BIFM guide helps FMs engage in design and construction process

by Brianna Crandall — April 6, 2016—The British Institute of Facilities Management (BIFM) launched on Monday its Operational Readiness Guide: A Guide to Ensuring Long Term Effectiveness in the Design and Construction Process, which aims to equip FM professionals with the skills, knowledge and guidance to effectively engage at each stage of the design and construction process to deliver greater value to the end-user organizations that occupy the buildings.

April 4, 2016, was the first day that centrally procured public sector projects in the United Kingdom required the implementation of building information modeling (BIM) at Level 2, reminds BIFM.

BIFM Guide

The guide aims to equip FM professionals with the skills, knowledge and guidance to effectively engage at each stage of the design and construction process to deliver greater value to building occupiers.

To deliver long-term effectiveness and relevance for the end-user, FM professionals need to be engaged from the start and learnings and insights from operators applied to close the gap between building design and performance, advises BIFM. This process supports the achievement of not only sustainable and energy-efficient building operations but also of providing work environments that maximize the productivity of the occupants.

FM professionals, as the representative of the end-user of the building and with a detailed understanding of the core business and thus their key requirements, are central to ensuring the definition and relevance of the project to deliver high-performing buildings, says BIFM.

The guide is built around the RIBA Plan of Work launched in 2013, which leads the design process and unites professionals from across the built environment and the end-user in the design and construction process.

The Plan of Work stages are aligned to the new BIM process model, and this presented a new opportunity for facilities management with Stages 0 – Strategic Definition and 7 – In Use:

  • Stage 7 recognizes the building occupation and in-use period, providing the opportunity for new post-occupancy services that will help to ensure that a building is running as intended and effectively for the user.
  • The outcomes from Stage 7 feed into Stage 0, creating a virtual circle focused on full lifetime performance.
  • Stage 0 uses feedback from previous projects and allows a proposed project to be defined and ratified before a detailed brief is prepared during Stage 1.

This emphasis on the full lifetime occupancy, relevance and effectiveness has firmly placed facilities management at the heart of the building life cycle, says BIFM.

Peter Brogan, Research and Information manager at BIFM, explains:

The Government Construction Strategy set out the aims for the public estate to embrace BIM as part of a process of continual improvement and better development of its assets. It has long been recognized by FM professionals that for our profession the soft landings processes are the way of FM to deliver this mandate, and that  different professions from across the built environment have different roles to play.

However, in real terms, much of the advice and discussions were theoretical, and translating this into new ways of working and processes has demanded new ways of thinking and innovation.  Therefore this guide has been created to determine in practical terms what happens at each stage of the construction process and the specific role that FM, as part of the project board, has to play.

The guide provides practical insight of the roles and responsibilities of the FM discipline at each stage of the process and promote greater collaboration and integration across the built environment. As each stage is aligned to the BIM process, each member of the project team can focus, from the outset of a project, on delivering high-quality data that can be incorporated into computer aided facilities management (CAFM) systems.

The role of FM will vary for each stage depending on the nature of the project and the requirements of the client organization, points out BIFM; therefore flexibility about when specific activities are to be undertaken is anticipated. However the guidance aims to cover the compliance, people, process, procurement and technical elements that FM professionals must understand and deliver.

The guidance will be of particular use for FM professionals working on new build and major refurbishment projects, says BIFM. It will also be useful for those working or supplying FM services to the public sector estate to gain an understanding of future FM requirements.

As part of the guidance set, BIFM will also be holding Webinars featuring the authors of the guide as part of its operational readiness briefing series. The Webinars are open to all and take place on the below dates, and will be available for playback:

This latest guidance follows the March 2016 publication of BIFM’s Good Practice Guide Asset Management Surveying Practice that highlights the role and ways to manage asset management data with CAFM systems. A Webinar providing an overview is being held on April 21.

Laura Zitver, Research and Information executive at BIFM said:

It is recognized that by combining these systems and processes it will lead to better optional outcomes for the buildings post occupancy, supporting the sustainability, energy management, enabling better benchmarking opportunities as well as creating economic benefits and enhanced performance to the end user.

The Operational Readiness Guide is available to download for BIFM members, and is available to purchase for other FM professionals, from the Operational Readiness page. Registration is also available there for the Webinars.