Calibrating BIM and Digital Engineering in Local Government Facilities and Assets
With budgets needing to span across more facilities and assets than ever before, many local governments are looking for performance efficiencies. Whether it’s buildings, service and transport infrastructure, or recreational land management, the requirements of reaching community expectations can be difficult to balance. However, the construction market sector is starting to bridge this gap. Using Digital Engineering and Building Information Modelling, they empower data collection and create highly collaborative working environments. Giving local government the opportunity to manage those performance efficiencies with more shared information than ever before.
The importance of the data collection is paramount in the early stages of the project. Site, Facilities and Asset Managers need to share and contribute to the relevance of data required, preferably before and whilst the design begins to take form. Their insights in managing, operating, and maintaining assets helps plan and in some cases reverse engineer the data they have been lacking with their current portfolio. This in return giving local government the capacity to influence the service and financial performance in a far greater way than usual. The objective is to understand your limitations on being able to utilise this data or information.
We all manage our site, facility and asset data differently. Some local governments will have the comprehensive computerised maintenance management systems (CMMS). Whilst others maybe working in databases, workbooks such as excel or even paper ring binders. A decision on the level of integration you are looking for must be made. To generalise there are three categories: Static data, Integrated data and Dynamic data.
- Static data format is when databases and graphical models are handed over as is. The information is final and sits in a static format whether that is hard copy or soft copy.
- Integrated data is joining the databases and graphical models to other systems. The information becomes integrated into your current systems and forms part of the overall management toolkit.
- Dynamic data being the top performer, is linking the database and graphical models to all other computerised systems. This can range from building automated systems through to the CMMS and many others. The information becomes interactive and you can dynamically update the database and graphical information.
The expenditure on integrating the systems will help decide which level and type of data to aim for. If you have not established a fully integrated change plan for Digital Engineering / BIM, then static to integrated is your best option. This is because it doesn’t require high levels of programming to your existing systems or new software to enable the dynamic functions. However, it should be noted, that if you do decide on a dynamic integration your returns should increase significantly compared to the others. Once you understand the level of integration you can now focus on what you need from the design and construction stakeholders.
How do we calibrate Digital Engineering and BIM ’performance’ for Site, Facilities and Asset Management? Our answer, is divided amongst the six subject groups of the institute of asset management conceptual model. As an introduction, let’s explore three common areas; Group 2 – Asset Management and Decision Making, Group 4 – Asset Information, and Group 6 – Risk and Review.
Group 2 - Asset Management and Decision Making
Community assets have a knack of creating issues when they don’t perform well. The breakdown of a major air vent propeller in a road tunnel, through to a chiller in a sporting hall, can cause significant loss in community activities and added frustrations to local commuters. When these issues arise, it gives planners the capacity to perform opportunity maintenance on some of the items related to these assets. It also gives an opportunity to inspect those buried further into the facility or asset assembly. Particularly those that are difficult to get to when those assets are performing. To review if opportunities are available, an accurate information model allows you to virtually review the possibilities. This makes a ‘Record Model’ your request of the design and construction team. A Record Model represents the site, facility or asset as it was built. This is your high level of importance request. The objective is to define the information and graphical model that allows you to perform the opportunity maintenance review. This can range from a model within 50mm to 5mm accuracy, in a particular format so you can read it, and with asset data hierarchies that you can map to your existing systems.
Group 4 - Asset Information
Everything revolves around how we design our asset data systems. Whether it is the management of the data and information, or the standards in which we are adhering to. Data requirements become an important request of the design and construction team. Majority of the Digital Engineering and BIM enabled software have the ability to add information to selected elements, spaces, materials and systems. It is important to define what level of information you require in the asset hierarchy. If it is a road, how many layers of the surface materials will you need? If it is a building how much information do you need to maintain the windows? A good suggestion is to think about the services procurement, tendering and future renovation aspects.
Models will assist in these areas on both a qualitative and quantitative perspective. Quantitative features will be the measurements of everything you may ever need. Such as the roadside grassed areas to be maintained, through to the cleaning of the glass façade at the local aquatic centre. A model will deliver this spatial data seamlessly without measuring old CAD drawings. Qualitative will be using the visual model to understand the space and to communicate site risks, such as can the bank or lawn tractors reach a particular portion of the road chainage, through to chemicals being transported across reactive materials such as chlorine. Imagine all of this achieved without walking the premises with service tenderers. The important thing to note, is not only will you notice cost reductions in time, you will also notice reductions in the handover of the data into your system. Making Facility staff particularly happy if they don’t have to spend 7 months geo-referencing or linking all of the elements.
Group 6 - Risk and Review
The environmental and sustainable performance of a site, facility or asset. Design and construction teams will utilise Digital Engineering and BIM processes to estimate, register, analyse and simulate the environmental and sustainable performance of their design and construction methodologies. They utilise the model to confirm items such as stormwater flows across roads, through to street lighting performance and expected energy consumption of buildings. This is analysed by using many aspects of the model such as the independent model elements. The materials of the road structure will indicate how porous the road is to then simulate the effect of water flows over the surface. The thermal properties of windows will help simulate the energy performance depending on the glazing type, tints, seals etc. To understand future performance risks, you can request the As-Built model, however this time you request the capture of performance expectations and data properties to be linked to the elements.
This information will feed back into the feasibility work for renovations and new construction. The information provided outlines the capacity of existing systems and an understanding of the performance criteria. During the ‘soft landings’ phase, the as designed data should be utilised to check the as performing data. This can be achieved within the automated systems such as HVAC for buildings or street lights for roads and pavements. This will establish if any variations during construction effected the design outcome.
Digital Engineering and BIM to Facility and Asset Management creates a connection to assist in the whole of lifecycle management. Site, Facilities and Asset Managers calibrate the model and data performance by defining the scope required from the design and construction stakeholders. This is achieved by breaking down the requirements to performance areas such as the Institute of Asset Management conceptual model. This generates transparency between the needs of the operation phase to the design and construction teams. Producing model and dataflows that enhance aspects of the site, facility or asset when in operation.
Originally Published: The Australian Local Government Yearbook Edition 24