Innovative Technologies for Integrating Facility Management ...

Code

ar

6083

Innovative Technologies for Integrating Facility Management Information Systems ABSTRACT : Facilities management information systems require integrating a great amount of information about each building and the ability to easily locate these buildings and their components. The CAD models, maps and images of the building are integrated to create the 3D model of a facility and then the resulting model is integrated with the cost and scheduling information . This paper addresses some innovative methods for integrating information for large scale ( FMIS) including the web based access and using the internet/ intranet for building facility management. The results of this research provide a foundation for a revised work process, using information technology and assist in integrating facility management systems. Conference Topic: Innovative practice, management and operational systems Keywords: Facility Management, FM Information Systems, Computer Aided FM

1. INTRODUCTION Facility management is a multidisciplinary profession, drawing on theories and principles of engineering, architecture design, accounting, finance, management and behavioral science. These disciplines have a rich history of theory, research and practice. Facility management as a new discipline, is built on this foundation to create a new set of theories and practices. [1] Facility management is defined as follows: ‘An integrated approach to maintaining, improving and adapting the buildings of an organization in order to create an environment that strongly supports the primary objectives of that organization.[2] It should be clear from the definition that the key aspects of facility management are taken to be: - an integrating role in which management issues predominate over technical matters; - a service justified and orientated towards making a positive contribution to the primary business.

1.1 Facility Management roles & responsibilities In its original definition of the roles and responsibilities of facilities managers, the international organization of facilities management (IFMA) identified 41 responsibilities under eight headings. According to IFMA, the scope of FM covers real estate, planning, budgeting, space management, interior planning, interior installation, architecture, engineering services, and building maintenance and operation. The interlocking circles in (Fig.1 ) represents the important role facilities and facility management play an integrating employees, work processes, and workplaces into a coherent , productive , holistic system. FM serves to coordinate the interface between what people do and where they do it. Thus, facility management touches on elements of human resources and process engineering[3]

PROCESS

PEOPLE

F.M. TECHNOLOGY

PLACE

Figure 1: Components of Facility Management[3]

2-TECHNOLOGIES OF FACILITIES MANAGEMENT INFORMATION SYSTEMS 2.2 Chronological Classification of FMIS Technologies To understand FM technology, it is also necessary to understand the current context of that technology. Infrastructure resource planning, or infrastructure management (IM), is an emerging term which describes the trend toward broadening the FM application of computers beyond just FM or real estate. We particularly live in very dynamic times from the perspective of Internet technology and IM, and their impact on FM. Understanding how technology, particularly Internet technology, is evolving and the impact of IM, is of fundamental importance to facility managers for the effective practice of their professions. There are at least six generations of technology where there has been a discontinuous change between generations. This paper covers a period of almost 25 years, from the early 1980s to approximately 2007. 2.2.1 The First and Second Generations Generation one, expressed in the Mainframe computers with applications designed for facility managers, existed in the early 1960s,before the term facility manager even existed. Hardware was likewise expensive. Usually one screen was used for menuing(option selection) while the other displayed the resultant graphics. Starting in the mid-1980s, this centralized, integrated model for FM software technology became fragmented with the widespread deployment of personal computers (PCs). PC applications, representing the second generation of FM technology, were initially built around office automation software, most efforts were the result of someone using a word processing,spreadsheet, or database program for an individual need. No standards existed for graphic or nongraphic databases and these “islands of automation” rarely were designed for integration with other applications.[1]Figures 2 through 5 represent the SPACE program, developed by a vendor during the 1980s. SPACE was a space planning and management program, originally written under DOS, for developing stacking and blocking diagrams. 2.2.2 The Third Generation ( The Early CAFM) The third generation of FMIS technologies ,which could be classified into two main categories, is represented by the early CAFM from the beginning of the 1990s.

