Summary
When implementing and maintaining computer-aided facility management (CAFM), many organizations independent from industry or sector (public or private) are still dealing with the following issues:
- Lack of facility management know-how in general
- Decentralized management of facility management processes
- Top management is still regarding facility management as a cost center
- Absence of support regarding the implementation of facility management in general and, specifically, CAFM systems by middle and top Management
- Lack of experiences, resources, and abilities to manage the implementation of CAFM systems
- No mutual understanding of building information modeling (BIM); rather, BIM is known as a method focusing on the planning and construction phase only
- Rare usage of sensor technologies to support facility management processes
In addition to the issues mentioned above, organizations have different levels of maturity regarding the setup of facility management departments and the usage of information technology. Even if positive experiences in using CAFM solutions in the private or in the public sector exist, a wide range of organizations do not use CAFM solutions for facility management yet. To provide efficient facility management, facility management should be extended not only by CAFM, but also by BIM-based and sensor-based information. By integrating BIM-based and sensor-based information into facility management, facility information modeling (FIM) strategies can be implemented. The data collected from FIM needs to be provided to CAFM solutions to enable integrated facility management, data analyzing, and data access by participants. The objective of this research project is to solve major research questions, as listed below, to provide an efficient methodology for implementing FM, CAFM solutions, BIM, and sensors combined, representing integrated facility information management. Based on several criteria, such as levels of maturity of integrated FIM, and taking into account operational and organizational structures, an investigation of cost, when implementing a FIM, will be conducted:
- Why do many organizations still not use appropriate information technologies to support facility management processes?
- What is the best way for using existing information technology - individually or combined?
- What methods and strategies for a combined implementation of CAFM solutions, BIM, and sensor technology already exist?
- What costs occur for implementing and utilizing the above information technologies individually and combined?
- What knowledge and skills are necessary at organizations and software providers to implement information technology in the most efficient way?
- Do organizations need a specific operational and organizational structure, thus experienced/skilled staff, for implementing and managing information technology either individually or combined?
Project type
PhD project (external)
Duration
2018 - 2022
Project-related publications
Coming soon
Contact
Prof. Dr.-Ing. Kay Smarsly
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Informatik im Bauwesen
Coudraystraße 13 b, Raum 004
99423 Weimar
E-Mail: kay.smarsly[at]uni-weimar.de
Benjamin Schade, M.Sc.
Bauhaus-Universität Weimar
Informatik im Bauwesen
Coudraystraße 13 a, Raum 313
99423 Weimar
E-Mail: benjamin.schade[at]uni-weimar.de