VisualCOBie for facilities management

Facilities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 502-524 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mehmet Yalcinkaya ◽  
Vishal Singh
Keyword(s):  
Visual Perception ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Visual Navigation ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Management Platform ◽  
Building Information

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to describe the technical features, underlying concepts and implementation details of a novel Building Information Modeling (BIM)-integrated, graph-based platform developed to support BIM for facilities management through a usability driven visual representation of the construction operations building information exchange (COBie) spreadsheet data. Design/methodology/approach This paper is based on the iterative steps of design thinking and agile software development methodology. The conceptual development of the VisualCOBie platform is based on Gestalt’s principles of visual perception to facilitate usability and comprehension of the COBie data. Findings The paper demonstrates that Gestalt’s principles of visual perception provide a suitable conceptual as well as implementable basis for improving the usability and comprehension of COBie spreadsheets. The implemented BIM-integrated, graph-based VisualCOBie platform supports visual navigation and dynamic search, reducing the cognitive load of large spreadsheets that are common in facilities management software. Research limitations/implications The usability, visual search and dependencies-based search of VisualCOBie can potentially transform how we implement and use facilities and information management systems in construction, where large spreadsheets are frequently used in conjunction with BIM and other tools. VisualCOBie also provides usability-based step towards BIM for facilities management. Originality/value The VisualCOBie approach provides a novel user interface and information management platform. This paper may also foster a potential paradigm shift in our approach to the representation and use of information exchange standards such as COBie, which are required to facilitate the research and practice on BIM for facilities management.

Perceived benefits and issues associated with COBie datasheet handling in the construction industry

Facilities ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Kumar ◽  
Evelyn Ai Lin Teo
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Data Capturing ◽  
Key Issues ◽  
Technical Issues ◽  
Potential Factor ◽  
Construction Operation

Purpose Until now, the usage and usability factors of Construction Operation Building information exchange (COBie) datasheet have remained largely overlooked. This oversight may be the potential factor in the lower adoption rates as well as the effective usage of COBie datasheet in the architecture, engineering and construction-facilities management industry. The purpose of this study is to investigate the benefits and key issues associated with COBie datasheet handling and identify the key technological solutions, which can help in mitigating the identified issues. Design/methodology/approach A literature review was conducted to identify the key benefits of using COBie and issues, which are associated with COBie datasheet handling. This paper has also designed a questionnaire based on a literature review and surveyed professionals who are well versed with handling COBie datasheet. Using responses, the issues are analyzed and discussed using non-parametric statistical analysis. Findings A total of 9 key benefits and 24 key issues categorized under three groups of usability issues, technical issues and organizational/other issues were identified. The results from the survey agree with all the key issues associated with COBie datasheet handling (with 86 responses). This research also proposes key ideas, that can help in mitigating these issues. Originality/value There is a paucity in published literature, which discusses in detail about the various issues associated with COBie datasheet handling. This research study aims to address this gap by identifying key issues by looking at the entire COBie data-capturing process holistically. Finding from this study can help professionals to understand these issues and develop appropriate technological solutions, which can make COBie data capturing and understanding easier. The findings could also assist in increasing the adoption rate of COBie, which could be achieved through mitigation of identified issues.

Research trends analysis using text mining in construction management: 2000–2020

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Eymen Çağatay Bilge ◽  
Hakan Yaman
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Construction Management ◽  
Detection Method ◽  
Research Trends ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Topic Detection ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Information

PurposeThis study aims to identify the trends that have changed in the field of construction management over the last 20 years.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, 3,335 journal articles published in the years 2000–2020 were collected from the Web of Science database in construction management. The authors applied bibliometric analysis first and then detected topics with the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) topic detection method.FindingsIn this context, 20 clusters from cluster analysis were found and the topics were extracted in clusters with the LDA topic detection method. The results show “building information modeling” and “information management” are the most studied subjects, even though they have emerged in the last 15 years “building information modeling,” “information management,” “scheduling and cost optimization,” “lean construction,” “agile approach” and “megaprojects” are the trend topics in the construction management literature.Research limitations/implicationsThis study uses bibliometric analysis. The authors accept that the co-citation and co-authorship relationship in the data is ethical. They accept that honorary authorship, self-citation or honorary citation do not change the pattern of the construction management research domain.Originality/valueThere has been no study conducted in the last 20 years to examine research trends in construction management. Although bibliometric analysis, systematic literature reviews and text mining methods are used separately as a methodology for extracting research trends, no study has used enhanced bibliometric analysis and the LDA topic detection text mining method.

