A Holistic Framework for Information System for the Management of Indoor Environmental Qualities (Ieq) in Built Facilities

Abstract

Because every building is considered as a long-run investment, regardless of its scale, at least to its owner, broadly by collectively impacting the national development of built assets. It is a vital aspect to ensure the qualities which define its inhabitance experience. Buildings' indoor environments have been undermined being observed as an uncontrolled expensive application of systems, targeted for research, while indoor environmental quality (IEQ) is one of the assembly of aspects that aim to appraise almost any built facility performance. There have been research efforts in literature, with global and contextual limitations, covering dispersed relations and topics in the IEQ domain, such as the control, and analysis of occupants' satisfaction and facilities systems performance in respect to standards. These research efforts were more focused on investigating results rather than allowing for an automated solution for the creation of universal standards. Therefore, emerged a need for modelling IEQ management in an inclusive manner, to allow for the sustainable management and understanding of facilities components' impacts, on both occupants' experiences and wellbeing, whereas the power of information systems with the capabilities of todays' hardware and technologies, set a new era, for the architectural science in digital means. This research paper proposes a conceptual information system framework modelled in Integrated Computer Aided Manufacturing Definition for Function Modeling (IDEF0) diagram, to enable the architects and the facility managers to sustainably manage and monitor IEQs in built facilities. The proposed framework is based on a standardized big data analytics that can provide architects and facility managers with meaningful insights for achieving an evidence based, and informed design thinking, as well as sustainable monitoring of built facilities in real time.