BIM and a Future Vision for FM

by Angela Lewis & Jim Whittaker — Where do you see yourself in 10 or 20 years? Perhaps a mentor, colleague or supervisor has asked you this question. However, how often is an entire industry asked such a question? In 2012, this question was posed by the buildingSMART Vision Task Force, a committee charged with developing an initial long-term strategy for the National Building Information Modeling Standard (NBIMS).

To answer the question, the taskforce reached out to industry professionals across the entire architecture, engineering, construction and operations (AECO) industry to gain perspectives on where the industry could be in the year 2021. More than 30 professionals provided narratives for various industry sectors to forecast what the future may hold for his/her profession. Using the narratives, a vision is being developed for what the future may look like and the steps the AECO industry may need to get there.

Shaping today to support a BIM-enabled future

Building information modeling (BIM) is a digital representation of the physical and functional characteristics of a facility (NBIMS 2012). Although often initially understood by many as a graphical tool, the data that can be captured when using BIM is significant, especially for facility management teams.

As shown in Figure 1, as a facility moves from design to construction to operations, the use of information increases, while the use of graphics decreases. Designers and construction contractors use information that is often easier to depict using drawings. As a facility is built, the amount of information generated continues to increase, including such documents as warranty certificates, operations and maintenance manuals and test and balance records, and much of this information is more easily communicated through textual representations.

According to a McGraw Hill Construction Smart Market Report (2012), although use of BIM by architects and contractors is as high as 70 and 74 percent respectively, with about 67 percent design engineers using BIM, fewer facility management teams today are actively using BIM. Facility management industry leaders, such as those described in the case studies within BIM for Facility Management (Teicholz 2013), are currently seeking to define how BIM can be used by facility managers for new construction, major renovations and for existing buildings.

FIGURE 1: Changing use of graphics and information over the facility life cycle (Burg and Mealy 2012).

For example, the State of Wisconsin Bureau of Facilities Management has evaluated the type of data provided during the handover process from BIM design models and how it could be used within the computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) at a university campus. The University of Southern California School of Cinematic Arts created a proofof- concept portal to understand how CAD managers, energy managers, commissioning managers and HVAC maintenance managers can use a software tool that integrates the document management system, CMMS and building automation system to support both graphical and information-driven facility management processes. In addition, both facility teams have a BIM guide to provide guidance for how to use BIM for new construction and renovation processes.

Leading facility management teams in both the public and private sectors are currently:

  • Creating BIM guidelines for new construction and renovation projects to define requirements for architecture, engineering and construction teams providing BIM deliverables.
  • Evaluating and learning about industry standards, often including them in BIM guidelines.
  • Asking challenging questions about topics such as how to make the business case for BIM.
  • Determining how BIM principles for new construction and renovation can be applied to existing buildings.

As industry leaders continue to define and advance the use of BIM for facility management, one of the keys to success will be determining how to broadly implement what has been demonstrated through pilot projects and developing industry standards. This includes how and at what point in the process to export data relevant to facility management teams from BIM authoring software and how to use open information exchange standards, such as the Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBie).

Two ways IFMA supports members in learning about and shaping how BIM is being used by facility management teams are the BIM lifecycle operations community of practice (BIM LO COP) and working collaboratively with the buildingSMART alliance. In 2012, the community of practice had a series of four BIM webinars, including topics such as technologies to support BIM-enabled projects and BIM fundamentals. In 2014, Facility Fusion D.C. will feature a one-day BIM conference. Working with the building- SMART alliance provides an opportunity for IFMA to shape the direction of the National BIM Standard and participate in efforts such as the Alliance Roadmapping Initiative. The goal of the Alliance Roadmapping Initiative is to align industry sectors to advance common goals related to technology and process improvements to support industrywide use of BIM.

Future vision for facility management

To challenge the possibilities of today, the vision narrative for facility management in the year 2021 forecasted that the industry will:

  • Have a workforce comprised of individuals who purposefully entered the profession because of opportunities to deploy new technologies and use technology to solve challenges faced by their customers.
  • Have the capability to use software to make data-driven decisions based on large amounts of data for a diverse group of stakeholders, often successfully making the business case to provide sufficient funding to support the needs of the facility management team.
  • Use software tools with a single user interface to access many functions, including space, maintenance, energy, asset and lease management. Open information exchange standards and naming conventions will be foundational to successful implementation of these systems.
  • Maintain accurate data sets. The workforce will value and be rewarded for providing accurate data for critical facility decisions. The accuracy of most data will be validated using rules before it is imported into software databases.

The success of these possibilities will have been largely driven by the principles and processes of building information modeling. Although BIM is an important enabler, it is forecasted that BIM will rarely be discussed because its underlying concepts will have become foundational to common business practice.

NBIMS — US: NATIONAL BIM STANDARD — UNITED STATES

The National Building Information Modeling Standard — United States (NBIMS — US) is a standard that aggregates reference standards, information exchange standards terms, definitions and practice documents.

The purpose of NBIMS — US is to “advance the art and science of the entire life cycle of the vertical and horizontal built environment by providing a means of organizing and classifying electronic object data and thereby fostering streamlined communication among owners, designers, material suppliers, constructors, facility managers and all stakeholders associated with the built environment” (NBIMS – US 2012).

