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The Application of BIM-Enabled Facility Management System in

Complex Building

Article in International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling · July 2013

DOI: 10.4018/ij3dim.2013070102

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16 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013

The Application of BIM-

Enabled Facility Management
System in Complex Building
Jun Wang, School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University,
Chongqing, China & Australasian Joint Research Centre for Building Information Modeling,
School of Built Environment, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
Shirong Li, School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University,
Chongqing, China
Xiangyu Wang, Australasian Joint Research Centre for Building Information Modeling,
School of Built Environment, Curtin University, Perth, WA, Australia
Chao Mao, School of Construction Management and Real Estate, Chongqing University,
Chongqing, China
Jun Guo, China Construction Design International (CCDI) Company, Shanghai, China

ABSTRACT
Facility Management (FM) is well known for its interdisciplinary knowledge and along with the growing
number of green buildings and low-carbon buildings, the FM system become increasingly complex. Many
practitioners consider Building Information Modeling (BIM) as the most important technology to bring about
improvements. The purpose of this paper is to develop a BIM-enabled FM system which integrates FM,
BIM and building management system to improve information sharing and monitoring, FM system control,
and equipment management. A case study is implemented to validate the feasibility of the BIM-enabled FM
system. Four functionalities are demonstrated in detail: Equipment Information Monitoring (EIM), Dynamic
Data Display and Warning (D3W), Energy-Saving Analysis (ESA), and Intelligent Fire Escape Route (IFER).
The results show that BIM-enabled FM system facilitates the FM more accurate, timely, safe and efficient.

Keywords: Building Information Modeling (BIM), Complex Building, Dynamic Data Display and Warning
(D3W), Equipment Information Monitoring (EIM), Facility Management (FM), Intelligent
Fire Escape Route (IFER)

INTRODUCTION encompasses multiple disciplines to ensure

functionality of the built environment by inte-
Facilities Management (FM) is becoming an grating people, place, processes and technol-
increasingly important factor in the built envi- ogy”. Currently, FM system contains various
ronment. According to the International Facility subsystems, such as Central Air Conditioning
Management Association (IFMA http://www. System (CACS), Access Control System (ACS)
ifma.org), FM is defined as “a profession that and Monitoring System (MS). All of these sub-

DOI: 10.4018/ij3dim.2013070102

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 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013 17

systems are independent. With more different Meng and Minogue 2011), End-user require-
FM subsystems having been developed and ments for green FM (Nousiainen and7 Junnila
deployed, the training cost increases appar- 2008), and improvement for FM (Lennerts et
ently as all trainees may need to understand al., 2005; Leung et al., 2005; Pennanen et al.,
relevant operational methods of different sys- 2005; Lavy 2008). Some IT technologies has
tems in terms of system-based maintenance. been applied to improve FM. Bae et al. (2013)
Meanwhile, owing to the increasing number of presented a new vision-based mobile augmented
software platforms, the management of the FM reality system that allowed field personnel
system is indeed imperative. In addition, it is to query and access 3D cyber-information
envisaged that the comprehensive data analysis on-site by using photographs taken from stan-
may become hard to realize. dard mobile devices. The user’s location and
Building information modeling (BIM) orientation were purely derived by comparing
is “a new approach to design, construction, images from the user’s mobile device to a 3D
and facilities management, in which a digital point cloud model generated from a set of pre-
representation of the building process is used collected site photographs. Mhalas et al. (2013)
to facilitate the exchange and interoperability presented a methodology that integrated these
of information in digital format” (Eastman et energy databases with visualization systems and
al., 2011). In China, there is a growing interest multi-criteria decision analyses to enable the
of adopting BIM to improve FM in Operation evaluation of the environmental and financial
& Maintenance (O&M) stage. The purpose of implications of various energy efficiency and
this paper is to develop a BIM-enabled FM renewable energy interventions at both building
system which integrates FM, BIM and building and neighborhood levels. In order to improve
management system to improve information maintenance crews’ productivity, Augmented
sharing and monitoring, FM system control, Reality (AR) is engaged in FM, such as facili-
and equipment management. A case study is tating piping assembly (Hou and7 Wang 2011;
implemented to validate the feasibility of the Hou et al., 2013; Hou et al., 2013), assistant
BIM-enabled FM system. Four functionalities view for 2D drawings (Wang and7 Dunston
are demonstrated in detail: Equipment Informa- 2006; Wang and7 Dunston 2013), work process
tion Monitoring (EIM), Dynamic Data Display visualization (Henderson and7 Feiner, 2011;
and Warning (D3W), Energy-Saving Analysis Lee and7 Akin, 2011; Dong and7 Kamat, 2013;
(ESA), and Intelligent Fire Escape Route Golparvar-Fard and7 Ham, 2013), and main-
(IFER). The results show that BIM-enabled tenance information accessing (Irizarry et al.,
FM system facilitates the FM more accurate, 2013). As-built building information, including
timely, safe and efficient. building geometry and features, is useful in FM.
However, the current process for capturing,
retrieving, and modeling such information is
RELATED WORKS labor-intensive and time-consuming. Zhu and
Donia (2013) had investigated the potentials of
This section presents an up-to-date review of
fusing visual and spatial data for automatically
FM and BIM research in building industry.
capturing, retrieving, and modeling as-built
Facility Management building geometry and features.