Figure. 4 : Space forecasting [1]( the selection of a new forecasting period for which SPACE will then generate another stack)

Figure. 5 : Space blocking diagram [1] (the users resultant spaces are passed to a floor plan for optimization)

Figure. 2 : Space Stack ( a stacking plan for a building generated from an adjacency matrix)

Figure. 3 : Space adjacency analysis [1] (the adjacencies input by the user as lines connecting the two spaces)

a- The robust integration: Characterized by the integration between various FM graphic and nongraphic applications, still using the PC as the primary hardware platform. This was an era of enormous market growth and maturing PC technology. The earlier computer-aided facility management (CAFM) systems were desktop solutions whereby data was moved over a local area network (LAN) to the desktop PC. The CAFM software then processed the data and returned the results over the LAN to users. This process tended to be slow (especially for large CAD graphic files) and restricted their use to mostly inventory (property,space, and assets) management and reporting applications. Figure 6 depicts the software modules of SPAN FM .This diagram is meant to depict the integration of FM modules that shared data between the various application modules. This was in contrast to the previous software generation. b- Client–server databases: It made it possible to process data remotely and just return the results to the client software. This disbursed processing cut back on the need to load all data on a single machine and, in the process, resulted in significant savings in data transmission time. Thus, real-time space reports with occupancy information and occupancy cost analyses started to be generated by FM systems. These beginnings of linking FM data with mainstream corporate databases had the result of making CAFM/CIFM more strategic in nature. Figure 7 depicts an output from Aperture showing an occupancy plan for a client. Depicted are data associated with room number, person’s name, and phone extension (coming perhaps from a human resources’ database), and furniture assets. Figure 8 depicts the more

advanced application of move simulation. This application has the ability to use scheduling and financial data to generate “what-if ” move scenarios for the space planner.

Figure 6: SPAN software modules

Figure 7: Space occupancy plan

2.2.3 The Fourth Generation (THE INTERNET) Although the internet existed over 25 years ago, It was not until the early 1990s, that someone linked together data stored on various computers by being able to use a mouse to click on graphic or text icons. This rapidly led to the development of the ability to hyperlink various Web addresses using a presentation format called HTML1 for hypertext mark-up language. Today, the Internet represents the largest telecommunications network that currently exists in the world. Any vendor that does not use this network for all aspects of data communication and reporting will find it increasingly difficult to exist. Initially, FM vendors used the Internet to post static information by publishing HTML-formatted reports from the client–server applications. Next came some transaction server-based Web queries for functions such as entering or querying the status of a work request or requesting a customized graphic or nongraphic report from the software. The benefits of the Internet (and its associated manifestations in Intranets and Extranets) are clearly discernible and have been well defined and understood. As process-based tools, such as work flow and technical document management are better incorporated and integrated into FM technology, the benefits again increase significantly. The increasing growth and documentation of tangible and intangible benefits of collaborative project Web sites that employ work flow and document management attest to this fact. Project Web Sites: Collaborative project Web sites basically share information between clients, design consultants, contractors, and anyone else that needs to view and operate on any form of project information. These sites traditionally offer document management services and track project information such as drawings, revisions, specifications, various logs, administrative forms such as purchase orders, and so forth. Most have the ability to “redline” (annotate) drawings on the Web, automatically route data and documents to the appropriate individual, keep certain data secure and, increasingly, link the project Web site software to other applications such as project management, cost estimating, and so forth. Figure 8 is an illustration from Framework Technologies’ Active-Project server software , where the user can generate a query for a particular database (e.g., what active work orders are open) and then “drill down” on a campus, building, floor, room, etc. 1

HTML is a language for describing how a site appears on a computer display.

Figure 8: project web sites 2.2.4 The Fifth Generation: Totally Integrated Facility Management Systems (Infrastructure Management From the End of the 90s) a- Evolution of Infrastructure Management: IM principles enable the management of strategic and tactical processes related to all corporate assets from a common, integrated environment. It embodies concepts made possible by management’s growing realization of the strategic importance of information technology (IT) and that IT can influence all aspects of an organization’s business, because of the potential benefits of IM, However, IT increasingly incorporates: • PCs and all aspects of computing devices • Communications and telecommunications protocols and vendors • Vendors and other types of data of corporate-wide interest • Internal and external Web technology, including inter-/intra- and extranets • Benchmarking and financial metrics for cost–benefit analyses As IM increasingly centralizes business functions and processes, it means that CAFM specifications will increasingly be required to integrate with enterprise resource planning (ERP) systems and vendors. Mainstream “mission critical” systems controlling purchasing, financial, human resource, and IT tasks (typically the domain of ERP vendors) need to share information with FM systems to provide the spatial and financial information required by management. b- Computer Aided Facility Management (The Recent CAFM): A CAFM system is defined as any combination of CAD and/or database software, designed specifically for facility management functions. The universal approach in rising to the challenges of automating FM tasks, has led to the design of systems that make use of existing computer functionalities. CAFM could be classified according to FM automated functionalities that each system provides. A listing with a brief explanation of each item is described below. • Interactive Database Access: Since data is the all-important entity for facility managers, providing interactive database access is very important. • Data Integration: This is the ability of a CAFM system to efficiently reuse existing data or be able to recognize and/or convert externally available data for its own use. • Data Management: A key challenge of a successful CAFM system after developing the initial database is in updating and maintaining the data over time.