BIM for FM

Facilities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 38 (5/6) ◽  
pp. 378-394
Author(s):  
Sandra T. Matarneh ◽  
Mark Danso-Amoako ◽  
Salam Al-Bizri ◽  
Mark Gaterell ◽  
Rana T. Matarneh
Keyword(s):  
Best Practices ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Specific Information ◽  
Management Process ◽  
Information Requirements ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Information Models ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Building Information Models

Purpose This paper aims to identify a generic set of information requirements for facilities management (FM) systems, which should be included in BIM as-built models for efficient information exchange between BIM and FM systems, and to propose a process to identify, verify and collect the required information for use in FM systems during the project’s lifecycle. Design/methodology/approach Both qualitative and quantitative approaches were applied at different stages of the study’s sequential design. The collection and analysis of qualitative data was based on an extensive literature review of similar studies, standards, best practices and case study documentation. This was followed by a questionnaire survey of 191 FM practitioners in the UK. This formed the background of the third stage, which was the development of the information management process to streamline information exchange between building information models and FM systems. Findings The study identifies a generic list of information requirements of building information models to support FM systems. In addition, the study presents an information management process that generates a specific database for FM systems using an open data format. Originality/value The existing literature focuses on specific building types (educational buildings) or specific information requirements related to particular systems (mechanical systems). The existing standards, guidelines and best practices focus on the information requirements to support the operations and maintenance (O&M) phase in general. This study is different from previous studies because it develops a set of specific information requirements for building information models to support FM systems. FM organisations and owners can use the proposed list of information requirements as a base to generate specific data output for their FM systems’ input, to decrease the redundant activity of manual data entry and focus their efforts on key activities.

Life-cycle information management using open-standard BIM

2016 ◽  
Vol 23 (6) ◽  
pp. 696-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans Hoeber ◽  
Daan Alsem
Keyword(s):  
Life Cycle ◽  
Information Management ◽  
Systems Engineering ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Practical Case ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Suggested Approach ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Open Standard

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to present a way of working with open-standard building information modeling (BIM), object type libraries, systems engineering and an Information Delivery Manual for the management of information over the life-cycle of infrastructure assets. The concept is presented as a source of inspiration, proof of concept and to underpin the value of different parts of the concept leading to an integrated approach to life-cycle information management. Design/methodology/approach The paper presents a concept for a way of working. A proof of concept is provided in the form of a case study in which this concept is operational. It shows that this way of working using open-standard BIM can be applied to manage information in the life-cycle. It does not provide, nor suggest to provide, empirical evidence for specific benefits in terms of efficiency. Findings The paper shows that open-standard BIM can be applied for information management in the life-cycle of (construction) assets. The specific approach that is applied in practice in a Dutch Infrastructure Project is explained including a case project. Research limitations/implications The example of Traverse Dieren attests to a implementation of the approach in practice. From this case it can be concluded that the suggested approach is feasible in the initiation and design phase and applicable during realization. Based on the example as described in this paper it cannot be concluded to what extent the known information management problems in the life-cycle are solved. Therefore a detailed evaluation on the information exchange would be required which is beyond the scope of this paper. Practical implications This paper shows how different (theoretical) concepts are successfully combined and implemented in practice to attain the defined BIM goals. Originality/value This paper shows a practical case implementation of open-standard BIM (using COINS). It provides a way of working that combines BIM, systems engineering, libraries and contractual arrangements for the management of information over the life-cycle of infrastructure assets.

