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 Building Information Modeling Execution Plan 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.

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The BIM for skilled trades initiative strives to enable skilled trades to have mobile, data‐rich BIM models allowing them to better access information. With the information at their fingertips, they can maintain mechanical equipment throughout the campus in a more efficient manner.  This initiative strives to achieve a new information gathering process that will be more efficient than the previously existing procedure and, therefore, save on resources that can then be reallocated and repurposed, ultimately achieving increased efficiency across the Operation Division.  Classroom training for the skilled trades was done in a small group setting, using a hand-on approach with a training manual.