Past studies about FM are mainly concentrated Building Information Modeling

on the following aspects: Innovation process for
BIM application during O&M stage has re-
FM (Mudrak et al., 2005; Sharma et al., 2007;
ceived tremendous attention from research
Lavy 2008; Madritsch and7 May 2009), mea-
and professional communities. These efforts
surement system for FM (De Toni et al., 2007;
have awakened industry practitioners to the

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18 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013

possibility of process innovation by better proposed a cost-effective modeling technique

visualizing, communicating, and integrating to obtain dynamic dimension measurements
construction operations. Park et al. (2011) of a moving object based on 3D modeling and
presented a comprehensive analysis of effec- robotic station tracking technologies.
tive uses for 3D/4D CAD in life-cycle facility The previous studies have significantly
management. Becerik-Gerber et al. (2012) advanced the use of BIM in FM. However, ac-
defined the interactions between BIM and cording to Young et al. (2009), engineers believe
FM by illustrating application areas and data that the functionality of BIM, “does not apply
requirements for BIM-enabled FM practices. well enough to what they do.” The purpose of
Ergen et al. (2007) developed some experiments this paper is to develop a BIM-enabled FM
which demonstrated life-cycle data manage- system which integrates FM, BIM and building
ment of engineered-to-order components management system to improve information
using radio frequency identification. Shen et sharing and monitoring, FM system control,
al. (2010) presented a comprehensive review and equipment management.
of research literature on systems integration
and collaboration in AEC/FM, and discussed
challenging research issues and future research METHOD
opportunities. Chen et al. (2013) had developed
The method of this research is comprised of
a robust visualization approach for evaluat-
system framework and case study. It is firstly
ing the coverage of Closed Circuit Television
stated, from the FM perspective, how the BIM-
(CCTV) systems in public building spaces. The
enabled FM system is realized by integrating
developed approach is based on BIM technology
four modules: BIM system, backend database,
and is capable of simulating CCTV systems in
FM system and as-built building. Then the
a 3D virtual environment in order to evaluate
paper demonstrates four functionalities of
the CCTV coverage. Wang et al. (2013) had
BIM-enabled FM system: Equipment Informa-
developed a framework of how FM can be
tion Monitoring, Dynamic Data Display and
considered in design stage through BIM. Yu
Warning, Energy-Saving Analysis, and Intel-
et al. (2000) presented a framework for the
ligent Fire Escape Route. Thirdly, a number of
development of Facilities Management Classes
interviews are made with the project participants
and computer-integrated facilities management
to collect feedback on utilizing BIM-enabled
systems, including objectives, methodologies,
FM system in O&M stage. Questions are asked
implementation issues, etc. Taneja et al. (2010)
in the areas of system prototype functionality
selected three technologies for evaluating their
and benefits on FM. Finally, according to the
capabilities in fulfilling the requirements identi-
results of prototype testing and feedback, the
fied for indoor localization to support facility
corresponding adjustment and modification
management related field activities: Radio
will be performed to further improve the BIM-
Frequency Identification (RFID) tags; wireless
enabled FM system.
LAN; and inertial measurement units. Akcamete
et al. (2010) found some benefits through the
usage of a BIM for maintenance planning. Liu DISADVANTAGES OF
and Issa (2012) focused on automatic bidirec- TRADITIONAL FM SYSTEM–
tional communications between Computerized STATE OF THE ART
Maintenance Management Systems (CMMS)
and BIM models on a database level. Motamedi Massive studies have been performed about
A (2009) attached the permanent RFID tags FM in the last ten years. From the literature
to facility components, where the memory review and industry interviews, three main
of the tags was populated with accumulated disadvantages have been identified in the state-
lifecycle information of the components taken of-the-art FM system:
from a standard BIM database. Siu et al. (2013)

