Building Information Modelling (BIM) has the potential to improve the design, construction
and operation of assets using a standardised machine-readable information model. Despite the
rapidly increasing adoption of BIM in design and construction stages, the adoption of BIM for
Operation and Maintenance (O&M) is still relatively weak. While there are multifaceted
challenges behind that weak adoption, there are recurring themes of the poor data integration
between BIM and existing Asset Management (AM) systems and of how to structure BIM
models for use in the O&M phase. Reflecting on that interoperability challenge, this research aims to provide a methodology to
design, develop and transfer the information required to support O&M from BIM models. To
achieve the research aim, firstly a critical review of the literature was undertaken to develop a
conceptual framework of the interoperability aspects for BIM implementation in AM. The
proposed conceptual framework would facilitate the transfer of information from BIM models
to AM tools through the development of a specific Model View Definition (MVD) and a Revit
Plug-in. The MVD and Revit Plug-in are developed based on a taxonomy of the required data
and based on a cross-mapping between the different standards and guidelines used in the
Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) industry. To achieve these
aspects, semi-structured interviews and focus group are adapted to identify the required
information and an effective cross-mapping between the standards where ontologies are
utilised to publish and share machine-readable inter-Linked Data on the web. On the other
hand, a prototyping approach is employed for the MVD and the Revit Plug-in development,
while a case study method is used for evaluating the developed concepts and prototypes. The developed capabilities can enable facility managers to semantically link the BIM objects
to the maintenance records in the Semantic Web during the O&M phase in order to provide a
BIM environment without the specific BIM authoring application. Due to the assets’
heterogeneity, this research provides an interoperability solution for the data exchange of assets
that consume energy from the BIM systems to the AM systems during the handover stage.
Although the stated contributions of this research are anchored on assets that consume energy
only, the outputs can still be updated and adapted to cover all of the operable and maintainable
building assets