Research on Unified Storage Format for Building Information Modeling

2013 ◽  
Vol 860-863 ◽  
pp. 2834-2837
Author(s):  
Jing Ling Yuan ◽  
Rui Tu ◽  
Yan Yuan ◽  
Jing Xie
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
Building Information Modeling ◽  
Building Energy ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Building Industry ◽  
Global Information ◽  
Building Energy Efficiency ◽  
Management Platform ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Storage Format

With the constant development of global information technology in building industry, different vendors utilize their own format to store building information modeling; however the incompatibility among these formats obstructs the use and share of the modeling information. Targeting the information exchange and share in each phase of the whole building lifecycle and promoting the energy saving and emission reducing buildings, this paper introduces the information on IFC standards, then discusses the mainstream share formats (.ifc and .ifcXML) in building industry, and compares and analyzes the differences between them, in order to provide leading support for the management platform of data information on building energy efficiency.

scholarly journals An Exploration of Synergies between Lean Concepts and BIM in FM: A Review and Directions for Future Research

Buildings ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (6) ◽  
pp. 147 ◽  
Author(s):  
Saratu Terreno ◽  
Somayeh Asadi ◽  
Chimay Anumba
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Business Processes ◽  
Building Information Modeling ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Integrative Review ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Persistent Problem ◽  
Building Information

Though Building Information Modeling (BIM) has been proposed as a lean solution for the construction industry, its implementation would itself benefit from a proactive lean approach. This paper aims to study the implementation of BIM in Facilities Management (FM), and explores the synergistic potential of a lean approach. This was carried out through an integrative review of existing literature. BIM-FM implementation was categorized into three phases, which were analyzed to uncover the challenges and barriers faced in each; and explore the potential of a proactive lean approach to counter them. A number of key findings emerged. The existence of inefficiencies and variability in information management leading to an increase in labor hours was identified as a persistent problem in BIM-FM implementation. This had been derived by systematically mapping the challenges to their resultant effects on business processes based on the seven identified wastes in business. The paper provides both academics and practitioners with a collated list of issues based on a new way of examining BIM in FM implementation. It discusses the need for and synergistic potential of lean concepts to reduce information and time waste.

scholarly journals Development of a rule-based system to enhance the data consistency and usability of COBie datasheets☆

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vishal Kumar ◽  
Ai Lin Evelyn Teo
Keyword(s):  
Information Exchange ◽  
Design Thinking ◽  
Complex Structure ◽  
Graph Model ◽  
Data Representation ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Data Consistency ◽  
Consistency Checking ◽  
Building Information ◽  
Waterfall Model

Abstract Building information modeling (BIM) for facilities management (FM) has been gaining considerable attention. Construction operations building information exchange (COBie) datasheets are conceptualized as an electronic format of data for FM handover extracted from the BIM model and supplemented with information from other sources. To build an efficient COBie datasheet, it is advocated to build and verify data at all stages of design and construction, commonly known as data drops. Nevertheless, data consistency verification is a difficult task pertaining to COBie's complex structure and data representation. This study aims to understand the challenges associated with the COBie datasheet verification and consistency checking process, especially during data drop stages, and develop a solution to mitigate these challenges. The study uses a combined methodology of design thinking and waterfall model from the software development process. The outcome of the research study manifests in a prototype application. The prototype application can help in verifying COBie datasheet consistency during data drop stages. Additionally, this study proposes a new dimension to utilize the COBie datasheet to track various asset-related changes in a project by comparing COBie datasheets and visualizing this data in a visually interactive manner using a property graph model.

Integration of facility management and building information modeling (BIM)

Facilities ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 37 (7/8) ◽  
pp. 455-483 ◽  
Author(s):  
Manish K. Dixit ◽  
Varusha Venkatraj ◽  
Mohammadreza Ostadalimakhmalbaf ◽  
Fatemeh Pariafsai ◽  
Sarel Lavy
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Construction Industry ◽  
Building Information Modeling ◽  
Life Cycle Management ◽  
Facility Management ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Facilities Management ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Information ◽  
General Contractors