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 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013 19

FM Software Platforms determine the failure position and key valve,

are not Compatible and sometimes they need to check out the
original drawings.
Traditional FM Software platforms were always
provided by equipment suppliers or developed FM Data is Scattered
by FM parties, all of the software platforms
were independent, such as CACS, ACS and FM is an interdisciplinary field devoted to the
MS. Each contained their own hardware coordination of space, infrastructure, people and
and software. Different equipment suppliers organization (Cotts 2009; Wu and7 Issa, 2012).
provided different platforms so that the data It highly demands the domain knowledge and
between different platforms could not have project technology from design to construction
any interaction and sharing (Cardellino, 2006; (Cotts, 2009). FM would work properly if all the
Yongbo Shao, 2012). Therefore, traditional FM materials and data are collected and integrated
participants would face increasing difficulties along with project design and construction
in operation. With more different FM systems stages. However, facility managers normally
used, the staff training cost increased apparently do not have a useful standard to structure
because all personnel involved in the mainte- the information in a relevant way for a better
nance need to understand relevant operations management.
and basic operational methods of all systems.
Meanwhile, Owing to the number of software CHARACTERISTICS OF BIM-
platforms increasing, more workers would be ENABLED FM SYSTEM
involved to manage the systems. In addition,
comprehensive data analysis became more and In this section, four characteristics of BIM-
more difficult to realize. All FM Software plat- enabled FM system are identified and described
forms inside of the building had their relevance, in detail.
for example internal lighting not only affected
the power system, but also had an impact on Visualization
air conditioning system because of its own heat
characteristic. Moreover, lighting was also an The following graphical interface (as shown in
important means of indoor lighting, in case of Figure 2) shows the basis of BIM-enabled FM
emergency, such as fire and earthquake, which system. Benefits and advantages of implement-
could indicate ways for people to escape. ing BIM for FM have been experimented in
(Arayici et al., 2012). BIM-enabled FM system
FM Software Interface demonstrates locations of as-built equipment,
is not Intuitive Heating Ventilation Air Conditioning (HVAC)
system and plumbing system, which can assist
Intuitive is an important feature of BIM-enabled operators in locating and identifying associated
FM system. Figure 1 shows the traditional FM pipes and valves in massive facility systems in
system which reveals a number of inadequate an emergency.
aspects. Typical FM system is only focus on flow
chart or schematic diagram, equipment numbers Efficiency
and versions, while the location of equipment
and the actual pipe routes are ignored (Cotts, There are a lot of facility information such as
2009; Park et al., 2011). However, it is impos- drawings, instructions and manuals in BIM-
sible that equipment always work properly. enabled FM system. Facility manager can
If some equipment breakdown, maintenance acquire facility information instantly (Cheng
crews would spend a large amount of time to Shuang Sun, 2012; Teicholz, 2013). Nowadays,

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20 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013

Figure 1. Interface of traditional FM system

Figure 2. Interface of BIM-enable FM system

network development has made significant efficiency, but also reduces development and
progress towards database technology. This kind operation risks. The reasons are as follows:
of mature technology as the underlying basis
of BIM data management, not only improves 1. Microsoft SQL Server2005 database is
the BIM-enabled FM system reliability and adopted to store data because it’s mature.

