Operations & Maintenance

Operations and Maintenance (O&M) Platforms

The use of computerized maintenance management systems (CMMS) is a best practice for general building operations and maintenance and goes a long way toward creating an efficient, high-performing building. High-quality CMMS constantly and consistently analyze equipment and systems for signs of trouble, including the use of additional energy. 

Further, newer buildings and newly completed renovations will be handed over to building owners and operators through the Construction-Operations Building information exchange (COBie) and many properties are beginning to use COBie-coded data for their existing buildings. The Whole Building Design Guide (WBDG) describes COBie as follows: 

COBie is a performance-based specification for facility asset information delivery. Two types of assets are included in COBie: equipment and spaces. While manufacturer data for installed products and equipment may one day be directly available (via the SPie project), COBie helps the project team organize electronic submittals approved during design and construction and deliver a consolidated electronic O&M manual with little or no additional effort. COBie data may then be imported directly into CMMS and asset management software, again at no cost. The PDF, drawing, and building information model files that accompany COBie are organized so that they can be easily accessed through the secure server directories already in place at the facility management office. The federal government's requirement for delivery of Real Property Inventory (RPI) information may be met by COBie. 

While the technical details of COBie can appear complex, COBie files are not intended for end-users. COBie provides system-to-system exchange of the space and equipment information without user intervention. Consider COBie and similar "information exchange" projects to be a kind of "ASCII for buildings." Today, people don't need to know ASCII to use a web browser, email system, word processor, or other software; the words just come along because of ASCII. In the same way, once we have achieved COBie everywhere, only a very few programmers will need to give COBie a second thought.

 Notably, the use of COBie has increased in recent years. It is now an open standard available in more than 30 “off-the-shelf” CMMS and building software systems. The relatively new electronic standard has exceptional promise for increasing building efficiency from both a manpower and energy perspective. 

 As the Whole Building Design Guide notes: 

“Even if a CMMS is used, mechanics need to search for information in these paper boxes to complete many of their jobs. Over time such documents are moved or lost which increases the cost to complete O&M activities and potentially increasing downtime of mission-critical facilities. A 2011 study predicted that 8% of the annual maintenance budget could be saved if open-standard electronic information were available to the technicians before starting complex work orders. Such savings could allow man-years of additional work towards backlogs or needed renovations. During the life of a project the owner collects and recollects information again and again, transcribing and then losing the same information over and over.”