Development of a building information modelling asset value realisation model

(Embargoed until 1 August 2022) Building Information Modelling (BIM) is defined as a set of interacting processes, people and technologies that produce a methodology to digitally manage the data of a building, its performance, planning, construction, and later its operation. Although the business value of BIM has been observed during the design and construction processes, research efforts made towards documenting BIM business value when considering an asset’s lifecycle are insufficient. This PhD study is based on a three-part rationale: the lack of perceived business value of BIM; weakness in BIM business value measurement techniques; and barriers of BIM implementation in the lifecycle of assets. The aim of this research is to extend the knowledge base in relation to BIM business value realisation and BIM adoption in Asset Management (AM) by developing a model that will help to guide asset owners in realising business value of BIM implementation in an AM system throughout the lifecycle of built assets. Furthermore, the scope of the study is limited to the following: client as an asset owner; asset operations in relation to AM lifecycle; and BIM implementation during asset operations. The BIMAsset Value Realisation Model (BIMAsset VRM) is developed abductively from five sequential studies (Chapters 4-8). The BIMAsset VRM consists of six constituent elements; Influencers, Input, Output, Drivers (tangible and intangible value), Core and Business Value Realisation Dimension. Data obtained for this study is qualitative. Semi-structured interviews are used to collect data from 16 participants in 18 interviews in 6 case studies. Furthermore, documented data is sourced from these case studies in order to add depth to the study data. Data is collected in the UK, Finland, Denmark and the USA. These cases represent retail, government, health, education and consultant perspectives in AM. Data collected were analysed using mixed methods. Thematic analysis, content analysis, theoretical saturation and descriptive statistics are utilised in analysing and presenting the results of this study. The study utilised a six-member expert panel in the form of a focus group to validate the BIMAsset VRM. It is validated through expert opinion against pre-determined criteria of fruitfulness, prudence, quantification, scope, progressiveness, internal consistency and external consistency. The results of the focus group show that there is a majority opinion that the BIMAsset VRM satisfies the above validation criteria. Furthermore, in the data analysis, there is a majority opinion that the BAMM satisfies the above validation criteria. The study led to the following findings: (a) The study reveals that operational information requirements are strongly related to business needs and that there cannot be a rigid requirement list for all clients. (b) The study identifies that in order to successfully integrate BIM-AM systems, the asset owner should consider the following; the development for a clear strategy prior to adoption; connecting the strategy to the business goals; the discovery of organisational information needs for the development of Information Requirement templates. (c) The study establishes that there is real value to be derived by the asset owner from the effective management of asset information and there are six typologies of BIM business value that can be derived in AM; management, commerce, efficiency, industry, user and technology value. (d) The study identifies BIM strategy, contract management, lifecycle management, maintenance management, work-order management and value realisation management as activity systems that drive BIM business value in AM. (e) The study has discovered that the capability of asset owners to derive business value of BIM in AM has implementation and maturity implications. (f) The study suggests that intangible value can be tracked and measured through the activity of business value linkage using concept maps. (g) The study posits that the entire process of BIM business value realisation management is about driving change, measuring outcomes and continuous improvement of activity systems that drive value so as to validate predicted the desirable outcomes, discover the unpredicted desirable outcome, and eliminate both the predicted and unpredicted undesirable outcomes within the BIM-based AM system. The main scientific contribution of the study is the BIMAsset VRM which covers: (a) information requirement strategies; (b) BIM-AM systems integration techniques; (c) BIM business value realisation theory; (d) BIM-based information content management tools and techniques; (e) activity systems that drive BIM business value in AM; and (f) techniques for tracking and measuring tangible and intangible value in BIM-based processes. Similarly, the main practical contribution of this study is the deployment of BIMAsset VRM and BIMAsset Maturity Model (BAMM) in the form of a guide in an owner-operator organisation. The study discusses in great detail how an asset manager can plan, manage and implement the six dimensions of BIMAsset VRM in asset operations. Also, it presents a guide for tracking and measuring tangible and intangible BIM business value. These aspects ensure that the PhD thesis extends the current knowledge base and provides a cradle-to-grave approach to addressing the phenomenon of BIM business value realisation in an AM system during asset operations.