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Article
Publication date: 2 October 2019

Ahmed Alnaggar and Michael Pitt

The purpose of this study is to outline the problems associated with asset information management using the Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) standard…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this study is to outline the problems associated with asset information management using the Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) standard and to analyse the causes of industry failure to successfully adopt the standard. Based on this analysis, the paper will propose a process model, namely, Lifecycle Exchange of Asset Data (LEAD) to manage asset dataflow between all building stakeholders from design to construction and ultimately to the facility management team. This model aims to help the construction supply chain to produce complete and high-quality asset data that supports the operation phase of the built environment.

Design/methodology/approach

A review of relevant studies provided a theoretical background for this study. The authors then collected and analysed COBie data from five live construction projects using building information modelling (BIM) projects from different design and construction companies. The process model is based on an industry placement within Bouygues UK construction company, which was a Tier 1 building contractor in London in the period from December 2016 to December 2018. The researcher used an inductive approach observing current practises in two construction projects to produce “LEAD” model. Then a focus group was conducted with industry experts to discuss and refine the process model.

Findings

Analysis of literature and data collected in the course of this study revealed that although COBie is a BIM Level 2 standard in the UK, there is currently a low success rate in producing complete and accurate COBie data in the UK construction industry. This low rate is because of COBie’s rigid data syntax/structure, complexity and ambiguity of its data exchange process, which suggests that COBie may not be the future of the industry. Based on these findings, the study proposed a process model, namely, “LEAD,” to improve COBie output and also to be used with project-specific information requirements.

Practical implications

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, this paper is one of the first to focus solely on asset data exchange process using COBie standard and highlights the problems the industry faces in this remit. The study is based on industry placement for two years, so the analysis is based on actual and current industry problems. Current industry practices also informed the “LEAD” model, and the model provides a step-by-step guidance in producing and exchanging BIM asset data in all stages of the building lifecycle.

Originality/value

This paper provides a detailed analysis of the most common problems associated with COBie as an asset data exchange standard. Understanding these problems is of high value for industry practitioners to avoid them in projects. The paper also proposed a novel process model that can be used either to improve COBie quality or can be used with any project-specific data requirements.

Article
Publication date: 15 November 2018

Ahmed Alnaggar and Michael Pitt

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a systematic methodology to manage asset data flow between building stakeholders throughout building life cycle using the Construction…

1753

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is to investigate a systematic methodology to manage asset data flow between building stakeholders throughout building life cycle using the Construction Operation Building Information Exchange (COBie) standard.

Design/methodology/approach

A literature review of the relevant building information modelling (BIM) for facilities management (FM) studies including the gaps and challenges of producing COBie data is analysed. Then a standard project management methodology by Project Management Institute (PMI) is introduced as a theoretical framework to map the different areas of managing COBie data as a project in coordination with Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA) Plan of work. This theoretical background is coupled with an inductive approach through the placement within a construction company (Bouygues, UK) in the UCLH construction project to produce the conceptual framework that is aligned with industry needs.

Findings

The lack of well-structured approach to manage COBie data throughout building life cycle causes many problems and confusions about the roles and responsibilities of different stakeholders in creating and managing asset data. This confusion in turn results in incomplete and low-quality COBie data at the handover phase which hinders the ability of facility managers to use these data effectively in the operations phase. The proposed conceptual framework provides a standard project management process to systemise the data flow among all stakeholders.

Practical implications

The proposed framework is developed in liaison with a large construction company, so it is well aligned with an actual industry approach to managing COBie data. Furthermore, it provides a systematic step-by-step approach to managing COBie as a project that could be easily implemented in actual construction projects.

Originality/value

The paper introduced a novel approach to manage COBie data using a standard project management methodology based on an actual live construction project perspective coupled with project management theory.

