BIM-IoT Data Visualization for FM

The O&M represents the most expensive phase of building’s life cycle. This is due to not correct maintenance practice, which includes lack of communication between stakeholders, loss of information during buildings’ life cycle and reactive maintenance practice. In particular, the last one can cause interruption of service in public buildings and rise of maintenance cost, but also the rise of energy cost since non monitored assets can consume more than expected. In addition, the poor use of BIM in operational and maintenance phase means a waste of potential information useful for FM. In this scenario it is fundamental a change of methods. In these years many new technologies have hit the construction industry, one of them made rethink the maintenance practice. It’s the case of IoT technologies, a series of physical objects equipped with sensors, software and other technologies, able to connect and exchange data over a network with no need of human-human or human-computer interaction. The placing of sensors to monitor building’s asset leads to the creation of a DT, a virtual digital representation of buildings in real word. The DT can contain real time data, coming from IoT technologies, and in the construction context it can be based on BIM model. Researchers have demonstrated how BIM-IoT integration is possible. This thesis’ purpose is the achievement of sensors’ data visualization within a BIM model for supporting FM activities. In order to do so, it will be described fundamental concept of BIM, IoT, DT and FM. After a literature review for understanding the state of art of BIM-IoT integration methods and a review of cloud-based platforms that enable BIM-IoT integration will be done. Successively, a BIM-IoT architecture will be proposed, along with the description of its components, the fault detection methodology and data transmission and visualization. These methods will be applied in the Case study section, in which sensors data will be visualized in the BIM model through the Forge application. This type of data visualization can be a support to decision-making in FM activities, since the analysis of real-time data in 3D model can detect if, when and where a failure can occur.