Integration of design - build - use processes focusing on facility management: A model based on Industry Foundation Clases (IFC)

Bina tasarım ve kullanım süreçlerinin işletme odaklı birleştirilmesi: Endüstri Temel Sınıflamaları tabanlı bir model

Abstract

Due to the standardization efforts and the advancement in syntactic and semantic technologies, the interoperability of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) solutions in the design phase is improving and information is being passed on to the construction phase with less and less friction. Particularly within domains we are seeing some good examples of smooth information flow throughout the process. A good example of this are the ICT solutions developed for design-build phase of Architecture, Engineering, Construction (AEC) and those for the Facility Management (FM) domain. For the AEC design-build phase, Computer Aided Design and Drafting (CADD) and Computer Aided Architectural Design (CAAD) software, project management software, spreadsheets, database applications, Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Systems in general all communicate with each other in a convenient manner and there is an increasing support of standards such as Industry Foundation Classes (IFC) and (on another level) Extensible Mark-up Language (XML). Many of the tools and ICT solutions used in FM phase are similar or the same. But on the information level there is a very significant gap between the two phases. This gap is preventing the processes during these two phases to benefit from each other. An opportunity exists to capture important knowledge, if this gap could be bridged. In this paper we analyze this gap and propose a technical solution to bridge It which benefits from Customer Relationship Management tools and solutions. In the AEC/FM industry, the knowledge acquisition is limited. A lot of the knowledge throughout product design-build phase remains tacit and is not explicated. A large proportion of this knowledge emerges from the relationships between a customer (client) and a performer (designer, engineer, and builder). It has been proven in other industries that elaborating on the relationship with the client and focusing on the client satisfaction while establishing an organization alignment such that this becomes a proper focus of the processes dramatically increases the acquisition of knowledge and facilitates converting of implicit knowledge to explicit knowledge. We assume that the IFC will continue to gain the support of software developers and integrators in the design-build phase and provide the core structure of the Building Information Model (BIM). They are very convenient in terms of interoperability and provide a reliable and extensible view for every domain in AEC/FM industry. Setting up ICT solutions over an IFC foundation is believed to ease interoperability. New ideas and concepts can be integrated to extend the current IFC Specification. Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a business strategy to select and manage the most valuable customer relationships. CRM is about creating systems that allow for a more intelligent and specific relationship between a company and any individual customer. Two cornerstones of CRM are the knowledge or customer information platform and the customer interaction platform. CRM is a knowledge management activity. CRM is intended to be a repeatable process to ensure ongoing, continually improving, and consistent results. Knowledge capture from CRM addresses three major information domains as Functionality, Build Quality, and Impact. CRM comprises the acquisition and deployment of knowledge about customers to enable a company has the right leadership, strategy, and culture in terms of higher total quality. As a basis for improved knowledge capture in AEC industry we propose a gateway between the issue management in CRM systems (collected during FM processes) and the BIM. The second major part of the paper elaborates on the conceptual and technical structure of this gateway. Its prototype implementation (under development) will use the IFC grounded interoperability between those two domains to establish a virtual collaboration platform between designers and customers to provide knowledge acquisition and sharing in order to establish continuous quality improvement for the construction sector within a Total Project System (TOPS). By providing such design solutions which would eliminate the possible change requests during the project, which are cost-effective, and which requiring less time for manufacturing, it may be possible to better match the “as designed” and “as built” solutions. Reduction of cost and time spent for the manufacturing of any product is an essential requirement for a business but, when these become only criteria regarding the success of a business, many risks arise in long term. In that sense the proposed FM Integration model is Quality oriented.

Özet

Bilişim teknolojilerinin gelişimi ile artan iletişim ve işbirliği imkânları, iş süreçlerinin yeniden yapılanması gerekliliğini de beraberinde getirmektedir. Bilişim çözümlerinin bir parçasını oluşturan yazılımlar “birlikte çalışabilirlik” anlamında günümüzde oldukça gelişmiş yeteneklere sahip olmakla birlikte, enformasyon seviyesinde çok belirgin boşluklar mevcuttur. İnşaat sektöründe bilişim teknolojilerinin etkinliğinin artması endüstrileşme ile mümkün olabilir. Endüstrileşme, farklı bir boyutta irdelenebilecek olan inşaat sektöründe kalite problemlerinin giderilmesi için de bir araçtır. Kalitenin tasarımla başladığı gerçeğinden yola çıkıldığında, “tasarım”, “yapım (inşaat)”, “kullanım” süreçlerini bütünleştirecek bir bağlantı, enformasyon seviyesindeki birçok açığın kapanmasına yardımcı olacaktır. Enformasyon sistemleri açısından bakıldığında tasarım süreçleri bir “Bina Enformasyon Modeli”nin tanımlandığı süreç, “Yapım” bu “Bina Enformasyon Modeli”nin kullanıldığı ve karşılığında bir “Yapı Ürün Modeli”nin oluşturulduğu süreç, “Kullanım” ise bu “Yapı Ürün Modeli”nin test edildiği süreç olarak karşımıza çıkmaktadır. Bu çalışmada yapı ürün modelinin kullanım süreçlerinde test edilmesi sonucu ortaya çıkan bilgi ve verilerin, tasarım süreçlerine aktarılarak ilgili bina enformasyon modelinin bilimsel analizini kolaylaştırmak ve her seferinde daha kaliteli ve endüstrileşmiş sistemler tasarlanmasını mümkün kılacak bir bilişim bağlantısı oluşturmak hedeflenmektedir. Bu bağıntı, Bakım Onarım Servislerini bütünleştiren bir iş modeli ve bu iş modeli için seçilecek Müşteri İlişkileri Yönetimi çözümleri yardımı ile güncel birlikte çalışabilirlik standartları çerçevesinde kurgulanmaktadır. Bu çalışmada bahsi edilen enformasyon boşluğu analiz edilmekte ve bu boşluğu köprülemek için kalite odaklı bir bilişim modeli önerilmektedir.