Rand Worldwide, the Framingham, MA-based provider of engineering design and information technology solutions announced that it is combining its IMAGINiT Technologies and Rand Facilities Management divisions under the IMAGINiT Technologies brand. The first service offered by this new brand will be the FM and BIM Connection Service, which helps AEC firms demonstrate to owners the value of carrying BIM data through the FM stage of the building lifecycle.
To do this, IMAGINiT transfers BIM data from a Revit model into ARCHIBUS, a popular facilities management system. Once the data is within ARCHIBUS, IMAGINiT provides the owner and AEC firm 90 days worth of access to a dedicated cloud portal for the facilities management system and all the BIM data it now contains. IMAGINiT also provides all software, setup, installation, training, and support.
The goal, according to IMAGINiT, is to effectively manage the rich information created in the design and build stage and help it flow through all the building stages, all the way through tear-down.
For more information, SPAR contacted Joe Eichenseer, director of technical resources for the new team at IMAGINiT Technologies, and Peter Costanzo, Director of Facilities Management Sales.
In an email, they explained why IMAGINiT decided to offer this service to bridge the gap between BIM and facilities management. “Our facilities management and building solutions team have been working together for years and discussing ways to streamline the process of design-build-manage from a digital perspective,” they told me. “We’ve helped owners understand the value of BIM, but more education has to be done on both sides of the fence. Because of our team’s unique expertise in both facilities management and design as well as our partnerships with ARCHIBUS, we were able to put together this offering, which we knew was a need in the market.”
Eichenseer and Costanzo told SPAR that that facility managers and owners understand the value of BIM during the design-build phase, but often don’t understand the value it can provide during the facilities management phase. Furthermore, the data is often in a format they can’t use even if they wanted to. “The bulk of facilities data today is still CAD-based,’ they told me, “so owners are not leveraging BIM.”
Once the BIM data has been transferred to ARCHIBUS, it is easier for FMs and owners to use. Not only can they access the BIM data through the facilities management platform, but they can also update the original model. ARCHIBUS, Eichenseer and Costanzo explained, “establishes a bi-directional link with Revit. This enables non-Revit users to manage space and assets to keep the model fresh. This is via a browser and can also be accessed from mobile devices.”
The arrangement, which gives owners and facilities managers the latest data on a platform that is easy to use, has real benefits for the building over its lifecycle. “Real estate is typically the #2 investment for organizations. This goes beyond the physical building, but includes things like the energy consumption. ARCHIBUS allows FM teams to better manage the space and asset information from a model. With a central point for data on facilities, FM teams are able to proactively maintain their space and assets. This leads to cost reductions, sustainability and other benefits.”
Once the initial 90 days are up, IMAGINiT hopes that the organizations have fully realized the value of BIM in facilities management. However, Eichenseer and Costanzo told me, “the service can be extended for the benefit of all project stakeholders. We will help all parties to maintain the value created by this connection.”
For more information on the FIM and BIM Connection Service, visit www.imaginit.com/FMandBIM.
