Hello BIMfans,
When I made my information model I didn’t want it to be just for show, it wanted it to be a (useful) tool to manage my home. That is why I was very pedantic fussy particular about what information I needed by forming several Plain Language Questions, my Model Purposes, and my Data Requirements. Since this blog’s outset, one clear output I had in mind was to use the information model to manage any repair or replacement work needed within my home. To do so, I will need to form a preventative maintenance schedule; time for some Classical Conditioning!

When I first wrote my Data Requirements, I was keen to incorporate a way to capture the condition of each of my components. The problem was, I needed a way to record this consistently; luckily for me, there is a way to do this.  BS 1192-4, the British Standard for COBie, includes some additional attributes under table 14, which are also included as part of IFC4 Schema, under the Pset_Condition property set.

Pset_Condition
AssessmentDate, when the assessment was completed YYYY-MM-DD;
AssessmentDescription, qualiative description of the assessment; and
AssessmentCondition, the condition:  Very Poor, Poor, Adequate, Good, or AsNew.

So, a plan was formed.  When I produced my components, each of these attributes were added to the one I intended to manage. As a result, this information appears in each of my graphical models, IFC exports, and COBie files (the joy of a single source of truth).  As the majority of these components were assessed when Chris John undertook a (very thorough) property condition survey before we bought the home, there isn’t much additional information to be collected.  The only exception being new items such as my Nest thermostat and Philips Hue bulbs that have been installed since.

Using these assessment attributes, I can manage each of these components and develop my preventative maintenance schedule. For example, using the AssessmentCondition attribute, I can filter and identify any Very Poor or Poor components. Of the 100+ manageable components I have in my home, I can use Revit‘s scheduling function to filter this information down to just those components and form a manageable schedule.

NOTE: I could have done this using my COBie file, but I won’t.  COBie isn’t a data management tool. Until I acquire an asset management system, using the information embedded in my graphical models, as I have done, is the best solution.

And there we have it.  By using the information that I have already populated within my information model I was able to create a preventative maintenance schedule highlighting what components need to be repaired or replaced. This means that PLQ3.2 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 what needs doing around my home, I wonder how much it’ll cost to fix…

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.