A Case Study Towards Transferring Relevant Safety Information for Facilities Maintenance Using BIM

Facilities maintenance (FM) personnel in the U.S. experience a much higher rate of injury and illness than the national average when compared to all other fields of employment. In order to aid in the mitigation of these incidences, a Safety for Facilities Maintenance Framework is being developed. This framework delivers safety relevant information to FM personnel through the use of a data processing and rule based system that processes safety relevant information stored within a comprehensive BIM model. One major issue associated with utilizing a comprehensive BIM model as a repository for FM data is the transfer of relevant information from the design and construction phases to the facilities management phase. This paper reviews the detailed issues surrounding data transfer, identifies current market solutions by others, and presents a case study in order to transfer data utilizing existing data exchange tools. Finally, utilizing an existing transfer mechanisms within Autodesk Navisworks, coupled with a newly developed framework, a method to get asset-specific safety information to FM staff prior to initiating an FM task is proposed. Although this method of data transfer may not be the most efficient, it utilizes existing functionality within Navisworks software. Using Navisworks minimizes the learning curve and execution in comparison to similar proprietary transfer mechanisms.