Integration of operational data in building information modelling: From ontology to application

Abstract

Building design, construction, and operation has been suggested to benefit from comprehensive and well-formed repository of associated information. Building Information Modeling (BIM) has pursued the supposition that repositories could facilitate seamless exchange of information amongst the multiple stakeholders in the building delivery process. Related research and development efforts have primarily focused on representation of buildings’ geometry and specifications of their constituent structural and constructional components. More recently, representations of building environmental control equipment and systems have begun to become incorporated in BIM applications. Ongoing work in this area has likewise targeted development of common schemes to incorporate, in BIM, buildings’ sensory networks and elements that serve, for instance, the operation of HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, and Air-Conditioning) systems. To achieve these targets, comprehensive and robust ontologies of building monitoring data and building performance indicators are essential. In the present contribution, we first present a recently introduced original proposal for such ontologies, covering data regarding dynamic data relevant to state, operation, and performance of buildings. This ontology was developed based on an extensive review of building monitoring data and performance indicator catalogues in thermal, air quality, visual, and acoustical domains. The ontology’s structural core basically involves a systematic specification of the generic attributes of building performance variables. We then illustrate various benefits and applications of this ontology. It is shown to support data quality check, data visualization, building operation optimization, and preventive building systems maintenance. It can also add to the clarity of building performance requirements specifications, advance the understanding of building performance principles in educational and training settings, and provide and early integration of buildings’ operational attributes in BIM applications.