the Polish market also may support the development of university or public building AM in other countries. Originality/value – The process of optimising of university asset structure proposed in this paper can contribute to the better understanding and management of higher education institutions ' assets and to the greater competitiveness and efficiency of the Polish universities. The work is novel in that it provides insights into university AM and describes various determinants from an external (macro and micro) and internal (connected with the university itself) perspective.

Beyond mandated track safety inspections using a mission-focused, knowledge-based approach

The inspection of railroad track is typically mandated by applicable track standards which generally address intent (safety and/or maintenance) and calendar frequency. Likewise, the maintenance and repair (M&R) of track is often compliance-driven with the intent of sustaining the condition requirements associated with a track standards-based track class. This approach falls short of optimising inspections because it is not based on strategic asset management needs. This approach also does not lead to an optimal mix of M&R work activities under varying budget constraints. This paper expands on a “knowledge-based” concept developed for building asset management whereby maintenance inspections are optimally scheduled based on knowledge of the asset and not the calendar. Included is the introduction of a “mission-focused” scoring metric that measures track segment importance. This track priority score along with other readily attainable track condition metrics form the basis for developing a knowledge-based optimised inspection plan. While the discussion in this paper focuses on military railroad track asset management, the process is directly applicable to the entire small railroad niche (military, shortlines and industrials) due to the specific metrics used. Discussion beyond military trackage is provided to demonstrate this application. The concept, however, has even broader implications throughout the industry (Class Is, regionals, transits, etc.). Finally, the paper addresses research into a framework for incorporating mission and other information to develop knowledge-based optimised M&R plans.

Improving In-Building Asset Localization by Offset Vector and Convergence Calibration Methods

AbstractAccessibility of assets impacts the efficiency of various work processes during building operations. An effective in-building asset localization solution that can locate assets accurately is needed to improve the efficiency of building asset management. Multipath and fading effects caused by the complexity of buildings make it challenging to locate building assets (e.g., equipment, components, tools) by radio frequency identification (RFID)-based indoor location solutions. This study tests two calibration methods, namely, the offset vector method (OVM) and convergence method (CM), to mitigate multipath and fading effects in indoor environments to support in-building asset management. A RFID-based indoor asset localization solution is tested in two building-scale test beds with different complexities and functions. The proposed solution locates assets by utilizing a virtual-tag-enabled (VTE) algorithm, and two calibration methods are integrated into the VTE algorithm to improve the location accurac...

Building asset management with deficiency tracking and integrated life cycle optimisation

This paper introduces a comprehensive building asset management system with a unique formulation in which all functions from inspection, to deterioration modelling, and life cycle analysis, track the dynamics of building deficiencies. The system also incorporates an integrated life cycle analysis that determines both the optimum repair-types and the optimum repair-timings for a large network of buildings with hundreds of components. To handle the large-scale optimisation involved, a two-phase optimisation procedure has been introduced and its powerful performance validated on various size networks. The paper provides a description of the proposed asset management system and discusses its implementation in a user-friendly prototype that suits a large school board in North America. The proposed asset management system is innovative and helps organisations with large building assets improve the overall condition of their inventory with highest return on the limited repair budget.