• Networking : Since Facility managers need to access data generated by different areas of their organizations, , possibly from remote sites, networking is another top-priority feature. • Graphics Interactivity : This represents the single most important feature promised by every CAFM system and provides facility managers with means to visually manipulate facilities using graphical representation. • Built-In Visualization : This is the ability of a system to allow visualization of its layouts in 3D, mainly using solid modeling. • Stacking & Blocking : This is the ability of a system to create floor plans or color coded maps given adjacencies, square footages and a building outline. • Drafting Capabilities : Strong drafting aids support facility managers mainly in the design and planning process and also in the ongoing operations. • Reporting Capabilities : Reporting is an important role for any facility manager. Being able to retrieve desired information from the databases to serve various external analyses and communication functions is part of the context within which all CAFM exist. c- GIS AND CAFM: The provision of mapping capabilities and more importantly, GIS (Geographic Information System) Topological Structures provide a powerful base to broaden the application of CAFM solution. Traditionally, GIS are assigned to the management of land-related databases for information on assets that exist outside “the five-foot line” that surrounds a building. However, that GIS lends itself to the analysis of space as small as a room just as well as for large parcels of land. In its most basic form, GIS combines the concepts of spatial relationships to analyze and present location based data to support a business process. The detailed analysis of room level facilities data is ideally suited to the spatial analysis and presentation capabilities of GIS. In addition to serving FM, it has the potential to integrate facilities data with other location based databases that facilitate the flow of information between business functions and across departmental boundaries. CAFM solutions which offer fully integrated GIS modules can be applied to analyze real estate costs, rents, land use, vacant tendencies or similar information and incident data over small or large mapped areas. 2.2.5 The sixth Generation and Beyond (Innovative Technologies From 2005 and beyond) a- Current Vision: This generation represents the imminent arrival of high speed Internet computers and networks (both through cables and mobile), and the increasing embedding of microchips into assets. Using any one of several competing technologies, they will be available to everyone, once again acting as a unifying IM function further linking facility managers with internal and external users and clients. Communication is very high speed, it is wireless as well as on wires, new data formats such as sound and multimedia video are included, and there is very highspeed data networks connected to powerful hub computers. The most immediate impact of these networks should be on collaborative project Web sites. Disbursed communication in all media with integrated Web-based applications running on the Internet and linked to e-Commerce applications will mature very rapidly. b- Future Vision: In this post-PC age, assets will be equipped with embedded chips, likewise connected to the Internet. The chips will have their own operating system and the intelligence will be in the thing (the asset) itself—thereby potentially rendering PCs obsolete. When applied to FM, applications of “smart” assets, can

cover a wide spectrum of uses: For example, a piece of furniture might know where it is and automatically update a CAD drawing and database that is tracking that asset. Assets will be linked to the Internet and perhaps send information back to the vendor so that the vendors will know more about how their products are being used and therefore enable customized education and training. Assets will be able to redefine their functionality on the spot based on how they are being used. Shops will be informed what tools and equipment to bring for demand maintenance work. The list of implications of such technology goes on and on. There is another aspect to FM Internet appliances that is very powerful but potentially problematic. This is the enabling of a computer to know the location of a person based on their carrying a unique chip with an ID embedded in a piece of equipment, such as a cell telephone or an ID card carried by the person.

