Beyond the "Cool" Factor: Why Managing Facilities and Vertical Assets using GIS and BIM Makes Business Sense

While managing linear assets and networks using a Geographic Information System (GIS) is a broadly adopted and well understood pattern, progressive utilities are finally bringing three-dimensional (3D) modeling capabilities, Building Information Management (BIM) software, and real-time sensors together to create comprehensive solutions for managing facilities and vertical assets. By integrating design and engineering models with real-time sensor and control system data, this integrated approach can provide a whole new level of understanding for long-time operators, recent treatment plant hires, and contractors who are just starting to work in a facility. This presentation will include an overview of this approach and includes the work of Milwaukee Metropolitan Sewer District (MMSD), Wisconsin, in this area. MMSD is approaching facility and vertical asset management programmatically involving stakeholders from across the utility including GIS, Engineering, Treatment/Production, and leadership. And because GIS is their central means of managing the data, capturing new data, and sharing data with end users, they can integrate their vertical assets into their broader linear asset management analytics. Data capture and gathering is the first phase of the process. The approach ideally begins with the requirement that engineering designs for vertical assets (ex. treatment plants, pump stations, lift stations, and new office buildings) be submitted in a 3D BIM format. However, utilities are using whatever information is available for older facilities and centralizing this information using GIS as a common interface. Techniques such as LiDAR scanning and surveying of existing facilities will provide detailed information, as will detailed reviews of existing CAD data, subsurface locating, and records reviews of old design and as-built information. The second phase involves tagging the individual assets to enable the implementation of a formal asset management program. Once the data is collected and centralized, it can be used to develop either a 2D GIS of the facility or, if enough detail is available, a 3D BIM of the facility. Assets can then be attributed with unique IDs and relevant data such as make, model, and serial number. Site visits in conjunction with senior plant operators are an excellent method for ensuring that institutional knowledge is not lost. Once the data collection and asset attribution phases are complete, assets that can be monitored can be brought to life through real-time integrations of sensors. This can yield several benefits including better operational control over assets, preemptive maintenance identification, and more effective energy management. The relationships will need to be established between assets, sensors, and functional systems, resulting in a real-world model. If a BIM is created for the facility, real-time SCADA data including pressure, flow, temperature, vibration, and volume can be incorporated into the 3D GIS model. Dashboarding capabilities can then be built to provide a dynamic display of the performance of each asset, which can then be monitored in the context of its relationship to the overall process it is supporting. MMSD provides water reclamation and flood management services for 1.1 million people in the Greater Milwaukee Area. They are building scalable and maintainable solutions for sharing their water reclamation facilities' data, with a key focus on ensuring integration with other business systems. MMSD's focus on the accuracy of the models and on improving information exchange helps to reduce errors, conflicts, and unnecessary rework in the design and construction phases for work on both existing and new facilities. One recent project includes a new effluent pump station that included 140 assets spread over an 11,500 square foot area and two floors. The integrated GIS-BIM approach helped to better inform their capital plan while providing an easily navigable model for staff and contractors.