Maintenance of Buildings Using BIM Methodology

Building maintenance is the responsibility of its owner which must use, whenever appropriate, a technician to perform the inspection. A good maintenance depends on the analysis of the anomalies detected during the inspection of the site. Building Information Models (BIM) have revealed themselves as a good tool when it comes to supporting main- tenance actions, due to their ability to store enough information in one digital model. The aim of the proposed work was to implement the benefits provided by BIM on a software tool used as support to maintenance of buildings. During an in- spection activity for maintenance purposes, the implemented application, containing a rigorous database, allows the user to identify each anomaly present in building components, directly onto the BIM model, automatically associating them with probable causes, repair methods and a photograph of the anomaly uploaded at the site. Therefore, gains in productiv- ity and a decrease in the error probability can be achieved. The inspection data is stored in the BIM model, making it suit- able for consultation when planning maintenance. Additionally, it was case study the interoperability between BIM mod- eling and visualizing software, regarding the preservation of information, especially in the standard format Industry Foun- dation Classes (IFC). This work contributed to demonstrate, not only that there are still problems concerning the interop- erability between BIM software, but also the advantages of employing BIM for building maintenance purposes.