State of the Art

This chapter presents a thorough literature review to assimilate existing knowledge within the domains of BIM, DSS, and AR, with a particular focus on their applications during the operation and maintenance phases of facility management. The review commences with an exploration of the concept of DSS, emphasizing its pivotal role in enhancing decision-making processes across various managerial levels and detailing how these systems enhance the effectiveness, timeliness, accuracy, and quality of decisions. Subsequently, the chapter shifts its focus to an overview of facility management, outlining the key operational activities that are integral to maintaining and enhancing building performance and occupant comfort. This is followed by an examination of probabilistic models used to manage the uncertainties inherent in facility management, supporting strategies for predictive maintenance and optimized facility operations. A substantial portion of the chapter is dedicated to examining the role of BIM in O&M. It assesses how BIM facilitates the efficient management of a facility's physical and functional characteristics throughout its lifecycle. This leads into a discussion on the critical need for integrating BIM with DSS to harness more robust and dynamic analytical capabilities in facility management. The chapter also delves into the standards for BIM information that are essential for ensuring interoperability during the O&M phases. It explores key standards like IFC and COBie, which facilitate the consistent and accessible exchange of information across different systems and stages of a building's lifecycle. Furthermore, the benefits of implementing AR are highlighted, with a focus on its potential to transform the evaluation of building performance and occupant comfort through enhanced visualization of BIM data. AR’s ability to overlay digital information onto the physical world offers significant advantages for accessibility and interaction with facility data. Finally, the chapter concludes by summarizing the complexities of integrating these advanced technologies, emphasizing the challenges and opportunities arising from the interplay between BIM, DSS, and AR in modern facility management. This introduction not only establishes the foundation for understanding the impact of these technologies, but also frames the subsequent chapters that delve deeper into their practical applications.