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Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
41
Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and
non-BIM-users
E. Tezel1, L. Alatli2 & H. Giritli3
1 Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
2 Turkish Facility Management Association, Istanbul, Turkey
3 (retired) Department of Architecture, Istanbul Technical University, Istanbul, Turkey
Abstract
After replacing the conventional design and construction practices of the architecture,
engineering and construction (AEC) industry, building information modelling (BIM) is now
influencing the way facility managers operate buildings. Although the use of BIM in FM has
been disseminating across the globe, the industry is still in need of explicit evidence of its
practical implications and potentials for efficient and effective FM practices. The present study
amplifies the previous findings on the current BIM awareness and utilization within the FM
industry in Turkey. This study analyses the problem areas of the FM profession from the
perspectives of BIM-user and non-BIM-user facility managers and identifies the usage areas of
BIM in FM. The results indicate that BIM has great help for visualizing the exact locations of
building components, creating and updating digital assets, accessing the real-time facility data,
tracking maintenance and repair works and monitoring energy consumption, specifically for
large projects. Even though BIM enables the involvement of FM teams for introducing
operational requirements in the early phases, the absence of up-to-date facility information
seems to be the major problem area for BIM-enabled FM practices.
Keywords: Facility management (FM), Building information modelling (BIM), Barriers,
Usage areas
Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
42
1. Introduction
The initial scope of facility management (FM) practice was cleaning the buildings and
maintaining the building equipment (Atkin and Brooks 2021, FMA 2012). In the late 1980s,
FM has been accepted as a profession (Nor et al. 2014) that embraces multiple disciplines to
ensure the functionality, comfort, safety and efficiency of the built environment by integrating
people, place, process and technology (IFMA n.d.). Today, FM encompasses various activities
such as maintenance operations and repair works, workspace management, energy planning
and management, renovation, refurbishment and retrofitting, administrative and office services,
emergency planning and management, financial management and FM personnel training for
the efficient and effective operations of physical assets (Atkin and Brooks 2021, Chotipanich
2004, Springer 2001). To smoothly operate all those diverse disciplines and complex processes,
the FM industry needs to embrace digitalisation and benefit from different information and
communication technologies (Bröchner et al. 2019, Redlein and Grasl 2018).
FM professionals have been using numerous computer integrated FM environments, namely
building automation systems (BAS), computerized maintenance system (CMMS), computer-
aided facility management (CAFM), and integrated workplace management systems (IWMS).
Although the conventional building handover process has evolved from paper-based drawings
and documents to digital copies, FM teams need to transfer an excessive amount of data into
their systems (Patacas et al. 2015). This transfer process is one of the major problem areas of
FM because it takes a significant amount of time of the FM staff and is open to errors and data
losses (Kasprak and Dubler 2012, Patacas et al. 2015). As a solution, the last decade has
introduced the building information modelling (BIM) to the FM practice. BIM is an IT-enabled
approach that involves applying and maintaining the integral digital representation of all
building information for different phases of the project life cycle in the form of a data repository
(Gu and London 2010). In the early phases of the building life cycle, BIM enables enhanced
communication and coordination between project stakeholders, reduced errors and omissions,
decreased project cost and project duration for architecture, engineering and construction
(AEC) professionals (Azhar 2011, Bryde et al. 2013, Ghaffarianhoseini et al. 2017, Love et al.
2012, Suermann and Issa 2009). In the operational phase, BIM can help facility managers to
create digital assets, visualize the exact locations of all kinds of building elements in a 3D
environment, plan and track maintenance tasks, manage workspace, monitor the indoor
environmental conditions and building performance, and train FM personnel for emergency
situations (Becerik-Gerber et al. 2012, Pärn et al. 2017).
Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
43
As a natural result of its benefits, the AEC firms are gradually adopting BIM into their practices.
However, its implementation within the FM industry is remarkably low. Lack of owner demand,
economical concerns, fragmented FM data, data exchange standards and interoperability issues,
incomplete BIM models, model maintenance ambiguities, and lack of BIM experienced FM
personnel are the major reasons for limited BIM implementation within the industry (Becerik-
Gerber et al. 2012, Korpela et al. 2015, Pärn et al. 2017, Patacas et al. 2015). Besides, a recent
study uncovers the short-term FM contracts as another hindrance for low use of BIM (Tezel et
al. 2021). On the other hand, both researchers and practitioners are intensely focusing on the
ways to implement BIM into FM since 2015 (Wong et al. 2015). Current FM practices are not
fully benefiting from BIM but the professionals are expecting BIM to play an important role in
the industry’s near future. To carry out a smooth implementation process, facility managers
first need to know with which purposes FM experts can use BIM and which barriers can BIM
overcome to achieve an efficient and effective FM service. Therefore, the objectives of this
study include understanding the BIM’s contributions to the on-going problems of FM practices
and identifying the BIM applications areas in FM.
