by Brianna Crandall — February 11, 2015—Rand Worldwide, a global provider of technology solutions to organizations with engineering design and information technology (IT) requirements, just announced that its IMAGINiT Technologies and Rand Facilities Management divisions are now united under the IMAGINiT Technologies brand.
The first service born from this new collaboration, the FM and BIM Connection Service, enables architecture/engineering/construction (AEC) firms to demonstrate the value of extending the rich data within the building information model (BIM) into the facilities management (FM) phase of the building lifecycle.
“Building lifecycle management is a hot topic today resonating with both construction firms and owners,” commented Joe Eichenseer, director of technical resources for the newly created Building Lifecycle Solutions team at IMAGINiT Technologies. “There is a wealth of rich information created when a building is designed, or a renovation is undertaken. Being able to effectively manage the flow of building information from concept to maintenance to tear-down is the next step in the evolution of BIM, and we are ready to support our clients across all parts of the equation.”
With research from the Construction Owners Association of America showing that 70 percent of respondents intend to be using BIM data for FM within the next three years, AEC firms and facilities managers will increasingly require technology and services to facilitate the flow of data between AEC firms and FM staff. IMAGINiT’s Building Lifecycle Solutions team—with experts in BIM and FM—are poised to help clients achieve real solutions to achieving a “one model” method for a building’s life, says the company.
Bridging the gap between BIM and FM
IMAGINiT’s FM and BIM Connection Service breaks down the barriers between BIM and facilities management by sharing the BIM data in an integrated workplace management system, ARCHIBUS.
Rather than trying to manage building operations using computer-aided design (CAD) files, now FM teams can easily and efficiently manage space, assets, personnel and all maintenance directly within ARCHIBUS by harnessing data from a model created with Autodesk Revit software to effectively connect it with data in an FM system.
How it works
AEC firms can now demonstrate to owners how FMs can extend the value of BIM throughout the building’s lifecycle, says the company. IMAGINiT’s FM and BIM Connection Service allows AEC firms and facility owners to experience the benefits of leveraging BIM data within ARCHIBUS. IMAGINiT provides 1:1 virtual training on how this can be done, and transfers all the data from the BIM into ARCHIBUS and hosts the software for 90 days so teams simply have to log in to start using the rich data.
The FM and BIM Connection Service will be showcased during IMAGINiT’s eight-city Building Lifecycle Trends Workshop. This moderated, in-person workshop allows owners, architects, engineers and contractors to talk about how best to leverage the data created during a project from beginning to end. Those interested can register now for the following locations:
- Baltimore, MD — March 24, 2015
- Boston, MA — March 26, 2015
- Calgary, AB, Canada — March 12, 2015
- Dallas, TX — March 18, 2015
- New York, NY — March 25, 2015
- Seattle, WA — March 18, 2015
- Toronto, ON, Canada — March 13, 2015
More information on the workshop is available on the company’s Upcoming Events | In-Person Events Web page).
For additional ways that FMs can apply ARCHIBUS software, see also the ARCHIBUS ad on FMLink.
