Sarel Lavy, Salil Jawadekar
Abstract
This paper investigates the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) for facility management on three projects where implementation concepts were used. Factors which affect these concepts are identified through a literature review. The study contains the following aspects of the implementation: responsibility for database formulation, characteristics of the database, technology, and effect on work order response times. A qualitative analysis was conducted to study the application of these concepts and to identify any problems encountered. Three case studies were conducted on projects where BIM and COBie were used for facility management. It was found that though the database generated by using these concepts is useful mainly for preventive maintenance, the data gathering and formulation process needs to be started earlier in the project. In order to make BIM more effective for facility management functions, such as space allocation, 3D mapping, building automation, etc., it would have been better to initiate BIM and COBie processes during early design and construction phases. The findings of this study can be used as a preliminary research upon which additional research on the implementation of BIM and COBie in facility management are further investigated and analyzed.