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 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013 21

2. BIM can bridge the information loss asso- Extensibility

ciated with handing a project from design
team, to construction team and to building The front-end of BIM-enabled FM system
owner/operator, by allowing each group to is based on the Building Information Model
add to and reference back to all informa- and the background program is supported by
tion they acquire during their period of mature database technology. Both of them can
contribution to the BIM model. be extended since extensibility is an important
3. 3D visualization and intelligent information essential feature of database and BIM can greatly
monitoring. assists in facility correcting and hardware
complementing according to the professional
Simplicity modeling software.

Currently, there are amounts of time needed to

integrate and enter data to FM system. How- ARCHITECTURE OF BIM-
ever, with BIM-enable FM system, building ENABLED FM SYSTEM
information can directly import to FM system
There are four modules in the architecture of
automatically. Moreover, due to system visu-
BIM-enabled FM system (as shown in Figure 3).
alization, Facility manager can work with the
The first module is BIM system, which contains
system with limited extra training. In addition,
all facilities’ information in visualization. The
BIM-enabled FM system allows people roam
second one is backend database, which contains
and review attribution of equipment in virtual
other kinds of information such as instructions,
environment, which significantly decreases
manuals and specifications. All of them are
training cost and time (Russell et al., ; Clevenger
linked to BIM components. The third one is
et al., 2012).
FM system, which contains Fire Control System

Figure 3. Architecture of BIM enabled FM system

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22 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013

(FCS), Vacuum Reducer Valve System (VRVS), Equipment Information Monitoring

Precision Air Conditioning Control System
(PACCS) and Building Automation System Equipment Information Monitoring (EIM)
(BAS). The last one is as-built building, which mainly refers to monitor and control system in
contains automatically data collection tools, view of the whole building, including a regional
such as barcode/QR code, RFID and sensor. view, a sub-system view, a system information
view and a facility information view and their
corresponding auxiliary function. Figure 4
CASE STUDY shows the global view of the interface.
The rules of dividing zones are based on
Shanghai Disaster Control Center is one of the
floors and their function in order to conveniently
important information systems of the State Grid
supervise different functions of equipment. As
Corporation. Owing to the complex and safety
shown in Figure 5, the BIM-enabled FM sys-
of the building, the client wants to use BIM to
tem in the Shanghai Disaster Control Center is
improve operation and maintenance. From the
divided into five zones according to the floors:
definition of operation management, we can see
B1 zone, 1F zone, 2F zone, 3F zone and 4F
that operation management contains not only
zone. Each floor divides areas according to the
equipment management, but also management
function of rooms. B1contains five areas: cool-
of space, information and human resource. To
ing tower water inlet and the air conditioning
reduce development risk and shorten devel-
room, fire control pump room and life pump
opment cycle, the main effort of developing
room, refrigeration plant room, Uninterrupted
BIM-enabled FM system focuses on central-
Power Supply (UPS) and its battery room, and
ized facilities management, which includes air
distribution room. Each floor (e.g. 1F, 2F, 3F
conditioning, ventilation system, water-chilling
and 4F) contains three areas: IT room, I-shaped
system, water-cooling system, water supply and
corridor and precision air conditioning room.
drainage system and electrical power systems,
In a word, there are 17 areas in BIM-enabled
etc. There are four basic function modules in
FM system. When any area is selected, the
the BIM-enabled FM system, and detailed
main interface of BIM-enabled FM system will
description is as follows.
show all building systems in this area. Through

Figure 4. The global view of the interface

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 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013 23

