A Case Study of the Use of BIM and Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) for Facility Management

Abstract

This study investigates the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and COBie for Facility Management on three projects where these concepts were used. Factors which affect these concepts are identified through a literature review. The study is divided into the sections of Responsibility for database formulation, Characteristics of database, Technology and Effect on work order response times. A qualitative analysis is conducted to study the application of these concepts and identify any problems encountered. A case study is conducted on three projects where BIM and COBie were used for facility management. It is found that though the database generated by using these concepts is useful for preventive maintenance, the data gathering and formulation process needs to be started during the design and construction phase to make use of BIM for facility management functions like space allocation, 3D mapping, building automation etc. This study can be used as a reference for further research based on quantitative analysis of the factors studied in the case study.