3 CASE STUDIES 3.1 Computer-Aided Design Facilities Management System For Geneva International Airport 3.1.1 Selection of Applied Technology The Airport uses a comprehensive GIS to manage spatial referenced data. The Airport GIS,known as SITAG (Genève International Airport information system), is developed in coordination with all the departments having to manage spatial objects [see Figure 9].The CAFM System is called “GlobalCAD”., it is made for managing the Airport’s buildings in harmony with both the territorial management Figure 9: Aerial view (SITG orthophotos) and the underground network GIS applications of the site of Geneva International Airport and includes an extension to Oracle Financial. (GIA)

Figure 10 : GlobalCAD information system : architecture and component

Figure 11 : ArcView and AutoCAD clients and ArcSDE server

3.1.2 Components of the GlobalCAD Information System In the client-server environment, the GlobalCAD information systems`architecture is built entirely around a spatial data model (Oracle and ArcSDE) permitting the geographic detection of all the chosen facilities objects. For the access and management of graphic and attribute data, the information system uses the following products: ArcSDE, ArcView and AutoCAD [see Figure 10]. The editing of graphic information is carried out from AutoCAD by resorting to the functionalities of the CAD Client ArcSDE interface, duly completed in order to ensure the integrity and the coherence of the ArcSDE layers and of the AutoCAD layers in the interactive-conversational mode [see Figure 11]. The user environment, created to carry out these manipulations,is adapted to the professional knowledge and to the operators' working methods [see Figures 12 and 13]

3.1.3 Basic principles kept for the choice of management tools for the SITAG project: Strategically, from the beginning of the process of the evaluation of tools for the SITAG project, it was decided, so as to: a- Ensure longer-lasting information and a greater solution homogeneity, to make use of the same generic products in the management of the Surface Equipment and Installations, in Figure 12 : GlobalCAD information system: the management of the Underground Networks and in the management of the Buildings. user environment of AutoCAD operators b- Within the framework of the SITAG project, the management system intended for the "Building Field" should be based on a data model and an architecture as close as possible - ideally identical. c-As for the essential needs regarding Computer-Aided Drafting (CAD) for the construction and modification stages of facilities on the airport site, it has been decided to Figure 13 : GlobalCAD information continue the elaboration of construction plans system: user environment of ArcView with the assistance of the AutoCAD software. operators

Figure 14 : GlobalCAD, "Fire Safety" module Extinction system; spatial location, attributes and documentation of a sprinkler

3.1.4 Functions of the GlobalCAD Information System The GlobalCad information system permits the treatment of the following themes: a- Building inventory b- Areas management of premises and other areas( coding, area , occupant, conditioning) c- Volumes management d- Rental of premises e- Access management( management of doors, keys and access card system) f- Management of Fire Safety equipment( safety areas, detection and alarm equipment, extinction and ventilation equipment, see figure 14)

3.1.5 Benefits of Applied Technology Within the framework of the SITAG project, the GlobalCAD information system is conceived so as to satisfy the needs regarding the description, the inventory and the maintenance of the facilities and equipment connected with the buildings. Besides the fact that GlobalCAD is based on a spatialreferenced data model, it is characterised by a very strong integration of the GIS and CAD Figure 15: Access Card System software tools, so that it ensures a permanent coherence of the graphic information (ArcSDE Module layers and AutoCAD layers) and of the attributes (Oracle Tables). In the field of facilities management, the advantages of the spatial detection of components or objects are similar to those generally identified in the GIS .For instance when the geometry of adjoining rooms is modified, the elements contained in these rooms (fixed lights, fire detectors, sprinklers, etc) are automatically assigned to the new geometry with its unchanged alphanumeric attributes and with no intervention on the part of the user; more specifically, a door (line) equipped with a lock and the cylinder associated with it separates two rooms (polygons). By identifying the access card or the key in a protected list, it is possible to identify the rooms the card gives access to [see Figure 15]. 3.2 SPACE MANAGEMENT AT THE UNIVERSITY OF MINNESOTA 3.2.1 Selection of Applied Technology The design strategy for the new space management system (SPACE) centered on a graphical navigation and reporting component built on GIS technology The project team concluded that GIS tools for display and data analysis exceeded those of the CAFM systems. GIS included features that supported analysis of spatial relationships through a consistent, location-based model that can be applied across the enterprise.When used to query data, GIS offers results spatially by displaying the matched attributes across the map. This gives an immediate impression of how the data and location are interrelated. Spatial analysis of the data is also possible.