2. Research Method
2.1. Background and research questions
Previous research by Tezel et al. (2021) demonstrates that FM professionals in Turkey have
high BIM awareness but low BIM utilization. Although lack of owner demand, short-term
contracts, limited budget, old building stock and incompetent FM workforce constitute the
underlying reasons for the low BIM utilization, BIM is expected to be a trending phenomenon
within the upcoming five years. The current study expands on previous findings by analysing
existing barriers to efficient and effective FM practices and identifying BIM application areas
in FM. The self-administrated questionnaire aims to find answers to the following questions:
RQ 1: Do the barriers to efficient and effective FM practices differ in conventional and BIM-
based methods?
RQ 2: For which operational functions do the FM personnel utilize BIM?
2.2. Sampling method and sample characteristics
This study targets professionals from the three largest FM associations, namely, Turkish
Facility Management Association (TRFMA), Professional Facility Managers Association
(PTYD), and Urban Facility Management Association (TRKTYD), and a couple of well-known
Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
44
international FM companies in Turkey. There are more than ninety FM companies constituting
these three associations, -among them are six international and two state-owned firms-,
providing various hard and soft FM services. The online survey link has been shared with these
organizations via email and responses were collected between February and March 2021.
Overall, thirty-eight experts have responded to the survey. However, one response is excluded
during the data screening process because the missing information related to the respondent’s
professional background prevents the credibility of the answers. In the end, the study population
consists of thirty-seven experts.
Tab. 1: respondent characteristics
Experience in years (b)
BIM user (c)
Position (a)
<5
6-10
11-15
16-20
21-25
26+
Yes
No
Total
General Manager
1
6
3
4
1
1
2
14
16
Vice GM
-
1
2
-
2
1
-
6
6
Director
-
3
5
-
1
-
3
6
9
Consultant
1
-
-
-
-
1
1
1
2
Specialist
1
1
-
-
-
-
2
-
2
Other
1
-
-
1
-
-
-
2
2
Total
4
11
10
5
4
3
8
29
37
Table 1 represents the current positions of the respondents (column a), their years of experience
in the FM profession (column b), and whether they have BIM experience or not (column c).
Overall, the largest portion of the respondents (16 out of 37) are general managers of FM
companies, followed by directors (9 out of 37), and vice general managers (6 out of 37). Also,
the majority of the respondents (22 out of 37) have more than 10 years of experience in the FM
industry, which indicates a highly representative and experienced study population. The survey
includes the question of “have you ever worked with BIM” to determine BIM experiences of
the respondents. Around twenty per cent of the respondents (8 out of 37) have used or are still
using BIM in one or more of their projects. The latest research of BIMgenius (2020) also reports
the use of BIM for FM purposes in Turkey as ten per cent. Both results refer to shifting interest
of FM professionals to the BIM subject.
Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
45
3. Different Perspectives Towards the FM Barriers
A detailed review of both scientific literature and industry reports reveals a number of hindering
factors for FM. Although most of these barriers have generic characteristics, they have different
impacts on FM operations depending on the facility type and size, required services, applied
technologies, and so on. Given the emerging BIM implementation within the FM industry, it is
important to distinguish the problem areas for conventional and BIM-based approaches.
Respondents were asked to indicate their agreement or disagreement with the given barriers in
order to identify the main issues influencing the efficient and effective operations of FM teams.
The responses are divided into categories based on the respondents’ BIM experiences, as shown
in Figure 1.
Fig. 1: barriers for efficient FM practices
Figure 1 reveals that all the listed barriers are influencing FM operations to some extent
regardless of the use of BIM. In other words, neither conventional nor BIM-based methods are
a solution to the given problem areas. However, the most and the least frequent problems of
both approaches are different. Among the non-BIM-users, late involvement of FM
professionals in the projects and neglecting the FM requirements in the design phase are the
most frequent problems with the highest rate of 97%. On the other hand, BIM-users fully agree
Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
46
on the outdated drawings and documents of facilities as their most frequent problem. The most
frequent problems of non-BIM-users settle among the second most frequent problems of BIM-
users (88%) together with the delivery of incomplete as-built drawings, diverse information
requirements of operational tasks, interoperability between FM software, allocating limited
resources for digitalisation and insufficient use of BIM in FM.
The two groups also differ in terms of the least frequent problems as well. To the non-BIM-
users, lack of BIM use in FM is the least frequent problem (59%) whereas to the BIM-users it
is the technologically incompetent FM workforce (63%). Even though the scores seem close,
the tiny difference between the two items embodies certain insights for FM professionals. First
of all, although it is the least frequent problem for the BIM-users, technology-related
incompatibilities of FM staff are still an important problem with the 63% frequency. To fully
benefit from BIM and other related technologies, it is important for FM personnel to use them
actively and properly. On the other hand, increasing use of machines and robots cause some
people the fear of losing their job. At this point, managers need to remind the importance of the
personnel for building operations, emphasize the vitality of technology for fast and accurate
decisions, and provide necessary training and support for the staff. Another point is the
thoughts of the non-BIM-users towards the current usage of BIM in FM. A non-negligible
amount of them (59%) think that the lack of BIM use causes inefficiencies in operational tasks.