Figure 5. View by different building zones

each area view, it can clearly know whether the FE), Air Conditioning and Fresh Air System
systems and the equipment within this area are (ACFAS), K(X)-1 Fresh Air System (KFAS),
working properly. Through the development of TEF-RF-1system, Basement Fresh Air System
auxiliary functions such as translation, zooming (BFAS), BFAS without Processing (BFASP),
and roaming, user can find any equipment fast Basement Ventilation System (BVS), Water
and conveniently. Meanwhile, user can also read Cooling System (WCS) and Water Freezing
its physical parameters and real-time running System (WFS).
parameters so that timely grasping the working Furthermore, the 15 systems are subdivided
state of the equipment. The working interface respectively according to important equipment
is shown in Figure 6. such as fan and pump. WSDS is divided into
In order to conveniently monitor the 20 subsystems including B1 diving pump water
running status of different building systems, supply, B1 sewage water pump, B1 rain, B1
the subsystem view mainly divides building frequency conversion water supply, wastewa-
systems according to Mechanical Electrical ter and its stand pipe, frequency conversion
and Plumbing (MEP) system. As shown in water supply and so on. VRVACS is divided
Figure 7, building systems in the BIM-enabled into 33 subsystems according to its outdoor
FM system are divided into 15 large systems: units including W-3F-8, W-3F-7, W-3F-6 and
Water Supply and Drainage System (WSDS), so on. MSES is divided into 36 subsystems
Vacuum Reducer Valve Air Conditioning according to smoke exhaust fan including
System (VRVACS) and Mechanical Smoke SEF-RF-1-1F, SEF-RF-1-2F, SEF-RF-1-3F
Extraction System (MSES), Mechanical Pressed and so on. MPASS is divided into 5 subsystems
Air Supply System (MPASS), Urgent Exhaust including SPF-RF-1-1F, SPF-RF-1-2F, SPF-
System (UES), Exhaust System After Gas Fire RF-1-3F, SPF-RF-1-4F and SPF-RF-1-RF. UES
Extinguishing (ESAGFE), Normal Exhaust is divided into EAF-BF-14 and EAF-BF-15.
System and Part-time ESAGFE (NESPESAG- ESAGFE is divided into 4 subsystems includ-

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24 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013

Figure 6. Working interface of the BIM-enabled FM system

Figure 7. View by different building systems

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 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013 25

ing EAF-BF-12, EAF-BF-13, EAF-BF-16 and system. Whilst, on the right side of the system,
EAF-BF-18. NESPESAGFE is divided into user can see the system name, system type,
20 subsystems including EAF-RF-1-1F, EAF- the new air/water flow, moisture content,
RF-1-2F, EAF-RF-2-1F and so on. ACFAS is temperature, service areas and other informa-
divided into 16 subsystems including DPAU- tion. With these kinds of information, facility
RF-1-1F, DPAU-RF-1-2F, DPAU-RF-2-1F manager can timely and accurately judge the
and so on. KFAS is divided into 5 subsystems system running status and working status. The
including K(X)-1-1F, K(X)-1-2F, K(X)-1-3F, running interface of BIM-enabled FM system
K(X)-1-4F and K(X)-1-RF. TEF-RF-1 system is shown in Figure 8.
is divided into 5 subsystems including TEF-RF- Equipment selection function facilitates
1-1F, TEF-RF-1-2F, TEF-RF-1-3F, TEF-RF-1- the supervision of O&M reach the high de-
4F and TEF-RF-1-RF. BFAS is divided into 4 tailed level. User can find equipment through
subsystems including PAU-BF-1, PAU-BF-2, zone view, system view and equipment query
PAU-BF-3 and PAU-BF-4. BFASP is divided function. Properties of each selected equip-
into 8 subsystems including FAF-BF-1, FAF- ment will be shown in the property box, which
BF-2, FAF-BF-3 and so on. BVS is divided contains equipment manufacturer, type, floor,
into 10 subsystems including EAF-BF-1, EAF- maintenance time, maintenance cycle, real-time
BF-2, EAF-BF-4 and so on; WCS and WFS operating parameters, physical parameters,
are independent system without subsystems. equipment running status, location of control
In this way, there are 15 large systems and 170 switches and so on. Most of the basic parameters
subsystems in the BIM-enabled FM system of derived from the real-time monitoring system,
Shanghai Disaster Control Center. which can acquire the real-time operating
In the BIM model processing, 15 large information. Experienced operation managers
systems and 170 subsystems show indepen- can be aware of the potential problems from
dently. When any system is selected, all piping, the real-time information, and take precau-
valves, equipment, etc. will display directly tions to make sure system running correctly.
in the main interface of the BIM-enabled FM Figure 9 is screenshot of property query of the

Figure 8. The running interface of BIM-enabled FM system

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26 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013

