Smart Facility Management: Future Healthcare Organization through Indoor Positioning Systems in the Light of Enterprise BIM

Abstract

Synthesizing the Internet of Things (IoT) with building information modeling (BIM) can improve the performance of the data collection. In this regard, BIM endeavors to enable real-time monitoring conditions of buildings. This paper is focused on the indoor positioning system (IPS) as a key enabling technology for IoT applications, which uses smart and non-smart mobile devices (object tags and beacons) with the aim of positioning and objects tracking that lead to a smart approach in the field of facility management (FM). Hence, we have surveyed the joint use of IPS and BIM in FM based on the concept of enterprise BIM (EBIM). EBIM forms the basis for the future strategic real estate management using virtual models and open standards. As a result, we gained the ability to collect positioning data continuously, save them in a BIM database, and present them on two-dimensional (2D) maps. This is a part of an ongoing study that aims to use data collection effectively for FM as an organizational function in large and complex buildings. Hence, for this purpose, we have considered St. Olavs Hospital, one of the biggest healthcare centers in Norway, as a case study. The effectiveness of data collection by IoT devices installed in buildings and how the combination of BIM and IoT technology can support a holistic view of the status of the buildings, which subsequently can enhance data usage efficiency and FM development, will be demonstrated.