The 7D BIM Model Used in the Estimation of the Useful Life of Façade Materials

Abstract

The Building Information Modelling (BIM) methodology is supported on the concept of centralizing, in a parametric virtual model, all information related with the project, the construction and the overall lifecycle of a building. The building maintenance and management activities, requires the development of working facilities planned in an early project phase. The maintenance planning has been improved supported in BIM, as it allows professionals to easily retrieve, add and update the database of the BIM model. The definition of adequate maintenance strategies requires knowledge regarding the durability of the materials, mainly the degradation perdition of the materials. The present work is focused on the estimation of the useful lifetime of materials usually applied on the finishing of traditional building façades and terraces. Based on the knowledge of durability of the selected materials a Dynamo script was created allowing to obtain an estimation value concerning the degradation perdition of the materials. Other Dynamo script was developed oriented to the visualization of the degradation level of the materials. This innovative approach intends to support the maintenance engineers to make assertive decisions concerning the maintenance activity. In this study Dynamo programming improved BIM-FM systems integration, providing a positive contribution in construction maintenance context.