Building information modeling (BIM) tools hold promise for owners in terms of collecting the information needed for facility operations. The introduction of BIM technology has increased the need for project teams to deliver information earlier in the project timeline. BIM has been a catalyst for process change in the architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry in terms of earlier decision making and in identifying the need for more precise and accurate information throughout the design and construction process. Because of the use of collaborative project delivery methods, and the owner’s participation on the project team, the same catalyst is now forcing owners to decide and specify in more detail their informational needs and deliverables. To date, owners are dependent on broad recommendations regarding what information they should collect as well as what methods may be used to collect it. To assist owners with specific recommendations, this study examined a microlevel view of the ...

This paper presents the first phase of the building information modeling (BIM) body of knowledge (BOK) research conducted by the Academic Interoperability Coalition (AiC). The AiC BIM BOK initiative identifies and examines the formation of a global BIM culture emerging from its ubiquitous adoption and implementation worldwide in the last two decades. It advocates both urgent needs and unprecedented opportunities to establish a BIM BOK to (1) develop a holistic and robust framework to capture BIM concepts, standards, best practices, and state-of-the-art innovations; (2) identify foundational knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) to meet workplace BIM job task performance requirements; (3) benchmark desired learning outcomes and career-specific competency in cultivating future BIM talent; and (4) enable credible and authentic BIM education accreditation and training credentialing. This research proposes the working definition of BIM BOK as the systematically curated concepts and nomenclature, knowledge, best practices, standards, and expected outcomes pertaining to BIM and its implementation. It summarizes the literature and background review, identifies the theoretic underpinnings of the BIM BOK, and delineates a knowledge representation framework adopted by AiC to encapsulate the BIM BOK using a job task analysis (JTA) workshop. A preliminary inventory of the BIM BOK contents is also developed, which is further explored and evaluated using a rigorous three-round, consensus-building Delphi study in the next phase of the BIM BOK research. The intellectual contributions of this research include that (1) it promotes the broad awareness of an expanding global BIM culture and proposes a systematic approach, i.e., the BOK, to scientifically investigate its formation and impacts on advancing the field of BIM study; (2) it clarifies the theoretic underpinnings and justifies the practical implications of establishing the BIM BOK; (3) it creates a holistic and dynamic knowledge representation framework for comprehensive and multidimensional BIM BOK documentation across industry sectors; and (4) it lays the foundation for more comprehensive development, evaluation, and utilization of the proposed BIM BOK when evaluating building and use cases.

This paper aims to apply the building information modeling (BIM) body of knowledge (BOK) framework, established during the background, framework, and initial development phase, to determine what common knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) should be represented in the BIM BOK using a Delphi method with inputs from subject matter experts (SMEs). After three rounds of the Delphi study, a dynamic BIM BOK of 67 instances (line items) was developed and consensus was measured for each line item with importance ratings and levels of agreement (LOAs) achieved among the SMEs. The paper then plots heat maps to highlight varieties of perceived importance and consensus (i.e., calculated LOAs) of the BIM BOK line items and their distribution along different dimensions of the BIM BOK framework. The visualization aids supplied by the heat maps revealed significant trends of SMEs’ perceptions toward specific BIM competencies. Noticeably, better consensus and higher importance ratings were observed among BIM BOK line items that were associated with more seasoned professionals. Lower consensus was observed on what BIM competency young professionals were expected to develop. This disparity could be attributed to the lack of lucidity in foundational BIM education and training, and suggested gaps that needed to be filled in order to help young professionals grow into true experts. This phase of the BIM BOK research is expected to make considerable contributions to BIM curriculum and training development and competency cultivation in both academia and industry. It lays a solid foundation for standardizing baseline performance for BIM education accreditation and professional licensing and certification. These contributions are elaborated via the discussion of potential use cases of implementing the BIM BOK. The paper concludes with an outlook for future research to continuously enhance and update the BIM BOK via reinforced industry and academia partnership.

The aim of the research included an exploration of the condition assessment process, and the Facilities Condition Index (FCI) as a metric to assign condition levels for commercial structures. The computation and use of various metrics for the asset management process are not standardized. The paper aims to clarify the current industry practices regarding how various assessments are currently utilized and to also compare existing literature to existing industry practices. Utilizing the Delphi Technique, an industry panel provided a synopsis of current practices. The research included organized discussions with industry as a method to supplement the Delphi survey responses and ensure accurate representation of industry practices. The assessment of the current standard of practice revealed that there is currently no established assessment methodology for data collection and the lack of proper categorization of the assets within a building hampers the frequent and widespread use of specific performance metrics within the industry. Although the intent was to establish consensus, the results of this study provide a clear indication that the disagreement levels in the categories represent the overall industry struggles, the lack of standards, and issues in the use of metrics, especially with the varied computation of the FCI. Existing literature is limited in the areas of condition metrics, especially for applied recommendations. The results provide a foundational state of practice and highlight the needed industry improvements for condition assessments and additionally, how FM's utilize the data they collect.

Building information modeling (BIM) has become a standard practice in the architecture, engineering, construction, owner and operator (AECOO) industry, and has gained a critical mass of adoption. However, for companies to fully harvest BIM’s potential and sustain its momentum, the key is to cultivate a competent workforce that has the desired BIM knowledge, skills and abilities (KSAs) to perform job tasks in both organizational and project contexts. This paper reports a research undertaken by the academic interoperability coalition (AiC) using a Delphi method to explore the body of knowledge (BOK) of BIM. The BIM BOK is defined as the systematically curated concepts and nomenclature, knowledge, best practices, standards and outcomes pertaining to BIM and its implementation. The Delphi study is built upon a comprehensive and multi-dimensional system architecture to address both macro and micro BIM uses, and to classify and categorize the BIM BOK. This three-round Delphi study produced an inclusive and living inventory of BIM BOK line items, with built consensus on their practicality associated with the various user groups at different competency levels in specific implementation contexts. The BIM BOK makes three major contributions: 1) it establishes the foundational and holistic knowledge representation for BIM competency assessment for workforce across the AECOO industry; 2) it provides a roadmap and common curriculum to bridge the current gap between academic learning outcomes and workplace performance requirements via corporate training and BIM education; and 3) it standardizes the level of expectation and benchmarks job task performance for emerging BIM job titles, which forms baseline performance measurement for BIM education accreditation, and professional credentialing and certification.

Photorealistic, LiDAR-based 3D imaging provides accurate and precise documentation of existing conditions and measurable geometry. The quality and accuracy of the data generated by LiDAR cannot be economically recreated using more traditional measurement and CAD techniques. While earlier forms of this technology have been used for many years, recent innovations have provided opportunities for numerous new uses that will soon change the way many professionals obtain, analyze and process data. The use of 3D scanning equipment for new applications is gaining momentum and one such application, its use for disaster mitigation, was explored in a case study. The study reviews scanning industry applications and improvements for precision and also includes a case study in the application of a historic church post disaster, which was documented with the beneficial applications (such as safety and time savings) as well as what the authors believed to be future research areas for similar projects.