A study on software architecture for effective BIM/GIS-based facility management data integration

a r t i c l e i n f o Keywords: BIM GIS FM Integration Surface model BG-ETL In this study, we propose software architecture for the effective integration of building information modeling (BIM) into a geographic information system (GIS)-based facilities management (FM) system. This requires the acquisition of data from various sources followed by the transformation of these data into an appropriate format. The integration and representation of heterogeneous data in a GIS are very important for use cases involving both BIM and GIS data, such as in the management of municipal facilities. We propose a BIM/GIS-based information Extract, Transform, and Load (BG-ETL) architecture that separates geometrical information from that related to the relevant properties. The property required for each use-case perspective is extracted and transformed from information for the BIM with FM to GIS using the ETL concept. In consideration of the viewpoint of geometry, the surface model for several representations in the GIS, we designed BG-ETL, developed a prototype, and verified the results through interviews. The results show that BG-ETL considering BIM/GIS integration issue has benefits such as reusability and extensibility. The integration of data through geographic information system (GIS)-based building information modeling (BIM) has recently emerged as an important area of research. Several studies have investigated the benefits of the effective integration of BIM and GIS [10,11]. This process generally involves the extraction and transformation of information required by each stakeholder in the relevant project. GIS and BIM are similar in that they both model spatial information — the former is used for outdoor modeling and the latter for indoor model-ing — and have common use cases, such as location-based municipal facilities information queries and management. In order to realize use cases based on BIM and GIS, effective interoperability between GIS and BIM should be supported by an appropriate platform. To facilitate information interoperability in the construction sector, buildingSMART has developed and standardized the Industry Foundation Class (IFC) data model in a significant effort to accommodate industry requirements. IFC is an integrated model schema that describes construction information. It uses an object-oriented method to integrate information required by the relevant stakeholders in a project. Attempts to integrate information models using IFC have aimed to achieve the relevant objectives. However, there are practical issues in solving the integration problem. For example, during information exchange between heterogeneous systems or commercial modeling software using IFCs, some loss or …