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Asset inventory is an essential part of any building asset management system and is needed by such functions as condition assessment and deterioration prediction. Previous studies in asset management systems have suggested the use of one of the many standard construction classification systems, such as UniFormat or MasterFormat, in achieving the goals of asset management. However, each classification system has its unique features, and it has been developed for different purposes and may not necessarily be directly adaptable to asset management. A proper classification system is thus needed to achieve the goals of building asset management effectively. Such a system must take into consideration the objectives and functions of asset management. Therefore, the purpose of this paper is to establish a unified work breakdown structure (WBS)-based framework for building asset inventory.

The WBS-based framework aims to cover the entire lifecycle of an asset so as to provide the unified classification system for asset inventory. The proposed framework is developed based on appropriate building standards. Also, comprehensive levels of details are included for space functions and locations for all assets in any type of building. Furthermore, this framework takes into consideration utilities in any kind of building project. As such, the WBS-based framework proposed in this research endeavor provides the basis for effective asset management. An educational building case study is presented and discussed to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed framework for asset management.

The unified WBS-based framework for building asset management effectively classifies asset inventories and facilitates decision-making in asset management during the lifecycle of an asset.

This research synthesizes a unified WBS-based framework for building asset management, which allows for a more effective lifecycle building asset management.

Current facility management (FM) practices are inefficient and ineffective, partially because of missing information and communication issues. Information and communications technologies (ICT) are asserted to provide a promising solution for managing and operating facilities. However, the impact of ICT applications on current FM practices needs to be validated and the perception of FM professionals on ICT-based FM needs to be understood. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the impacts and the perception of ICT application on FM practice and further develop an ICT-based integrated framework for smart FM practices.

To achieve the objective, the research starts with reviewing several promising ICT for FM, including building information modeling, geographic information systems, unmanned aerial vehicle and augmented reality. On this basis, a conceptional framework was synthesized in consideration of the benefits of each technology. A survey questionnaire to FM professionals was conducted to evaluate the proposed framework and identify the challenges of adopting ICT in the FM industry. Furthermore, return on investment and strength, weakness, opportunities and threats analysis have been used in this paper as evaluation methods for ICT industry adoption.

The survey results are validated by FM professionals for the future engagement of the integrated ICT applications. Also, the proposed framework can assist the decision-makers to have comprehensive information about facilities and systematize the communication among stakeholders.

This research provides an integrated framework for smart FM to improve decision-making, capitalizing on the ICT applications. Apart from this, the study sheds light on future research endeavors for other ICT applications.

The objective of this paper is to develop an efficient project management system to track and control construction activities for contractors and/or project managers.

The work package model is utilized to break down project data into activities and work tasks. The data structure of a project is represented using the entities‐relationship methodology. A relational database stores all of the project data. The earned value method calculates the cost and schedule variances. The internet‐based platform with three‐tier client‐server architecture is chosen for system implementation.

The developed project database stores all of the project data necessary to perform project control functions. The implementation of the project database management system is efficient. The developed system provides real‐time data sharing and a collaborating environment in support of project control.

Time and cost control are essential management functions for achieving successful delivery of engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) projects. The developed system can assist contractors and/or project managers in tracking and control of their construction projects in a real‐time manner.

The objective of this paper is to develop a tracking and control system that automates the process of data collection from construction sites for fast and accurate measurement of work progress.

The proposed system integrates different data acquisition hardware and software technologies including barcoding, radio frequency identification (RFID), laser distance and ranging (LADAR), digital images, and a tablet PC as integrating media.

The paper briefly highlights the advantages and limitations associated with each technology, and presents a methodology that best utilizes these technologies in an integrated system. At the core of the developed system is its database, which is designed to organize and store data collected from construction sites in a way that supports the developed methodology in progress reporting.

The accuracy and timeliness of these reports are crucial for management teams to take corrective actions, if needed, so as to assist in delivering projects on time and within budget.

The paper presents the layout of an IT platform designed to facilitate automated data acquisition from construction sites to support efficient time and cost tracking and control of construction projects. The system presented is capable of capturing text, numerical and graphical data to report efficiently on the progress of a project.