Figure 16 components

Figure17 component

3.2.2 Components of the Operational System The operational system consists of several components maintained on equipment in the university’s FM department (see Figure 16). The operational system supports accurate and timely maintenance of data by FM staff and departmental space coordinators. The data warehouse component is optimized for fast performance during graphical navigation, query, and reports, not data maintenance (see Figure 17). The data at the warehouse represents a weekly : operational system data “snapshot” of information from the operational system maintained by FM. 3.1.3 Basic principles kept for the choice of management tools for the project: The goal of the project team was to select and deploy a technology that would facilitate the flow of information between business functions and support integration across departmental boundaries. Several things were deemed necessary to achieve this vision: a- The university needed a consistent spatial data model for its facilities,i.e. one that would be used by a variety of different database : data warehouse custodians to organize their information to facilitate information exchange. b-The technology would provide a platform capable of linking core “institutional” facilities information across departmental boundaries with other “user defined” departmental databases and enterprise information systems. c- To make the system easy to use, the team determined that a graphical interface should be deployed as a primary navigation and reporting interface. d- Processes that would allow people to easily integrate their data with core information about facilities, would need to be defined, tested, and deployed. e- An open technology that offered the majority of these features “out of the box,” while still allowing customization, especially at the database level, would be a requirement.

Figure18 : Color-Coded Campus Map Displaying 1997 Electric Costs.

Figure 19 : a Floor Plan Used by the Department of Residential Housing.

Figure 20 :New CMMS integrated with the SPACE System.

Figure 21 :Color-Coded Floor Plan.

Figure 22 :Campus Map Linked to ColorCoded Building and Floor Plans.

3.2.4 Functions of the Information System Within several months after reaching full production, a number of departments had been trained to use the system. a- FM’s finance department is using SPACE to help analyze the building cost report, (BCR) that summarizes utility and other operations costs for university facilities. The finance department is using the Navigator to create campus maps that are color coded to reflect the costs of different utilities (see Figure 18). They are now able to analyze the information graphically, with more accurate enterprise-wide data. SPACE highlights the managerial financial data that lets them move quickly into action. b-The Department of Residential Housing merged their database of room assignment characteristics (gender preference, smoking preference, visitation, etc.) with institutional data. The combined data was used to produce drawings used for student registration (see Figure 19). Plans call for use of the data to manage custodial contracts, with additional discussion underway to explore the use of SPACE data for Web-based student registration. c-The group responsible for facilities operations and maintenance is integrating the new computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) with the SPACE system. By sharing the Oracle tables that describe the location hierarchy, maintenance planners have access to institutional space data to schedule preventative and unplanned maintenance. This allows a planner to overlay drawings, such as steam tunnel locations, graphically identifying the impact of infrastructure projects on building occupants. For example, the system can locate and highlight building support areas that might be used to stage a steam tunnel repair project (see Figure 20)

3.2.5 Benefits of Applied Technology

Figure 23 illustrates a strategy for linking information from human resource

a-The introduction of GIS adds a powerful “spatial data analysis” component to the university’s technology architecture. b-Using maps and plan drawings as a navigation method and reporting context, provides an executive information system (EIS) that can be used to “browse” from a state map, to a campus map and to detailed plans. c- Drawings can be color-coded to reflect various values in the database and incorporated as part of reports, (figure 21 ) d-attribute data can be queried to locate and display specific plans or maps. Campus maps, provide information on buildings and floor plans at the scale of a single room (see Figure 22). e- User-defined data could be connected at any level. See (Figure 23 )

CONCLUSION New information technologies, provide a method for incorporating diverse facilities, programmatic, and human resources data into a problem solving collaboration environment for academic and facility planners. The result is an enterprise wide solution that facilitates the flow of information between business functions and across departmental boundaries. (figure 24)

Figure 24: Using innovative FM technologies leads to more collaborative integrated, communicated and automated work which in turn leads to a better analyses that ensures the continuous improvement of FM work

REFERENCES [1] Eric Teicholz (2001), Facility Design and Management Handbook- McGraw –hill publisher [2] Peter Barrett (1995), - Facilities Management- Towards Best Practice- Black well Science LTD., UK [3] Edmond P. Rondeau, Robert Kevin Brown, Paul D. Lapides(2006)- Facility Management- 2nd ed. John Wiley & sons Publishers- New York [4] Chanter, Barrie, & Swallow, Peter(2000), “Building Maintenance Management”, Blackwell Science, London, [5]- Wang- Shengwei; Xie- Junlong (2002)-Integrating Building Management System And Facilities Management on the Internet- Automation –in Construction[6] - Mozaffari-E; Hammad-A; El-Ammari-K(2005)- Virtual Reality Models for Location Based Management Systems- Proceedings- Annual Conference-Canadian –Societyfor-Civil- Engineering