Figure 9. Screenshot of property query of the frozen water pump

frozen water pump, it is easy for maintenance This sight is from the spatial location, it can
personnel to browse and real-time roam in the prevent from the influence that we can’t find
3D model. Moreover, user can view equipment the direction. The checked switch cubicle is
or building systems more clearly by changing highlighted, differing from other facilities ap-
the display mode. parently. The right attribute column shows the
relative information, such as the number, the
Dynamic Data Display and Warning name, the type, the current floor and room, the
date when bought and maintained, the mainte-
Data’s dynamic display and warning includes nance cycle, the information of the switch, the
searching facility information, identifying belonged line, the actual three-phase current,
dynamic facility locations, displaying main- the three-phase voltage values, the P value and
tenance routes, recording daily maintenance Q value, etc. With these information, worker
work and warning breakdown information of for operation and maintenance not only can
equipment. As shown in Figure 10, people can judge the operation state of the switch cubicle
search equipment information by inputting type, rapidly and directly, but also find the accurate
number, name or buy date, and then check the location, check the maintenance records and
attributes of the equipment in detail, such as check whether it is needed to maintenance.
maintenance routes, records and historical data. When choosing any facility and click the
When choosing any facility and click view maintenance button, the system will operate to
button, people can find relevant facilities in match the corresponding maintenance routes in
the BIM model and see attributes and current red. These routes were typed into the backstage
time operation situations of the facilities listed data base in advance. Servicemen can refer to or
in the attribution listing. Figure 11 shows the print the routes and find the facilities’ location
3D model and dynamic data information of by the routes, which bring much convenience.
the previous checked switch cubicle. The sight Another important function is facility alarm.
in the view is imitated by the real eye sight.

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 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013 27

Figure 10. Search and check equipment information

Figure 11. 3D model and dynamic data information of the previous checked switch cubicle

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28 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013

When facilities break down, BIM-enabled FM research group intends to automatically count
system will get the fault message by the hard- and record the daily data of electric energy
ware and alarm in time. On the alarm interface, and water consumption of each MEP system
people can find the basic information (e.g. the in backend database. After that, the system
current floor, the current room and numbers), could draw curves of electric energy and water
which will help workers find the corresponding consumption in more detail or output data in the
facilities quickly. Besides, BIM-enabled FM form of statements for the manager’s reference
system will automatically connect the mainte- and analysis.
nance database and come up with the relative It is the foundation of BIM application that
plans. If the solution for this problematic pump collecting and analyzing the data mentioned
cannot be found, the information about the above. Being a developing and innovative
manufacturer will be showed. technology, the application of BIM would be
extended to the whole life-cycle of buildings
Energy Saving Analysis in the future. The original motivations of de-
veloping the function of energy-saving analysis
Energy saving analysis is one of the features of are as follows:
BIM-enabled FM system. The platform collects,
tabulates and saves data of energy consumption,
1. Shanghai Disaster Control Center is in
which mainly includes daily consumption of
charge of researching and improving tech-
electric energy and water, and then these data
nical management ability on project plan-
could be plotted to form a curve. Figure 12
ning, construction and operation stages.
shows the cooling-load curve.
The work of collecting, tabulating and
In the preliminary research, the BIM-
analyzing the data of energy consumption
enabled FM system has realized the combination
could give an important support to further
of Electric Energy Acquisition System (EEAS)
research.
and BA system. In the following work, the

Figure 12. Cooling-load curve

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 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013 29