Purpose The purpose of this study is to investigate factors that impede the integration of facilities management (FM) into building information modeling (BIM) technology. The use of BIM technology in the commercial construction industry has grown enormously in recent years. Its application to FM, however, is still limited. The literature highlights issues that hinder BIM–FM integration, which are studied and discussed in detail in this paper. Design/methodology/approach A review of literature is conducted to identify and categorize key issues hampering the application of BIM to FM. This paper has also designed a questionnaire based on a literature review and surveyed FM professionals at two industry events. Using the collected responses, these issues are analyzed and discussed using non-parametric statistical analyses. Findings A total of 16 issues are identified through the literature review of 54 studies under the four categories of BIM-execution and information-management, technological, cost-based and legal and contractual issues. The results of the survey of FM professionals (with 57 complete responses) reveal that the single most important issue is the lack of FM involvement in project phases when BIM is evolving. Originality/value The findings of this study could assist the construction industry (e.g. building-material and equipment manufacturers, design professionals, general contractors, construction managers, owners and facility managers) with creating guidelines that would help in BIM–FM integration. BIM is a virtual database that contains important design and construction information, which can be used for effective and efficient life cycle management if building data are captured completely and accurately with a facility manager’s involvement.

Bridging BIM and building (BBB) for information management in construction

2019 ◽  
Vol 26 (7) ◽  
pp. 1518-1532 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ke Chen ◽  
Weisheng Lu
Keyword(s):  
Information Management ◽  
Asset Management ◽  
Construction Project ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Underlying Mechanism ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Information Quantity ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Information

Purpose How to make an effective use of building information modeling (BIM) for information management (IM) is a challenging question in the field of construction project and asset management. Chen et al. (2015) answered this question by developing a conceptual framework of “bridging BIM and building (BBB).” However, the underlying mechanism through which BBB can truly impact IM remains unclear. The purpose of this paper is thus to demystify the mechanism linking BBB and IM. Design/methodology/approach Drawing upon the IM literature, this paper proposes three IM requirements, namely, requirements on information quantity, quality and accessibility, as the significant mediators between BBB and IM. To verify this proposition, a two-year, participatory case study was conducted based on a real-life construction project in which a BBB system was implemented. Findings The results of the case study supported the proposition that by enhancing the information quantity, quality and accessibility BBB could favorably contribute to IM in construction. Practical implications This paper provides knowledge about system architecture, components and their linkage in an operable BBB system. It also provides empirical experience about BBB implementation. Originality/value This study is among the first attempts to streamline the theoretical discourses relating to BBB for IM in a construction context. It contributes to the construction IM by directing attention to key IM requirements and processes rooted in the IM literature.

A bibliometric review of advances in building information modeling (BIM) research

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ayotunde Babalola ◽  
Shamsudeen Musa ◽  
Mariam Temisola Akinlolu ◽  
Theo C. Haupt
Keyword(s):  
Text Mining ◽  
Bibliometric Analysis ◽  
Information Exchange ◽  
Laser Scanning ◽  
Building Information Modeling ◽  
Research Trends ◽  
Information Modeling ◽  
Historical Building ◽  
Content Type ◽  
Building Information

Purpose This paper aims to provide a bibliometric analysis of advances in building information modeling (BIM) research globally. It provides a recent state-of-the-art assessment on trends as it relates to the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry. Being a vastly emerging research area, there is a need for the appraisal of research trends. Design/methodology/approach A comprehensive bibliometric analysis was conducted using a dual step filtering system on an initial volume of 2347 documents in the first stage between 2010 and 2020, and of 311 publications in the final stage of the analyses which emphasized more on 2015–2020 from the WoS database. Frequency analyses on the sources, affiliations, authors and country/ region of publication were assessed in the first stage of the analyses. Co-authorship and evidence of author collaboration were also examined. The second stage included a co-occurrence keyword network analysis. Further, text mining/mapping of the abstract of the documents was performed. Findings Emerging trends in the field of BIM research include but are not limited to historical building information modeling (h-BIM) applications, the use of blockchain technology, digital twin, Construction Operations Building information exchange (COBiE), Industry Foundation Classes (IFC), dynamo-bim, energy plus software and BIM laser scanning innovations. The possibility of these innovations solving some current BIM challenges were also discussed. Originality/value The study provides an insight into the BIM research trends globally while identifying existing challenges. The study uses text mining of unstructured abstracts, which has not been reported in BIM research.

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