Building Information Models typically end their active life after the construction phase. An experimental project was initiated to find out whether and how they can serve owners throughout the life cycle of a building.<\/p>\n Gradia<\/a>, the Jyv\u00e4skyl\u00e4 Educational Consortium, provides education to students of all ages in central Finland. It has around 25,000 students, a staff of 1,100, and buildings with a total floor area of 150,000 square meters. Gradia and a team from Gravicon and XRM Finland carried out a government-supported KIRA-digi experimentation project in 2017 on the use of BIMs for building maintenance and repairs.<\/p>\n The project created process descriptions, an exemplary maintenance user interface, and use cases of practical implementations. It also specified maintenance information needs and tested model data exchange using the specifications.<\/p>\n \u201cFor many years, we\u2019ve encouraged contractors to start using BIM. We\u2019ve given them software for the construction site and offered help from architects,\u201d says Riikka Kaarnamo<\/strong>, Director of Gradia Properties. \u201cSome contractors have played ball, some haven\u2019t.\u201d<\/p>\n Kaarnamo states that Gradia always \u201cbuilds as designed.\u201d Even on small annual repair projects, \u00a0designers use BIM and hand the models over to contractors. Gradia has general agreements with architects and engineers for keeping the BIMs updated. Reliable as-built information improves the productivity of every party to a project and thus saves the owner money.<\/p>\n \u201cThe KIRA-digi project was a natural continuation of what we\u2019ve been doing. It extends BIMs to building maintenance,\u201d says Kaarnamo. \u201cWe\u2019ve been looking for BIM-capable maintenance software, but haven\u2019t found any on the market. For us, the project served as an opportunity to explore needs and specify information requirements to software vendors and consultants.\u201d<\/p>\n Gradia partnered with an expert team lead by Jarmo Laitinen<\/strong>, Professor Emeritus and Senior Advisor at Gravicon<\/a>. The other members, Jenni Kaukonen<\/strong> and Toni Teittinen<\/strong> are BIM specialists at the same company. XRM Finland joined in as a software developer.<\/p>\n \u201cJarmo and I talked with Gradia as early as 2011 about the lack of support for BIM in maintenance and use. It\u2019s only recently that we\u2019ve seen new, legacy-free software developers emerging,\u201d says Teittinen. \u201cDuring the KIRA-digi project, we were able to come up with a proof-of-concept with Gradia.\u201d<\/p>\n Teittinen points out that BIMs are especially valuable to fast-changing properties. Having the right information at hand at any moment shortens maintenance lead times and saves costs. It also helps the owner manage assets and spaces.<\/p>\n The project used a Gradia building in Lievestuore as a pilot. The team started out by researching the data from the pilot\u2019s architectural, HVAC, and electrical BIMs.<\/p>\n \u201cAfter the initial analysis, we workshopped with designers and Gradia the information that their personnel would need for operations and maintenance. There was an excess of data in some areas and missing data in other areas, e.g. in electrical design,\u201d Kaukonen explains. \u201cWe found out that a window object can have over 2,000 properties in an IFC model. It\u2019s essential to understand which properties are really needed.\u201d<\/p>\n The team came up with process models that describe how building information should flow during a property\u2019s life cycle. An important consideration was the so-called \u201cdigital twin\u201d of a property. What it is, who owns it, and how design BIMs are integrated into it were questions that the project also tried to answer.<\/p>\n The project created a demo interface for maintenance requests using the pilot\u2019s BIMs and XRM Finland\u2019s Premis software. The architect\u2019s model was made with Archicad, which Premis could read natively. It could create visualizations of the BIMs with BIMx, an Archicad extension. The HVAC and electrical models were transferred from MagiCAD in open IFC exchange format, but doing so required additional manual work.<\/p>\n The project was able to use existing Finnish YTV (Common BIM Requirements) as a starting point. It became evident that especially in mechanical design, the IFC format needs further development if the files are to be machine-readable.<\/p>\n Design and construction create a huge amount of data. If the property information is not updated meticulously, the users cannot trust any of it and won\u2019t use it. On the other hand, if it is relevant and correct it is a big time-saver.<\/p>\n \u201cA maintenance person told me that instead of driving to a property 30 kilometers away just to check the type of a replacement lamp used, he\u2019d be happy if he could look up the information on the BIM,\u201d Kaukonen relates. \u201cThat, of course, requires confidence in the data.\u201d<\/p>\n Riikka Kaarnamo says that the KIRA-digi experiment showed that life cycle BIM is doable. The technology is not the highest hurdle; rather, it is getting the buy-in from owners, consultants, and software developers. \u00a0Kaarnamo is adamant about the benefits that life cycle BIM can bring: \u201cIt takes time and money to have BIMs made during construction projects. Why wouldn\u2019t we keep them alive and make better use of them?\u201d<\/p>\n Professor Laitinen agrees. He sees operations and maintenance as the \u201creal business\u201d of BIM that developers have been overlooking for too long.<\/p>\n \u201cI would say that what we\u2019ve done in this project is quite special. Especially allowing the information to flow from design to maintenance and then back to design is unique,\u201d says Laitinen. \u201cWe\u2019re happy to share our results with others.\u201d<\/p>\n If you want to contact Riikka Kaarnamo, email her at riikka.kaarnamo(at)gradia.fi. You can reach Jenni Kaukonen at jenni.kaukonen(at)gravicon.fi.<\/p>\n The project team will give a presentation at the World Summit on Digital Built Environment WDBE 2018 in September in Helsinki. Sign up to see it plus 100 other presentations and 10 keynotes from all over the world.<\/p>\n<\/div>\nThe Owner as Pioneer<\/h2>\n
![\"Riikka](\"https:\/\/aec-business.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/riikka-kaarnamo-gradia.jpg\")
Gradia is a pioneer in owner-driven BIM. They have been using building information modeling for over 10 years. It has updated its existing models systematically and created new inventory models of renovation design.<\/p>\nAn Experiment in Operations and Maintenance<\/h2>\n
![\"Cleaning](\"https:\/\/aec-business.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/cleaning-areas.jpg\")
Cleaning zones visualized<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nPiloting with Real-Life Data<\/h2>\n
![\"Ventilation](\"https:\/\/aec-business.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/08\/ventilation-areas.jpg\")
Ventilation zones visualized<\/figcaption><\/figure>\nReliability is the Key to Success<\/h2>\n
Technology is not the Highest Hurdle<\/h2>\n
Learn More at WDBE 2018<\/h2>\n