Applying BIM retrospectively as a data collection tool for maintaining social housing.
This case study demonstrates how Building Information Modelling (BIM) is being used by Wellington City Council (WCC) to cost effectively manage its property portfolio, specifically focusing on a small social housing complex – Bracken Road Flats. It shows the value of BIM for asset and facilities management. Benefits include the ability to forecast ongoing operating costs and plan maintenance to extend the life of assets. Capturing “big data” through BIM can help deliver affordable social housing and infrastructure for our communities.
As a social housing owner, WCC needs timely access to accurate building information to ensure its tenanted properties are maintained to an appropriate level. Accessing occupied properties to measure and assess their condition is difficult. Instead, WCC is using BIM as an effective data collection tool to obtain accurate measurements to populate its Asset Management and Facilities Management Information System (AMIS/FMIS) database for modelling. This is helping WCC to cost effectively, identify and schedule maintenance work required on its social housing portfolio. BIM can inform the operation of a building throughout its life cycle and help predict the whole of life costs of an asset.
The original drawings of the Bracken Road Flats, produced around 1965 in 2D non-CAD format, were provided to Caduceus Architects, who were asked to draw a model based on WCC’s specifications prepared with assistance from Archaus. These plans were then developed into a 3D BIM model using Autodesk’s Revit software. Once the draft drawing was complete, data on specific building components was extracted to Excel where it was mapped and uploaded to the WCC asset database – SPM Assets. The result was an up to date, accurate As-Built model for asset and facilities management purposes.
The Bracken Road Flats project demonstrates an efficient method of using BIM outputs to populate asset and facilities management systems. This is particularly useful when there is little or no data available on an asset.
BIM assists better decision-making. As most data capture processes are manual, there is normally a limit to how much data is collected, due to cost restraints. BIM provides a new and exciting way to capture more information cost effectively, so WCC managers can make better informed and evidence-based decisions.
To read the whole case study please download by clicking on the button here.
Project duration:
March 2014 ongoing
BIM Uses:
Asset management
Record modelling
Building (preventative) maintenance scheduling
Code validation
