Using a Case-Study Approach to Explore Methods for Transferring BIM-Based Asset Data to Facility Management Systems

This research builds on prior work by the authors and aims at developing best practices to define and transfer asset data captured during design and construction to the owner at handover using various BIM tools and platforms. With the goal of developing BIM standards and guidelines for supporting facility management at a large educational institution, work completed under prior research included a data needs analysis and definition phase to identify the properties and attributes of various tracked assets by the owner in support of facility management activities. A specially formatted spreadsheet was created that identified the various types of data that would need to be included in a spreadsheet-based deliverable option for the data turnover process. This paper addresses a model-based deliverable option and identifies various data transfer workflows to exchange asset data with a facility management system. The research uses a case study to describe various workflows available to transfer the data. The case study project involves a $1.7 million (USD) HVAC, lighting, and exterior window upgrade of a 1953 Occupancy Class Group A laboratory and office building at the educational institution. Data collection and loading into the Revit BIM model is briefly described, as it is not the main focus of this paper. A 3rd party software plugin was used to define parameters in Revit and load asset data collected from as-built project 2D plans and approved submittals. The paper reports on the data transfer workflows identified and analyzed, and summarizes preliminary observations of the challenges and benefits of each and how they support the owner’s information needs. Finally, the paper includes a discussion of how the current study has influenced a refinement of the original data needs analysis from prior research, serving as part of the validation process for the BIM standards and guidelines development.