Information needs towards service life asset management

A version of this paper is published in / Une version de ce document se trouve dans : 17 th International CODATA Conference, "Data and Information for the Coming Knowledge Millennium" The paper stresses the importance of formalized information storage, updating and integration in the domain of " Service Life Asset Management ". The scope of this domain includes all data, knowledge and information required to manage a " built " asset from construction to deconstruction. " Service Life Asset Management " comprises a significant portion of the funds expended by the construction industry each year. Investigation of the field to date has found a limited number of applications for decision-support in this domain, and did not find any comprehensive solution that addresses the current and future needs for tactical and strategic planning by facility engineers and managers. The key aspects of information storage and flow in this domain, identified in this paper, are: (1) the data needs for decision support tools, (2) the development of quality metrics for evaluation of performance and condition; (3) the need for standardization of data and information flow, and (4) the need for continuous data transfer amongst actors in the process. The authors also identify the need for continued research and standardization in all these domains. This paper is exploratory in nature and encourages the reader to visualize what data are required for " Service Life Asset Management " and how those data can be used. This paper proposes schemas and frameworks for storing, updating and accessing the large volumes of heterogeneous data in the construction field. It also proposes a prototype tool to use this information in decision support.