2. From the curves of daily, monthly and 2. Reasonable and Friendly Management
yearly energy consumption, maintenance Interface: As there are no related mold-
staff can directly identify the peaks and ing products in the market at present, the
troughs. When integrating the data, main- interface of intelligent management plat-
tenance manager can make an accurate form requires an independent design and
energy supply plan, so as to maximize the development. Using the reasonable and
utilization of energy. friendly management interface saves the
3. The adoption of BIM processes and tech- training time for managers and operators,
nologies is a major trend that has been gath- decrease the difficulty for use, and provide
ering steam over the last decade motivated the necessary and seasonable information
by the need for better outcomes. Integrating for the managers and operators efficiently
BIM and any other new technologies (e.g. in an emergency;
sensor, cloud computing and mobile com- 3. Integration of the Platform of Fire
puting)into FM system is good for building Alarm System and Intelligent Early
environment sustainable analysis. Warning: The fire alarm system data of
the Disaster Control Center Disaster needs
Intelligent Fire Escape Route to be integrated in the project research, and
demonstrated through friendly visualiza-
Shanghai Disaster Control Center is one of tion methods, which is convenient for data
the important information systems of the State search, analysis and management in the
Grid Corporation. The safety requirements of process of operations and maintenance.
fire control is very high, coupled with its own As there are not mature products in the
complex equipment system and special space market, a lot of software this part needs
layout, so the team starts to do the targeted should be developed independently; and
research on early warning and real-time escape 4. Escape Route Algorithm and Optimiza-
when the fire breaks out. On the basis of the tion: Escape route is important once a major
BIM model, data for monitoring fire alarm disaster happens, such as the fire, and the
system and gas fire extinguishing system can be escape light is not enough to guide people
extracted, which can be used in the application away from the ignition point effectively.
software platform to automatic computing and And BIM model as the real building simula-
generate real-time escape route. In this way, it tion model has accurate sizes and positions
can improve the emergency response ability of all the emergency exits. Through the
of the Disaster Control Center for the fire, and accurately calculating the data extracted
also can be an effective way of daily fire drill. from the BIM model by computer,the best
In additional, it will record each alarm time and route from the ignition point to outdoor can
the escape routes generated in the database for be got in the shortest time, which means
future reference. the amount of casualties can be reduced
The key and difficult points in this part when the fire occurs.
study are as follows:
BIM-enabled FM system has established
1. Accurate BIM Model: Fire route calcula- the function of data interaction with fire alarm
tion and selection must be based on accu- system (FAS) and gas fire extinguishing system.
rate 3D models and precise and complete When one of them sends out an alarm signal, the
real-time data, therefore the degree of software can display alarm indication marks on
precision of BIM model is important, and the main interface to remind operators to click
its relevance and reliability of the data are and check the dynamic fire escape routes. The
the basis for the running of the platform; system records all possible fire escape routes of

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30 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013

each floor. Figure 13 shows the fire escape routes USER FEEDBACKS
of the first floor under normal circumstances.
When the system receives the fire signal, the A number of interviews were made with the
program will automatically locate the position of project participants to collect feedback on uti-
the fire, and mark the location with bold flame lizing BIM-enabled FM system in O&M stage.
pattern on the interface. At the same time, it can Questions were asked in the areas of system
automatically calculate the safe escape route prototype functionality and benefits on FM.
according to the location, with the blue arrow The overall feedback was on the positive side.
labeled. When the program receives multiple The project team members thought that the
fire alarm signals at the same time, all alarm most useful functions were Dynamic Data Dis-
points will be marked on the interface, then it play and Warning and Energy-Saving Analysis.
calculates the escape routes. When escape from The former could efficiently help maintenance
an area must pass through fire point, program manager get the fault message in time, and guide
will show escape route with red to alert person- field workers find the corresponding facilities
nel (as shown in Figure 14). Operators can view quickly. Furthermore, it could automatically
all floors’ fire escape route through drop-down generate relative maintenance plans. The latter
box in the upper left corner of interface select could automatically collect and analysis energy
when the fire happens. consuming data. Whilst, the daily, monthly
This development work of the platform and yearly energy consumption curves could
is in progress at present, and has made great be created and used to help maintenance staff
progress. Various technical difficulties, such make an accurate energy supply plan, so as to
as integration of fire monitoring system and maximize the utilization of energy.
the BIM system, and real-time escape routes’ The drawbacks of the BIM-enabled FM
calculation have been basically solved. The system were manually creating as-built BIM
above-mentioned part is relevant development model and linking FM materials to BIM model.
achievement. These tasks were time-consuming and labor-
intensive.

Figure 13. The fire escape routes of the first floor under normal circumstances

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 International Journal of 3-D Information Modeling, 2(3), 16-33, 2013 2013 31

Figure 14. Fire escape route with red to alert personnel

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