The goal of the standard is to provide a framework to support collaboration and trust between stakeholders using an open, non-proprietary standard that is accessible to all industry professionals (NBIMS – US 2012). Version 2 of the standard can be downloaded at www.nationalbimstandard.org. Version 3 of the standard is scheduled for publication summer 2014.

Moving into the future

Although nobody knows with certainty what the future will hold, it is already acknowledged today that building systems, including software, are becoming more complex and the amount of related available data continues to increase (IFMA 2011). To overcome these challenges and move toward the vision described, facility management teams can strive to:

  • Define what data is needed and populate facility management software. Although some facility management teams continue to improve the processes for maintenance and space management, opportunity still exists to align data needs between software. Having a single, accurate data set for common information increases the ability to make consistent, defensible decisions.
  • Adopt and implement standards within facility management processes and software. To support the transfer of information between software, it is necessary to adopt the use of information exchange standards. However, having well-defined and widely used processes is necessary to optimize software use. Naming convention standards should be established for all buildings, rooms and major maintainable equipment, as well as other mission-critical information. The same naming standard should be used by all facility management software, such as CMMS, integrated work management systems, document management systems and building automation systems.
  • Hold service providers accountable for accurate and complete data sets. Require that service providers correctly use naming standards and that the data is complete when they prepare construction documents, asset inventories and condition assessments. To do this requires providing a member of the facility management team time to perform a quality control review, as well as not accepting the final deliverables until they meet the contracted requirements.
  • Challenge service providers to deliver computer-readable information. Although PDFs are a common way to deliver reports, specifications and other textbased information, it can be time consuming to find information about a specific asset within multiple PDFs. When possible, consider requiring information to be formatted so it can be imported into the CMMS or IWMS, increasing the ability to quickly assess the information in the future and increasing the value of the service provided.
  • Continue to broaden stakeholder communications. Expand communication beyond the boundaries of the facility to include city planners, community leaders, emergency responders and neighboring facility management teams to align common needs with the goal of sharing information and resources.
  • Get involved with the IFMA BIM LO COP and/or the buildingSMART alliance. For more information about the COP, see www.ifma.org/ community/ifma-groups/groupdetails/ bim-lifecycle-operationscommunity- of-practice. For more about the buildingSMART alliance, visit www.nibs.org/?page=bsa.

When accurate and complete data sets are available and can be used by multiple software solutions, facility teams can more effectively serve customers while reducing costs. Shaping the future depends on how each of us acts as individuals and members of the industry. How will you act today to shape future use of BIM for facility management?

NOTE: This article provides a snapshot of the possible future of facility management with a focus on the impacts of building information modeling. If you feel there is something missing or if the article sparks new ideas, please share these with the taskforce by posting your ideas and comments on the FMJ blog or emailing the authors. As stated by Peter Drucker, management consultant and educator, the best way to predict the future is to shape it.

This article was written as part of the National BIM Standard — United States 2021 Vision Task Force (VTF), an effort of the buidingSMART alliance. The VTF, chaired by Chris Moor, collected more than 30 visionary papers from all corners of the construction industry in an effort to build a roadmap for the industry to become more efficient. The alliance is weaving the essays together to create a single, compelling and tangible vision of what the future may look like, along with the steps the industry may need to take in order to get there.

REFERENCES

1. Berg A. and C. Mealy. (2012). Xavier University FM BIM Integration Case Study. BIM Forum, Tacoma, Wash. Oct. 10-11, 2012.

2. IFMA (2011). Exploring the Current Trends and Future Outlook for Facility Management. IFMA, Houston, Texas.

3. McGraw Hill Construction (2012). Smart Market Report: The Business Value of BIM in North America Multi-Year Trend Analysis and User Ratings (2007-2012). McGraw Hill, Bedford, Mass. www.bim.construction. com/research.

4. NBIMS-US (2012). National BIM Standard — United States Version 2. www.buildingsmartalliance. org.

5. Teicholz, P. (2013). BIM for Facility Managers. Wiley, Hoboken, N.J.

Angela Lewis, P.E., Ph.D., is a project manager with Facility Engineering Associates (FEA). She is an active member of the IFMA BIM Lifecycle community of practice and the buidlingSMART alliance, including serving as the secretary for the CMMS CAFM topical committee and a member of the vision taskforce. Lewis can be reached at angela. lewis@feapc.com.

Jim Whittaker, P.E., CFM, CEFP, FRICS is president/CEO of Facility Engineering Associates (FEA). Whittaker has 25 years of experience managing hundreds of facility management technology and consulting projects throughout the United States, the U.K. and Central and South America. He is first vice chair for IFMA, chair of the US ANSI/TAG for ISO/TC 267 facilities management, as well as a member of the National Research Council Board on Infrastructure and the Constructed Environment (BICE). He can be reached at whittaker@feapc.com.

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IFMA, founded in 1980, is the world’s largest and most widely recognized association for facility management professionals, supporting 24,000 members in more than 100 countries. IFMA advances collective knowledge, value and growth for Facility Management professionals. IFMA certifies professionals in facility management, conducts research, provides educational programs, content and resources, and produces World Workplace, the largest series of facility management conferences and expositions. To join and follow IFMA’s social media outlets online, visit the association’s LinkedIn, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter pages. For more information, visit www.ifma.org.