Article
Publication date: 6 October 2021

Kofi Asabere Bediako Asare, Rui Liu and Chimay J. Anumba

This paper aims to present a review of research developments relating to the application of building information modeling (BIM) to facilities management (FM). It sheds light on…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to present a review of research developments relating to the application of building information modeling (BIM) to facilities management (FM). It sheds light on major technical and organizational issues with the view of identifying how existing BIM for FM knowledge applies to large capital projects.

Design/methodology/approach

The study adopted a literature search approach to retrieve relevant articles which were subjected to keyword analysis to enable categorization of extant BIM for FM research into appropriate sub-domains. A qualitative analysis of 94 BIM for FM-related literature was carried out in addition to a review of 9 capital project-related articles, leading to the establishment of research trends, gaps and future directions.

Findings

The review found that research in the BIM-FM integration field is predominantly technology and process-oriented, with less attention paid to people or organizational aspects. Therefore, there is a need for expanding the knowledge base in this direction. Several future research directions were identified to lay the foundations for research on BIM application to FM in large capital projects and other application areas for interested researchers. These future directions were categorized under the identified sub-domains of the field and mapped onto two generic activities, i.e. technical integration and business integration, involved in technology adoption by organizations.

Originality/value

The main contribution of this study is the categorization of existing research on BIM for FM, leading to the identification of research gaps concerning the initiation and implementation of BIM for FM in large capital projects. As a secondary benefit, this study has validated some sub-domains of the BIM for the FM research field identified in previous review papers using an empirical approach. This validation of defined sub-domains is useful for an emerging research field as it provides a common understanding of trends and specific application areas.

Article
Publication date: 26 January 2023

Rodrigo Pedral Sampaio, António Aguiar Costa and Inês Flores-Colen

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of the following questions: How can the digital transition improve the management of the operation and maintenance of…

Abstract

Purpose

This paper aims to contribute to the discussion of the following questions: How can the digital transition improve the management of the operation and maintenance of infrastructure in health-care facilities? What is the legacy for facility management (FM) teams in this post-COVID-19 management of hospital buildings?

Design/methodology/approach

Based on a literature review, this paper analyses and categorises existing research on the digital challenges for FM from 2011 until 2021 by conducting a qualitative and quantitative method of bibliometric analysis and discussing the status of digital transition impact on FM of the hospital buildings.

Findings

The trends and challenges of building information modelling, artificial intelligence and the Internet of Things identified and discussed in this paper aim to be as comprehensive as possible to grasp the situation of digital transition in the FM industry in the hospital buildings context. Regarding digital maturity, the limited number of publications highlights that control and management systems cannot fully manage the entire operational phase of hospital buildings. Giving intelligence to buildings will undoubtedly be the future. So making buildings reactive, interactive and immersive is an inevitable transformation for intelligent hospital building systems. Thus, the added value of digitalisation will help facility managers to overcome the issues pointed out in this paper to deal with the growing health demands and enable them to mitigate the impacts of a new and future pandemic.

Originality/value

The novelty of this paper is classifying and unifying facility managers' tendencies regarding high-level information management issues, which are lacking in the literature, with a focus on the approaches with potential and higher impact on FM in the hospital building context and the related steps that should be considered regarding data collection and data structures. These tendencies provide a set of new intelligent approaches and tools, which will increase the efficiency of processes, significantly impacting the potential of optimisation. Also, these trends can improve planning and management of scope, costs, environment and safety in the value chain of projects and assets, thus creating a more resilient and sustainable industry for facility managers in this post-COVID-19 management for hospital buildings.

Article
Publication date: 15 April 2024

Carlos Alejandro Diaz Schery, Rodrigo Goyannes Gusmão Caiado, Soraida Aguilar Vargas and Yiselis Rodriguez Vignon

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to present a rigorous bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review of the critical success factors (CSFs) for Building…

Abstract

Purpose

The purpose of this paper is twofold: first, to present a rigorous bibliometric analysis and a systematic literature review of the critical success factors (CSFs) for Building information modelling (BIM)-based digital transformation; second, to identify the relationship between the dimensions in favour of BIM implementation.

