V3DM+: BIM interactive collaboration system for facility management

Abstract

Abstract Background Facility management (FM) is an important phase in the building lifecycle. Although building information modeling (BIM) technology has been widely used in the design and construction phase, efforts to transfer information to the FM phase are still in the nascent stage. A good BIM-to-FM tool should be able to inherit and integrate the building information built in the design and construction phase as well as be able to provide a platform for managers to browse the information, discuss potential problems, and arrange maintenance work. Methods In this research, a BIM interactive collaboration system for FM is designed and implemented. Two modules were developed for optimizing the BIM system in the FM phase: the data arrangement module, which has functionalities of data importing and processing, and the data presentation module, which provides functionalities of data revealing and collaboration. Result From the results of an accessibility analysis, we verified that the developed system, V3DM+, can be implemented on real projects. Managers can use V3DM+ to support operation and maintenance of buildings. Moreover, a web-based platform allows users to manage facilities intuitively without investing on professionals or specialized software. Concluding The proposed system, V3DM+, provides a data arrangement module to integrate building information constructed by various types of commercial software and present them in a visual manner. The user can find the required information, initiate a discussion on an issue, or arrange operation and maintenance tasks directly on this system.