BIM Busters: Mostly FM benefits from BIM
The relationship between BIM and Facility Management is a strange one. Professional FM, if existent, manages data much better than BIM. Yet some BIM gurus want to teach FM about data...
This is a sentence I mostly hear from planners as an argument about why the client should pay extra for a BIM model. The famous example I often hear is:
The FM provider gets a call about a light not working. He looks in the BIM model, sees how high the room is and which ladder to take. So it saves time and unnecessary traveling.
I think this example is completely constructed. Let's look a little closer at this statement and explore how facility management (FM) works for different types of clients:
The one-time client for a single-family house
This type of client does not have any form of professional facility management. It can be important to have the relevant information, e.g. whom to call to solve a problem. Having this information in a BIM does not necessarily help because they won't be able to use the BIM tools. Therefore, no perceived value for their nonexistent/rudimentary FM.
If the project team chooses to do BIM anyway, the reasons are easier coordination between the trades and better communication with the non-professional client. A competitive advantage but not necessarily something the client will pay extra on top of the normal fees.
The one-time client who builds a multifamily building as an investment
This type of client usually employs professional facility management for tenant management and cleaning services. Some information from a BIM could be usable for the professional FM provider. But most providers have processes in place based on rudimentary plan data. I recommend involving the dedicated FM provider early in the building projects and asking them to formulate their BIM requirements. Currently, most of the time, there won't be any.
Another possible reason could be that the resell value could increase if the building is better documented. A bet into the future. For the team, it means they need to polish their sales skills to get more money for the FM-BIM (often called LOD 500 BIM).
The professional client who develops and sells projects
For them, a well-documented building could be of value, especially when they want to sell to an international portfolio that has to fulfill the taxonomy criteria. Here, we must examine how the market develops and adapts to taxonomy.
Again, it's a bet into the future. For project execution, the BIM could provide added value for the client if they have digital quality management processes across their whole portfolio. If this is the case, the client should be able to communicate the requirements already in the tender phase and get a competitive price.
The professional client who keeps the building
For them, a smooth handover of data is a big value. But this does not mean it has to be BIM. The FM providers I know usually have workflows based on 1:200 plans and manage most information connected to the spaces. The information is usually kept in 10 - 20 attributes of a database and a linked plan archive. As long as these FM providers:
Don't have any processes in place to extract the information from a BIM, the handover could be a structured Excel file and CAD plans as well.
Don't have processes in place to change the BIM whenever they do some renovation.
Don't have use cases there a 3D model helps in FM (I don't believe the story of the housekeeper who looks at the BIM to know which latter to bring.)
The detailed construction-ready BIM data does not provide any additional value. One of the abstract's clients chose to do FM with BIM models. They gave up on enforcing a standard but abstracted the model to a lower level of detail and had all they needed for their FM.
The professional-client of complex industry projects with many changes.
For these clients, a BIM model could have value as long as they have the processes to adapt the FM model according to the changes. Unfortunately, most of them are already overwhelmed by adapting the 2D-based documentation. Adapting a 3D/BIM has an even higher level of complexity. The way would be to build up their standards and only hire planners who could follow their requirements - sometimes, it would even call for a closed BIM solution to ensure a smooth integration.
Conclusion
Most clients won't have the processes in place to benefit from BIM or won't even have any benefit. The claim that FM benefits most from BIM sounds like an excuse not to consider the planner's processes and find the advantage.
Therefore focus on proper documentation and make the data easily accessible, but don’t force FM to work with BIM - Except they see a value in it.