DIN as a pioneer with BIM for facility management

Around 25 years ago, the BIM methodology was first applied in pilot projects in the Anglo-American and Asian regions for the construction of buildings. In German-speaking countries, on the other hand, it was only about 10 years ago that the technology and the associated work processes were established.

Over the past 2-3 years, the methodology has gained widespread access in the professional community - especially in the planning and construction of new buildings. However, apart from individual projects, its application in facility management (FM) - that is, in the operational management of buildings (BIM4FM) - is still waiting for a fundamental breakthrough.

BIM use case at DIN - renovation of the DIN office building

science, the public sector and civil society, DIN is making a significant contribution to opening up fields of the future. As a contributor to the digital and green transformation, DIN makes an important contribution to solving current challenges and enables new technologies, products and processes to establish themselves on the market and in society.

No wonder, then, that DIN decided to fully integrate BIM into the construction process when planning the extensive renovation of its office building in Berlin, and thus to be a pioneer and test case for BIM in the FM use case.

Ms. Christine Proksch, an experienced and extremely high-performing architect, was recruited as site manager, who successfully transferred the large-scale project from construction to operation. From the very beginning, she saw the challenge of BIM as a broad communication and data arc between all the players - the client, specialist planners, those involved in construction, experts and, last but not least, those responsible for operations. She demanded and promoted a continuous exchange of information throughout the entire construction phase, and still actively supports the transfer of data between construction and operation.

This approach is the decisive success factor that makes BIM4FM successful. For operations, it is important that the operationally relevant data from construction is available in the required quality and depth in good time for strategic concepts and planning. The identification of this data, labelling in the BIM model, recording and updating in the construction phase, as well as the structured transfer to operations - if possible in a CAFM system - must be carried out together with all building and data actors from the beginning and throughout the construction phase. A break also means a break in the data model, which can be expensive and time-consuming for operations afterwards.

The DIN BIM Cloud is a forward-looking basis for data models with a focus on handover from construction to operation. The DIN BIM Cloud (www.DIN-BIM-Cloud.de) is a BIM building component dictionary functioning as a normative knowledge base for interactive research for those involved in construction and BIM standardization. In the context of planning, building and operating, it serves as a "BIM content library" for searching, finding and understanding component properties in connection with standards and specifications. The DIN BIM Cloud is being continuously developed, also for the identification of component data relevant to FM, and will certainly be an important component in the connection between construction and operation in the future.

Mr. Markus Draga, FM group leader at DIN and the person responsible for building operations, was also the lead throughout the entire renovation project flow, ensuring all necessary structures, foundations and specifications for the subsequent management of the building. He expertly selected a powerful and custom-fit CAFM system at an early stage and implemented it in parallel with the construction phase. The aim was to coordinate data synchronization in the provision of data and to transfer the data relevant for operations into the CAFM system from BIM ready for work. The CAFM provider RIB IMS GmbH with the CAFM tool iTWO fm was extensively involved in both the conceptual implementations and the communication between construction and operation. A further success factor for BIM4FM.

Construction and operation still need communication and translation aids to make the huge data model from construction mutually usable for operation. At DIN, the continuous exchange between construction and operational participants meant that data requirements and data structures could be coordinated, covered and delivered in a timely manner. The corresponding data model could be used as a calculation basis for the FM tender for all building services already one year before the completion and occupancy date.

As planned and completely on-time, the FM service contract was concluded with the company Dr. Sasse AG in May 2021 after a well-founded and audit-proof tendering and award process. Immediately thereafter, the start-up and takeover phase began, so that upon completion of DIN's renovated office building in Berlin, Burggrafenstraße 6, the occupation on 30 August 2021 could be accompanied by a well-established FM team.

DIN has shown that BIM4FM is a successful use case. In this flagship project, too, hurdles had to be overcome, small issues had to be smoothed out and ambiguities had to be removed But through the controlled interaction of all those involved in construction and operation, supported by experienced experts in BIM and data structures, it was ultimately possible to create a sustainable basis from which DIN will benefit in operation for a long time to come.

Author:
Martina Reinholz, Dr. Reinholz & Partner Real Estate Management GmbH, Schweiz