Browsing by Subject "Facility Management"
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Item A Case Study of the Use of BIM and Construction Operations Building Information Exchange (COBie) for Facility Management(2012-10-19) Jawadekar, SalilThis study investigates the use of Building Information Modeling (BIM) and COBie for Facility Management on three projects where these concepts were used. Factors which affect these concepts are identified through a literature review. The study is divided into the sections of Responsibility for database formulation, Characteristics of database, Technology and Effect on work order response times. A qualitative analysis is conducted to study the application of these concepts and identify any problems encountered. A case study is conducted on three projects where BIM and COBie were used for facility management. It is found that though the database generated by using these concepts is useful for preventive maintenance, the data gathering and formulation process needs to be started during the design and construction phase to make use of BIM for facility management functions like space allocation, 3D mapping, building automation etc. This study can be used as a reference for further research based on quantitative analysis of the factors studied in the case study.Item Discrete Event Model Development of Pilot Plant Scale Microalgae Facilities: An Analysis of Productivity and Costs(2011-10-21) Stepp, Justin WayneAmerica's reliance on foreign oil has raised economic and national security issues, and in turn the U.S. has been active in reducing its dependence on foreign oil to mitigate these issues. Also, the U.S. Navy has been instrumental in driving bio-fuel research and production by setting an ambitious goal to purchase 336M gallons of bio-fuel by 2020. The production of microalgae biomass is a promising field which may be able to meet these demands. The utilization of microalgae for the production of bio-fuel requires the implementation of efficient culturing processes to maximize production and reduce costs. Therefore, three discrete rate event simulation models were developed to analyze different scaling scenarios and determine total costs associated with each scenario. Three scaling scenarios were identified by this analysis and included a stepwise, volume batching and intense culturing process. A base case and potential best case were considered in which the culturing duration, lipid content and lipid induction period were adjusted. A what-if analysis was conducted which identified and reduced capital and operational costs contributing greatly to total costs. An NPV analysis was performed for each scenario to identify the risk associated with future cash flows. The research findings indicate that the intense culturing scaling scenario yielded the greatest model throughput and least total cost for both the base case and potential best case. However, this increased productivity and cost reduction were not significantly greater than the productivity generated by the stepwise scaling scenario, suggesting that the implementation of flat plate bio-reactors in the intense culturing process may be non-advantageous given the increased operational costs of these devices. The volume batching scenario yielded the greatest total cost L^-1 of microalgae bio-oil for both, indicating an inefficient process. The scaling scenarios of the base case and potential best case yielded negative NPV's while the stepwise and intense culturing scenarios of the what-if analysis generated positive NPV's. The base case is based on current technological advances, biological limitations and costs of microalgae production therefore, a negative NPV suggests that utilizing microalgae for bio-fuel production is not an economically feasible project at this time.Item The web-based graphic service request system for facility management of apartments(Texas A&M University, 2006-10-30) Lee, Kwang JunThis research investigates the feasibility of web technology as a means of handling service requests for delivering high quality service in building operation and maintenance. This research proposes a web-based graphic service request (WGSR) system as a pragmatic solution to the limitations of current computerized maintenance management system (CMMS) processes. Service request process in CMMS was developed as text-based, so that it is hard for ordinary tenants to use. Therefore, when tenants have a problem in a facility, they prefer calling in service requests or going to the office instead of using the internet service request application. In practice, work orders and records are often misplaced - resulting in lower efficiency and customer satisfaction. This may be overcome by a system that states information digitally and provides a web-based Graphic Service Request (WGSR) interface. The interface allow customers to report environmental problems in the facility, trace their work order progress, view schedules for maintenance, and provide feedback for service online. The WGSR system is an end-user point-and-click graphical interface that allows residents to request service by selecting a problem fixture on a floor plan image. By using HTML image map tags and combination of location, part, and types of problem identification number, the resident's input produces a text-based problem report for Facility Management (FM) departments that allows them to service requests on the fly. To solve the complexity and inefficiency issues of CMMS, the user interface for the WGRS system consists of a perspective drawing or isometric drawing of each unit's plan. An empirical test of the system and post-task survey was conducted to determine the efficiency and usefulness of the system. The analysis of the results shows the system to be efficient and convenient in several fields, including comprehensibility, navigability, simplicity, clarity, compatibility, and graphic appeal. This result shows that residents prefer to use the WGSR system and could reduce the effort needed to make and receive service request phone calls and input information into a database. The labor and time for daily work could be saved to recognize problems correctly and set the right schedule so that this could be used for preventive work and project work.Item Toward an Effective Design Process: Enhancing Building Performance through Better Integration of Facility Management Perspectives in the Design Process(2014-08-20) Kalantari Hematabadi, Seyed SalehIn today?s architecture and construction industry, there is a growing agreement that the input of facility management professionals (FMs) can be a vital resource during the architectural design process. FMs are responsible for the everyday operation of buildings, and are therefore aware of many practical details of maintenance and efficiency that designers may overlook. In this study, the current state of the facility management industry and the extent of FMs? collaborations with designers were examined in the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Middle East. The objective was to understand the challenges and concerns faced by FMs in these diverse regions, and to determine how the process of collaboration could be improved so that the accumulated knowledge of FMS can better inform design. The study included a comprehensive literature review of previous work on this topic, in-depth interviews with prominent facility management professionals, and a broad quantitative survey of FMs in the three study regions. An analysis of the interview and survey data revealed the nature of existing collaborations and their benefits, as well as barriers against collaboration and suggestions for overcoming those barriers. Difficulties in communication between the two fields were found to be the most pervasive obstacles, closely followed by a perceived lack of interest on the part of designers. The study data also allowed for a comparative analysis of FM-designer collaborations in the U.K., the U. S., and Middle East, and led to suggestions about the most effective times during a project?s life cycle for FMs to provide input to designers. The study results indicate that interventions to improve training and awareness in both fields may be particularly effective in increasing the benefits of collaboration. A process model for more effectively integrating the knowledge of FMs into the design process is also provided based on the study results.