Case study – BIM-based FM implementation on a 32-building university campus

Model-based operation
on 120,000 square metres

Building Information Modelling (BIM) is a relatively new field in building management. It involves accessing and updating the available data about buildings in a single digital model. This Researchgate case study uses the example of an urban campus at Northumbria University in England to illustrate how BIM works and its benefits for building operations.

The project

The Northumbria University campus has 32 buildings covering a combined area of more than 120,000 m². In 2010, the university decided to have BIM models of the campus buildings created to make their land management more efficient and transparent.

Five developers produced the models in five weeks for £0.33/m². They used existing floor plans (in DWG format), scanned point clouds, facade and section drawings (in JPEG format) and Excel databases.

Easier and more efficient

In the previous process, campus drawings and room data were updated in separate systems by separate people. With digitization, BIM technology has enabled all information to be updated automatically in a single system.

This replaced 100% of the work of a full-time CAD technician, saving the university around £25,000 a year. At the same time, the production of drawings, 3D models and other documents has also become significantly faster.

More accurate information

During the preparation of the BIM models, many inaccuracies in the earlier drawings were discovered. These discrepancies were corrected by new field surveys, significantly improving the accuracy and reliability of the data. In the long term, this has led to much more accurate building management, which has further reduced costs.

Request for information

The great advantage of BIM is that all the information needed is easily and immediately available to users. For example, the presence of asbestos in buildings can be quickly checked: with a single click, you can see where and in what form this hazardous material is present, when it was removed and where the relevant documentation is available.

And for maintenance, simple information such as the type of a lamp, the warranty letter of a pump or the paint colour code of a room is instantly available, significantly shortening maintenance processes.

Simpler planning and decision-making

BIM also makes it easy to draw up and compare renovation and conversion plans. This not only saves time and money for the university, but also improves the quality of strategic decisions, as stakeholders can more easily see the options and implications.

Introduction of model-based operations

During the university project, the following challenges arose:

• Technical interoperability problems: in many cases, BIM software was not compatible with existing operational systems (e.g., CAFM, building automation).
• Different technology lifetimes: BIM software is updated quickly, while management systems and the buildings themselves change much more slowly.
• Imprecise requirements: precise standards on exactly what data should be included in models are still being developed, and this is hampering widespread market uptake.
• Lack of skills and cultural resistance: few operational professionals have BIM skills, and in many cases, they are resistant to technological change.

Summary

The example of the university campus shows that BIM offers significant benefits for operations. It simplifies work, speeds up access to information and improves the accuracy of data, supporting better strategic decisions (Source: Researchgate.net, 2015).

BIM FM Hungary, 2025

The case study above is a 2015 update of a project that started in 2010. A few years have passed since then, but many of the problems are still recognisable and therefore need to be managed.

What does this mean, what is the situation today and to what extent is BIM model-based operation justified in Hungary?

On the one hand, the introduction of BIM legislation in Hungary has greatly encouraged and enforced the use of BIM, thus laying the foundations for the spread of building information modelling.

The introduction of the ISO 19650 standard in Hungary will unify BIM-based information management processes, which will improve interoperability, increase the reliability of model data and provide a solid basis for CAFM integration.

The third volume of the standard series, ISO 19650-3, specifically addresses the operational phase of facilities and provides help on how the models developed can be implemented in operation.

The emergence of ESG in Hungary has put the spotlight on data-driven building management for sustainability – BIM with a modern management system helps both energy efficiency and transparency while contributing greatly to meeting ESG requirements.

On the cost side, national and EU tenders provide financial support to energy efficiency and digital transformation, making model-based operation widely available to businesses.

The technology itself has evolved a lot, and this makes it easier to enter the world of building information modelling and advanced CAFM systems. The new generation of cloud-based BIM software (such as Dalux FM) is much easier to use and more affordable than its predecessors, and thanks to standardiZation it can be more easily integrated with other systems (e.g. BMS, IoT), which greatly facilitates implementation and reduces implementation costs.

On the hardware and software side, IoT devices that increase operational efficiency and reduce costs through digital twins have also become viable. Artificial intelligence is also increasingly helping to make building operations more efficient (e.g. automated fault detection, predictive maintenance), further reducing operating costs.

The proliferation of universities (BME, PTE, Edutus and many others) and various BIM education programmes in Hungary is also trying to ensure a continuous supply of new talent, so the human factor (resistance to change, etc.) is also decreasing as a barrier to digital transformation.

Overall, the above ensures that BIM-based building management will become a realistic, accessible and economically viable solution in Hungary by 2025.

For years BuildEXT has been implementing technology-architecture pilot projects that make life easier and better for property owners, investors and operators, because we do not stop at the design stage, but as a digital integrator, we follow the construction process and use the data to build a CAFM solution tailored to the client’s needs.

These projects usually deliver a return on investment within 1-2 years, sustainable and transparent operations, reducing long-term risks (e.g. unexpected maintenance, energy price volatility) and increasing the competitive advantage of our partners.

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We are currently implementing a BIM model-based management system in 3 office buildings, and we have several construction projects in the construction phase where we have prepared the model for building operation ☛ if you are interested in this topic, contact us or subscribe to our newsletter!