Hence, the firms using BIM in FM are going to be the competitively advantageous ones.
4. Usage Areas of BIM in FM
The preceding analysis clearly demonstrates that BIM is not the ideal solution to the existing
efficiency issues in FM practices. Nonetheless, the industry is recognizing and implementing
BIM with increasing enthusiasm due to its promising potential. Becerik-Gerber et al. (2012),
Sabol (2013), Matarneh et al. (2019), and Gao and Pishdad-Bozorgi (2019) identify and explain
the application areas of BIM in FM. However, because each facility has its own needs and
requirements, there is no one-size-fits-all solution in the operational. Respondents were asked
to specify their reasons for employing BIM in facility operations, and the results are shown in
Figure 2.
Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
47
Fig. 2: usage areas of BIM in FM
As seen in Figure 2, the most frequent BIM application area in FM is tracking maintenance and
repair works. 75% of the BIM-users issue maintenance and repair work orders of equipment or
building components and track their progress using BIM. In connection with this, creating and
updating digital assets and monitoring energy consumption are the second most frequent
application areas of BIM in FM. In the conventional handover process, it is highly probable to
observe discrepancies between the hard copy documents and the actual building. Moreover,
during their life cycle buildings face numerous changes in the furniture, MEP system
components, fire and other safety systems, façade elements and so on. Therefore, it is crucial
not only to keep the data on an easy access digital platform but also keep them up-to-date
(Korpela et al. 2015). At this point BIM emerges as a promising platform because it can capture
the data in a 3D environment, perform further analysis and simulations, and enable data transfer
between different software systems. Although data updating requires extra time or use of
advanced technologies such as point cloud and laser scanning, a single and transferable data
source contributes to the decision-making process of facility managers and FM personnel.
FM professionals spend half of their time in building operations tasks including conducting
equipment checks and daily rounds, maintaining facility and systems, and conducting facility
repair activities (NIBS 2015). To efficiently perform these activities FM personnel need to
Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
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detect the exact location of building components and related information as soon and accurately
as possible. Although BIM models are able to capture and visualize the necessary data and
related documents (i.e., location, manufacturer information, attributes, manuals and warranties,
etc.) of each component, only half of the users benefit from BIM for locating building
components and monitoring real-time data of facilities. Furthermore, having the
aforementioned data and real-time monitoring of the facility are critical to take immediate
actions during emergency situations (Becerik-Gerber et al. 2012). However, only 25% of the
users are utilizing BIM to manage emergencies, plan renovation and manage workspace.
Nevertheless, the most interesting finding of this study relies on the missing use of BIM as a
personnel training platform. BIM models are capable of realistically visualizing buildings and
other assets so that FM personnel can get familiar with the facility in a virtual environment.
Yet, none of the BIM-users benefits from BIM as a training platform. The last-minute
involvement of FM teams might be the reason for the limited time for training, however fast
personnel adaptation to the facility plays a crucial role especially in emergencies.
5. Conclusions
The population of BIM users in the FM industry is remarkably low compared to the AEC. Yet
integration of BIM and FM fields is attracting the world’s attention. Increasing number of
studies in this field are trying to identify how BIM can improve the FM practices and develop
various strategies to its implementation barriers. However, lack of real-life examples in BIM-
based FM applications causes building owners to approach it with suspicions. Following the
previous study revealing the BIM awareness and use in the Turkish FM market, the present
study aimed to analyse the problem areas of the FM practice from two different perspectives
and identify the current BIM applications in FM. Results show that both conventional and BIM-
based methods struggle with similar problems. However, it seems that BIM handles the two
major problems, namely, late FM involvement and neglecting FM requirements in early phases
better than conventional methods. This study also reveals that BIM is actively used for tracking
the maintenance, creating and updating digital assets and monitoring energy use within the
facilities, but it can help the other functions of FM as well.
The small number of survey participants and even fewer BIM-users may have a negative impact
on the study’s representativeness. However, BIM is still a relatively new topic in FM practice
around the world, and not all operational functions are suitable for management with BIM. As
a result, this study is expected to provide a broad overview of the ongoing BIM-based FM
Tezel E. e al. (2022): Barriers for Efficient Facility Management: Perspectives of BIM-users and non-BIM-
users
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practices in Turkey. FM professionals anticipate that BIM will be a trending phenomenon in
the FM market in five years from now. Considering this expectation of the industry, more
research should be conducted to develop BIM implementation strategies for FM companies to
facilitate a smooth transition process.
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