Autodesk BIM 360 Ops has been displaced by Autodesk Tandem some years ago when we moved from the BIM 360 to the Autodesk Construction Cloud.

“Autodesk Tandem helps owners connect operational systems to the digital twin turning fragmented data into business intelligence.”

The advantage of the construction cloud is that all the databases are connected to each other which means it is a true common data environment. This is what was missing from BIM 360. The models and documents that are loaded onto the Autodesk construction cloud can now directly be referenced by Autodesk Tandem. This makes Autodesk Tandem the preferred platform to construct the digital twin with.

The creation of the digital twin is useful, not least of all for facilities management. However, when you delve into Tandem you will soon realize that it does not cater for specifically for facilities management. Instead, Autodesk has partnered with other companies to close the FM loop.

In essence, facilities maintenance management can be seen in terms of three maintenance categories.

Scheduled maintenance is what we need to perform to keep the asset serviceable according to a set schedule as per the instructions of the manufacturers and designers.

Predictive maintenance is the ability to measure the continuous output by instrumentation and to recognize anomalies as indicating a failing system such that it can be fixed before significant degradation or failure.

Reactive maintenance is the least desirable of the maintenance categories. It is usually the most expensive and dangerous maintenance that follows events that were not planned or predicted.

The ability to assign each of these maintenance activities above to parties that are responsible for fixing the assets, and having the ability to track and record the maintenance events on a day-to-day basis is important. Did the party assigned the responsibility not respond? Then escalate the ticket, after which it might be assigned to another party and again followed up.

Is the fix recorded? Who installed the fix? What is the warrantee? Are there any new or additional maintenance requirements? Has the data been captured in the digital twin and can it be queried.

The ISO standards that may apply and create a framework within which to operate are the following:
• ISO 9001 – Organizational Management
• ISO 5500 & ISO 21500 – Asset & Project Management
• ISO 19650 – Information Management

While the technical process that enables maintenance management is most interesting to technical geeks like me, there is another very important thing to consider – finances (and this may be THE most important item to the owner).

The integration of the maintenance management activities with the enterprise resource planning software is therefore important to impose the relevant financial controls and to plan maintenance according to depreciation of the assets (when is it cheaper to fix assets as opposed to replacing them). Further analysis of data may inform the development of the assets around market forces to maximize profits. When and where to invest in a property portfolio, for instance.

Eptura is perhaps most relevant to architectural buildings. Eptura has a vision of improving the current consumption of energy during the construction and operation of buildings. Around 40% if the planet’s energy is used for this and therefore operating buildings efficiently will benefit the environment, but also the bottom line of the owner over the life of the building. Eptura states that “Over 95% of data generated during design and construction is lost or underutilized.” They aim to empower the Facilities Manager to use this data to make informed decisions about:
• Maintenance and operations
• Enhanced cleaning
• hygiene protocols
• improved security
• space utilization
• energy consumption.

I attended an Eptura demonstration to a prospective South African client and it overcomes and surpasses the shortcomings of Tandem in comparison to Ops. It does require additional investment over and above constructing the Tandem digital twin.

The other solution that can use the Tandem digital twin is Datum360. Although I have not had personal exposure to Datum360, I have it on good authority that is being used in the South African mining, process engineering and petrochemical industries.

Various standards can be leveraged across sectors.

Use a federated model to control your information requirements.

Datum360 allows for the digital twin to connect to ERP systems and other databases.

Get real-time data intelligence from the digital twin and the data this is generate around it.

If you need help adopting the AEC Collection or the Autodesk Construction Cloud in your practice or if you are looking to invest in hardware, please contact Micrographics so that we may be of assistance.

Still looking for answers? Start a discussion with other professionals in your industry!