Visualization, data sharing and interoperability issues in model-based facilities management systems

Facilities management requires gathering and combining a large amount of data from different sources. These data consist of product models and non-product models for describing the process information about each facility. Virtual Reality interaction methods, compared with the product models, can provide better understanding of these models. These interaction methods can be used to accommodate different building engineering applications, such as Facilities Management (FM) and construction progress monitoring. However, the users of these applications may have severe problems in exploring and interacting with the large virtual environments to accomplish specific tasks. Properly designed interfaces are critical for using these applications efficiently. Interoperability in FM industry requires supporting standards for representing the facilities lifecycle information. In this research, first a literature review is conducted about existing FM software solutions and the data representation in these applications. The research review also covers available interoperability standards that can support FM applications. Then, a new framework for the development of a model-based FM system is proposed. The framework includes a practical method for creating facilities models and several interaction and navigation methods. Furthermore, a new method is proposed for creating a generic graphical user interface based on metadata represented in a standard format. The proposed approach is demonstrated through two case studies for indoor and outdoor facilities management applications.