Design/methodology/approach

This study adopts a two-step approach to combine bibliometric and systematic literature review to explore the research topic of BIM and CSFs. Bibliometric tools such as Biblioshiny in R language and Ucinet software were applied to this study.

Findings

Besides identifying the two most influential authors (e.g. Bryde and Antwi-Afari), the key journal for disseminating articles, and the most influential countries in this discourse (e.g. Hong Kong and Australia), the study also identifies four pivotal research themes derived from the co-occurrence analysis of keywords: the fusion of sustainability and technology with BIM; practical application and its integration within construction management; innovation and engineering paradigms; and the advent of emerging technologies (e.g. Blockchain) within developing nations. Additionally, the paper introduces a comprehensive framework for selecting CSFs pertinent to BIM-centred digital transformation as viewed through the lens of dynamic capabilities.

Originality/value

This paper establishes a link between dynamic capabilities theory, CSFs, and BIM dimensions, presenting a multifaceted framework guiding future paths and offering practical insights for managerial and political decision-makers engaged in digital transformation endeavours. The study positions dynamic capabilities as pivotal, aligning digital technologies with continuous business performance, and advocates for a strategic focus on digital transformation.

Details

Engineering, Construction and Architectural Management, vol. ahead-of-print no. ahead-of-print
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 0969-9988

Keywords

Article
Publication date: 29 April 2022

Nghiep Tuan Ha, Mohammadreza Akbari and Bill Au

The main objective of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review (SLR) and structured insight into last mile delivery, ultimately identifying gaps in current…

4024

Abstract

Purpose

The main objective of this paper is to provide a systematic literature review (SLR) and structured insight into last mile delivery, ultimately identifying gaps in current knowledge and proposing a framework for future research direction in terms of sustainability in the area.

Design/methodology/approach

This paper identifies and synthesizes information from academic journals and examines “Journals and Publishing place,” “Geographic location,” “Year of Publication,” “University and Author Affiliation,” “Themes and Sub-themes,” “Theory,” “Research Design, Methods and Area” and “Industry Involvement.” A collection of online databases from 2005 to 2020 were explored, using the keywords “Last mile delivery,” “Last mile logistics,” “Last mile transportation,” “Last mile fulfillment,” “Last mile operations” and “Last mile distribution” in their title and/or abstract and/or keywords. Accordingly, a total of 281 journal articles were found in this discipline area, and data were derived from a succession of variables.

Findings

There has been significant growth in published articles concerning last mile delivery over the last 15 years (2005–2020). An in-depth review of the literature shows five dimensions of the last mile: last mile delivery, transportation, operations, distribution and logistics. Each of these dimensions is interrelated and possess clustered characteristics. For instance, last mile operations, last mile transportation and last mile delivery are operational, whereas last mile distribution is tactical, and last mile logistics possess strategic characteristics. The findings also indicate that even though the sustainability concept can be incorporated into all levels of the last mile, the current literature landscape mainly concentrates on the operational level.

Research limitations/implications

This review is limited to academic sources available from Emerald Insight, Science Direct, Taylor and Francis, Springer, MDPI and IEEE containing the mentioned keywords in the title and/or abstract/or keywords. Furthermore, only papers from high-quality, peer-reviewed journals were evaluated. Other sources such as books and conference papers were not included.

Practical implications

This study dissects last mile delivery to produce a framework that captures and presents its complex characteristics and its interconnectedness with various related components. By analyzing last mile delivery in its entirety, the framework also helps practitioners pinpoint which levels of last mile delivery (operation, tactical or strategic) they can incorporate the concept of sustainability.

Originality/value

The research findings enrich the contemporary literature landscape and future work by providing a conceptual framework that incorporates the “economic,” “environmental” and “social” pillars of sustainability in all dimensions of the last mile delivery.

Details

Benchmarking: An International Journal, vol. 30 no. 4
Type: Research Article
ISSN: 1463-5771

Keywords

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