The Use of a BIM-Based Framework to Support Safe Facility Management Processes
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The Use of a BIM-Based Framework to Support Safe Facility Management Processes Eric Michael Wetzel Dissertation submitted to the faculty of the Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy In Environmental Design and Planning Walid Y. Thabet, Chair Tanyel Bulbul Jason D. Lucas Thomas Mills November 7, 2016 Blacksburg, VA Keywords: Building Information Modeling (BIM), Facility Management, Safety, Asset O&M Copyright 2016 The Use of a BIM-Based Framework to Support Safe Facility Management Processes Eric Michael Wetzel ACADEMIC ABSTRACT According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 293 people lost their life from 2008-2012 in the field of Facility Management (FM). In that same timeframe, private employers recorded 98,420 cases of occupational injuries and illness, with 26,190 cases requiring a minimum of 31 days away from work. Workers in this field are at constant risk of electrical shock, falls, crushing, cuts, and bruises and as a result, have a much higher rate of injury and illness than the national average. Case study analysis confirms that many of the recorded accidents could have been avoided had the victim followed appropriate hazard mitigation steps to safely execute a facility repair and maintenance task, defined in this research as safety protocol. Currently, safety related information is conveyed to FM staff through training seminars, O&M manuals, plans & specifications, database storage, safety meetings, and safety literature. This information, although comprehensive, often remains fragmented among multiple resources and is left up to the worker’s discretion whether the information is relevant. Research has shown that the more time and effort, known as inconvenience, an individual must spend obtaining information, the less likely they are to retrieve the information and obey the stated warnings. This research focuses on the identification, categorization, transference, and delivery of safety related information applicable to facility management staff. This is executed by, obtaining safety inputs through various mechanisms of data collection, categorizing the safety inputs, transferring the information utilizing existing BIM-based software and research methods into a data storage repository, and designing a data retrieval and processing system (DRPS), integrated into the repository to interact with the data. The DRPS adds structure and relationships through a UML Class Diagram and Sequence Diagram. Additionally, standardized safety properties are developed for asset groups using the Asset Safety Identification Tool (ASIT). Finally, a conceptual graphical user interface (GUI) is developed to represent the interaction between the DRPS and the FM Worker. By combining the DRPS with a GUI, a FM worker can efficiently interact with a singular repository for safety information, eliminating the need to reference multiple resources in order to obtain comprehensive safety information. The goal of this research is to mitigate the fragmentation and timing inefficiencies within safety related information retrieval by developing a BIM- based framework to categorize, consolidate, and deliver job specific safety information, eliminating the need to reference multiple documents in order to develop a comprehensive, task specific safety plan. The Use of a BIM-Based Framework to Support Safe Facility Management Processes Eric Michael Wetzel PUBLIC ABSTRACT According to the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics, 293 people lost their life from 2008-2012 in the field of Facility Management (FM). In that same timeframe, private employers recorded 98,420 cases of occupational injuries and illness, with 26,190 cases requiring a minimum of 31 days away from work. Workers in this field are at constant risk of electrical shock, falls, crushing, cuts, and bruises and as a result, have a much higher rate of injury and illness than the national average. Data analysis confirms that many of the recorded accidents could have been avoided had the victim followed appropriate hazard mitigation steps to safely execute a facility repair and maintenance task. Currently, safety related information is conveyed to FM staff through training seminars, operations & maintenance manuals, plans & specifications, virtual training, safety meetings, and safety literature. This information, although comprehensive, often remains fragmented among multiple resources and is left up to the worker’s discretion whether the information is relevant. Research has shown that the more time and effort an individual must spend obtaining information, the less likely they are to retrieve the information and obey the stated warnings. This research focuses on the identification, categorization, transference, and delivery of safety related information applicable to FM staff. This is executed by, obtaining safety inputs (categorized information) through various mechanisms of data collection, organizing the safety inputs, transferring the information utilizing existing engineering software and research methods into a computer based data storage repository, and designing a data retrieval and processing system (DRPS), integrated into the data storage repository to interact with the data. The DRPS adds structure and relationships through computer programming, using a Unified Modeling Language (UML) Class Diagram and Sequence Diagram. Additionally, standardized safety properties are developed for FM assets (operations equipment) using the Asset Safety Identification Tool (ASIT). Finally, a conceptual computer interface (GUI) is developed to represent the interaction between the DRPS and FM Worker. By combining the DRPS with a GUI, a FM worker can efficiently interact with a singular repository for safety information, eliminating the need to reference multiple resources in order to obtain comprehensive safety information. The goal of this research is to mitigate the fragmentation and timing inefficiencies with retrieving safety information by developing a computer based framework to categorize, consolidate, and deliver job specific safety information, eliminating the need to reference multiple documents in order to develop a comprehensive, task specific safety plan. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS The author would like to acknowledge the following people for their support during this research: His parents (Edward & Veronica) and brother (Peter), who have been tremendous source of love, support, and encouragement His advisor and dissertation chair, Walid Thabet The members of the dissertation committee, Tanyel Bulbul, Jason Lucas, and Thom Mills The industry professionals who leant their time and expertise to the validation of this research The author would like to acknowledge the Virginia Tech Department of Building Construction and the Cunningham Doctoral Award that is funding the work that is being executed in this document. The findings and conclusions in this document are those of the author, who is responsible for its content, and do not necessarily represent the views of Virginia Tech or the Cunningham Award. No statement in this dissertation should be construed as an official position of Virginia Tech or the Cunningham Award. iv TABLE OF CONTENTS 1. INTRODUCTION ................................................................................................................................ 1 1.1. Background........................................................................................................................................ 1 1.2. Safety Information Sources ............................................................................................................... 4 1.3. Fragmentation of Relevant Safety Information to Support Facility Management ............................ 6 1.4. Statement of Problem ........................................................................................................................ 8 1.5. Research Goal and Objectives ........................................................................................................... 8 1.6. Research Assumptions and Limitations .......................................................................................... 11 1.7. Proposed Framework and Research Contributions.......................................................................... 12 2. LITERATURE REVIEW ................................................................................................................... 14 2.1. Facility Management ....................................................................................................................... 15 2.2. Safety Management ......................................................................................................................... 18 2.3. Building Information Modeling ....................................................................................................... 23 2.4. Analysis of Literature Review ......................................................................................................... 34 3. RESEARCH METHODOLOGY ........................................................................................................ 37 3.1. Research Design .............................................................................................................................. 38 3.2. The Role of the Researcher ............................................................................................................. 47 3.3. Research Considerations