Building information modelling for airport facility management: the case of a US airport

Abstract

Facility management (FM) at airports involves the use of systems such as computerised maintenance-management systems (CMMSs). Currently, the integration of building information modelling (BIM) with CMMSs is yet to reach maturity, resulting in the inability to reuse BIM data produced prior to the operation and maintenance phase. The lack of accurate equipment data and its untimely handover contribute to failed CMMS programmes. The studied US airport had a low CMMS utilisation, resulting from a lack of equipment data from recent and old construction projects, and it also lacked an efficient process for acquiring, storing and exchanging asset data from construction into its CMMS. To address this, the airport sought solutions to reuse BIM data in the CMMS. Utilising a design science research methodology, this research proposed and tested a solution technology innovation comprising a BIM–FM integration framework and a structured workflow based on BIM and Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (Cobie) for FM data delivery into a CMMS. The proposed solution was tested on a real-world project at the airport, showing efficacy in providing the required equipment data in a timely and accurate manner as compared with the existing practice. The study provides practical evidence of application of BIM and Cobie in FM data delivery from a handover perspective.