Technology use between design and facilities management
January 2010-February 2011
Champions of the use of Building Information Modelling (BIM) in design argue that it enables re-use of data throughout the project life-cycle. However the research project has found that BIM data is rarely delivered to clients and end-users for use
in the operation of buildings and infrastructure. Current work on this project is drawing on institutional and practice-based theories to reanalyse this research material. The aim is to develop understanding of the requirements for digital technologies and data in facilities management, how BIM data from design and construction stages could be used, and the opportunities and limitations of different approaches to technology use between design and facilities management.
Research Objectives
Empirical data drawn from a large infrastructure project is analysed to address specific research questions:
- What is the experience and learning of facilities managers on the hand-over of digital information from the delivery team?
- How have digital technologies been applied and integrated into FM practices?
Research Method
The approach is to start out by re-analysing an existing data-set and collect additional qualitative data using semi-structured interviews and observational techniques.
Outputs
Details of the project work to date have been submitted to the Institution of Civil Engineers and are available as a working paper Value to Clients through Data Hand-Over: A Pilot Study. While academic papers are being developed to the research community, this working paper is provided for rapid dissemination to the industrial and policy community; and for comments and feedback.
More Information
Research team: Dr. Carmel Lindkvist and Dr Jennifer Whyte.