Hello BIMfans,
After completing my BIM Level 2 deliverables and publishing my Project Information Model it’s about time I put my model to work.  I have now entered the operational stage, which means I have some new Plain Language Questions to answer:

Operation and Maintenance
3.1 What are the sizes and condition of the windows & doors?
3.2 What assets are in a poor condition?
3.3 What costs can be attributed to my assets?
3.4 What are the most cost effective thermal improvements that could be undertaken?

So without further ado, let’s tackle Plain Language Question 3.1 “What are the sizes and condition of the windows & doors?”

Now lucky for me, I have (technically) already answered this question as my Architectural COBie file has all of this information I need already included.  However, I don’t feel that COBie is the best way to communicating this information as I haven’t imported it into a suitable asset management tool (yet) and the information needed is on several different sheets.

So I have instead decided to answer this question with a schedule.  As I have all the information within my model, it is just a matter of deciding how I want to structure my schedule and what information would be useful to include within it.

To answer my Plain Language Question, I will need Size (Height and Width) as well as Assessment Condition as a minimum.  However, to relate these back I will also need a reference for each component (IfcName), and a type reference (TypeName).

In addition, to make the schedule useful it is worth providing the type description (IfcDescription) as well as indicating which space each component is in, as well as the other assessment details (AssessmentDate and AssessmentDescription) to provide sufficient content.  This leaves me with a schedule that looks like this:

This scheduling format provides me with enough information to assess each of my doors and windows, find their location within my home, and includes enough information to arrange for a replacement if required.  Luckily for me, I could put all of this information onto a single A3 sheet, which can be accessed here.

 

Note:  You’ll notice that I have named this deliverable: 7001-BBH-ZZ-ZZ-DR-A-6001. While full of schedule information, it is a drawing.  If I had exported this information as a spreadsheet then it would have been a schedule, using the SH file type. However, as the schedule’s information cannot be referenced (can’t import this into Excel) and it is placed on a title block, it’s a drawing.

From this schedule, it is plain to see what my back door (DoorType04, Door05) and my bathroom window (WindowType08, Window09) require work.  There is visible rot on my back door and something that I had never noticed before about my bathroom window is that instead of a sill the installer used is actually a skirting board!

And there we have it.  By using the information that I have already populated within my information model I was able to create a Door & Window Schedule with all of the information to answer this Plain Language Question and picked up which of these components need work. This means that PLQ3.1 is complete; Woohoo!

Operation and Maintenance
3.1 What are the sizes and condition of the windows & doors?
3.2 What assets are in a poor condition?
3.3 What costs can be attributed to my assets?
3.4 What are the most cost effective thermal improvements that could be undertaken?

Now that I have used by schedule to assess my doors and windows, it’s about time I look at what else needs doing around my home…

Update: Removed ‘OK’ for ‘Adequate’ under Assessment Condition to suit BS1192-4 permitted values as opposed to the IFC4 documentation example.  Thanks Nick!

Update: Turns out I had mislabelled by window openings showing them bottom hung as opposed to top hung (Ooops!); a quick check of BS8541-2 and it is all fixed.  Thanks Chris!

Update:  Changed ‘Mark’ to ‘IfcName to improve information consistency in all of my deliverables.  Tags, Schedules, and COBie now use IfcName consistently.