Building Information Modeling
New construction
All new capital projects are required to be designed and constructed utilizing BIM. The university has a BIM Project Execution and Standards Guide that must be followed. After construction, the as-built BIM model is delivered to Facility Records where it is then synchronized with the universities computerized maintenance management system to transmit data from the BIM to initially populate the CMMS. Skilled trades are able to navigate BIM models with their iPads to virtually access critical information for servicing campus.
For all new capital projects, Western requires that the last version of the is followed.
Existing construction
WMU's skilled trades are not limited to BIM information that resulted from new construction. Facility Records has modeled all existing buildings on campus to a more feasible lower level of detail, however adequately suitable for georeferencing critical building information. An initial mechanical category of information has been added to the BIM models in a strategic way that allowed the critical information to be automatically populated with synchronization to the CMMS. This practice has been acknowledged and received APPA's Effective and Innovative Practices Award for 2015.