BIM always makes sense for Healthcare projects, and in my opinion BIM will eventually make total sense for FM and Building Operations. I am deeply embedded in a few projects that are spanning across BIM, FM and Healthcare, and so I was especially interested in this whitepaper:
First Steps to Successful Deployment of BIM for Healthcare Operations
One particular comment really resonated with me, and I have copied it here below:
As Meghan Ruffo, contract BIM manager, Carolinas Health System, points out, tools can be added over time to process additional data. “Don’t think you have to have a perfect system set up to get started,” she advises. “Say you don’t have a space management system that integrates with Revit yet. You can still capture that information, and when you do implement that tool you will be ready to go.”
BIM Kickoff Meeting FAQ This document was posted by Robert Bell to the Revit MEP forum, as a good checklist for discussion between contractors. Revit Maximo Integration Plugin This application has been retired/graduated from the Autodesk Labs site, but, please check out the documentation for the intended functionality and contact Autodesk to display your interest in this capability. Revit Archibus Overlay Archibus Overlay has long worked with AutoCAD, and you can purchase it for Revit, too, allowing for reporting and querying across multiple models. Linking Data Spreadsheet to Navisworks for Facility Management This is more of a debate with mulitiple options than an iron-clad framework, but, the idea is worth reviewing. The GSA on BIM for FM The General Services Administration has been a forerunner in utilitzing BIM post-construction and thoroughly documenting their standards. Check out the links on the left of the page to access press releases, videos and the BIM Library. AECbytes: BIM for Facilities Management AECbytes does a roundup of FM products that can make use of BIM (this is an older article, if there’s a newer version, please let me know and I will update the link). A good read by Lachmi Khemlani, as usual. BIM for FM on a University Campus Case study on the business case for building information modeling at Northumbria University’s city campus, presented at ECObuild 2013. How to Approach BIM for Renovations A link to a detailed methodology and a real world report of how one hospital stepped through the process. What does an Owner Want with BIM? This article says that most companies are doing a disservice with this question, when they should really be asking ‘Who is the Owner?’ A rundown of the stakeholders using the data and Revit models turned over to the facilities and engineering staff post-occupancy. Moving from AutoCAD to BIM for Building Floor Plans The Wexner Medical Center at The Ohio State University’s BIM Implementation Project. Setup with Clients and Owners Discussion on how to work with clients on delivery and standards formation. Circular Linking of Models and Campus Buildings Discussion on some issues with working across a large multi-building campus. Coordinating Projects Using Shared Coordinates Class handout and video link to an in-depth Revit class by Steve Stafford. Revit Standards: Getting Started Guides BIM Standards and Guidelines
Detailed and informative article re-published on AHDC (Australian Health Design Council) website. Quote (underlining is mine): Managing the technology The post-occupancy incorporation of building data into an existing system long has been a tedious and error-prone process that now can be automated via the model’s geometry and data, if structured and formatted correctly. Health facility managers are seeing the value of BIM by integrating it into their existing computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) and computer-aided facility management (CAFM) systems as well as energy or building management systems and electronic document management systems. By not limiting the application of BIM to simply a technology-to-technology interaction, the realistic outcomes that can be achieved by this type of workflow become evident. Often considered low-hanging fruit is BIM’s ability to integrate into a space management system. BIM applications such as San Rafael, Calif.-based Autodesk Inc.’s Revit Architecture are capable of tracking building spaces and easily categorizing that information into departmental areas as well as floor-to-floor or building-by-building breakdowns across a larger medical campus in both graphical and schedule-based interfaces.
Also: In its simplest terms, a model’s power to visualize space can contribute to staff and patient recruitment… BIM also can work to improve visitor wayfinding.
And the experience of Ohio State University and its 2D to 3D conversion for FM: OSU began creating 3-D models of all the medical center buildings, helping the facilities team to understand its buildings and collaborate more effectively with the people who use them. OSU also has started using BIM in energy-use analysis and it is poised to play a key role in helping OSU to achieve its goal of being carbon neutral by 2050.
Now that the medical center has been modeled, BIM is allowing the university’s facility management group to support general space reporting and to mock up spaces in greater detail for more informed decision-making processes and for future project funding. Due to the success of the initiative, OSU decided to extend the BIM program to its main campus. “The core benefit of BIM for us comes down to being able to make better, more cost-effective decisions faster,” says Joe Porostosky, senior manager of facilities information and technology services for OSU. “Ultimately, our facilities better meet the needs of users without as much time-consuming back-and-forth and expensive rework.”
BIM’s Role Expands as Health Facility Managers Take Ownership | Australian Health Design Council http://t.co/dLVoit8b0G — Jason Howden (@RTVTools) August 12, 2013
Check it out, pretty amazing stuff. Take a virtual in-browser tour of Sydney Cricket Ground: SCENE Webshare Cloud
The implications of this technology for facilities management are pretty significant. In some cases, projects may skip the BIM process and go straight from laser scan to FM (where the brief allows for it).
I’m very interested in where Paul is heading with this: The QR Code pictured below, when scanned, will pull up the website, triggering the data in it to be sent to Revit. Picture a QR Code with info on a HVAC Unit, you scan it and the data is passed to Revit for when it was installed or serviced.
Sending Data in a URL to Revit. Data can be parsed to update parameters of object.
This project fits into the larger scope of connecting our desktop Revit content creation with actual site information and making all of this accessible to entire teams on the cloud.
EDIT: Paul provided the code in the comments below: I found the code for this example. It is not pretty, but should be very simple. There are two files: the Revit Plugin and the Website.
REVIT PLUGIN using System; using System.Collections.Generic; using System.Linq; using System.Text; using Autodesk.Revit.DB; using Autodesk.Revit.DB.Architecture; using Autodesk.Revit.UI; using Autodesk.Revit.UI.Selection; using Autodesk.Revit.ApplicationServices; using Autodesk.Revit.Attributes; using RabbitMQ.Client;
[TransactionAttribute(TransactionMode.Manual)] [RegenerationAttribute(RegenerationOption.Manual)] public class RevitRabbit : IExternalCommand { public Result Execute( ExternalCommandData commandData, ref string message, ElementSet elements) {
string msg = null; var connectionFactory = new ConnectionFactory(); IConnection connection = connectionFactory.CreateConnection(); IModel channel = connection.CreateModel();
BasicGetResult result = channel.BasicGet(“hello”, true); if (result != null) { msg = Encoding.UTF8.GetString(result.Body); System.Windows.Forms.MessageBox.Show(msg, “Status”);
If you are just starting out with COBie and want a really detailed overview of what it is and how it works, check out this article: practical BIM: to COBie or not to COBie
Along with all the usual statistics and reports, it features a two-page Case Study on the New Royal Adelaide Hospital – a project we are involved with coordinating here at VirtualBuilt. If you want to read on about SPOTNIC, 4D, 5D and FM involvement in the process, read on…
The full title is
The Business Value of BIM in Australia and New Zealand:
How Building Information Modeling Is Transforming the Design and Construction Industry
