Complaint processing system for facility management using augmented reality and building information modeling integration

Abstract

Facility management (FM) operations are instrumental in improving the operational performance, sustainability, and occupant satisfaction within facilities. Efficient facility management operations not only promise significant cost savings and improved resource allocation but they also contribute to enhanced environmental sustainability. One important aspect of achieving effective facility management operations is the adept management of facility issues. This plays a pivotal role in fostering occupant well-being and productivity by ensuring optimal working conditions. This, in turn, has the potential to significantly improve the overall quality and efficiency for facility occupants. Occupant feedback is one area where facility managers can gather valuable feedback to evaluate the facility condition. Despite the undeniable importance of occupant feedback in enhancing the operational efficiency of facilities, existing methodologies for feedback collection still exhibit some weak points. Traditional mechanisms for gathering occupant feedback are often inadequate, lacking the capability to capture detailed and spatially relevant information. Because of this shortfall, it is challenging to effectively identify and address the root causes of complaints or suggestions, thereby hindering the optimization of facility management operations. In light of these challenges, this thesis proposes a system to enhance the way feedback and complaints are collected and processed within facilities. By integrating Augmented Reality (AR) with Building Information Model (BIM) , this study introduces a facility management system designed to bridge the deficiencies of the existing feedback gathering methods. This system empowers both occupants and facility management personnel with the ability to visualize their surroundings and access detailed component information source directly from building information models. The core of our study is the exploration of potential methodologies for integrating building information model and AR within a mobile application framework, aimed to address the prevailing deficiencies in feedback collection and complaint management processes. The developed AR-BIM application enables the overlay and visualization of building information model onto the real-world using augmented reality technology. Predefined markers are scanned by the application to accurately superimpose the building information model on to the real world. This visualization empowers the users to navigate their physical surroundings, enhanced with virtual representations of building information model elements, thus significantly augmenting spatial awareness of users. The application's user interface is designed to facilitate interaction with BIM components, allowing users to select BIM elements and subsequently access relevant technical data sourced directly from the BIM. Simultaneously, facility management personnel are equipped with features to efficiently analyze the user feedback and complaints, thanks to both the detailed information provided by occupants and application's ability to visualize and provide technical data from the BIM. A distinctive feature of the application is its capability to attach feedback or complaints directly to the selected BIM elements. By doing so the application enriches the feedback with precise spatial data. This allows facility management personnel to effectively see highlighted elements and sift through various complaints. These processes in turn allows the application to maintain a digital record history of all of the performed processes. By offering a substantial improvement over traditional feedback collection methods, particularly through the provision of spatial data linked directly to BIM elements, our system represents a significant advancement in the field of facility management. To evaluate the performance of the proposed AR-BIM system and gather user feedback, we developed a mobile application and conducted usability tests utilizing a mockup model due to the difficult nature of obtaining the model of an actively used facility and obtaining permissions to conduct usability tests in real world inside the active facility. These tests were designed to compare the augmented reality application's effectiveness with traditional feedback collection methods, presented by a basic form-based two-dimensional (2D) application, which was developed for this evaluation. The 2D application provides a conventional approach for users to submit their feedback through form filling and it also includes the capability to scan predefined markers to display the layout of the current facility's floor plan. This feature allows users to place pins on the layout, adding spatial data to their feedback, thereby serving as a benchmark for comparison with the augmented reality application. Upon the completion of all test scenarios, participants were invited to provide their insights by filling out System Usability Scale (SUS) questionnaire and a Post Evaluation Questionnaire (PEQ). The PEQ was developed to capture immediate feedback from users following their interaction with the application. The PEQ aimed to delve deeper into users' experiences, specifically regarding the application's UI design, potential feature implementations, and the effectiveness of implemented features. This dual approach enabled the collection of both standardized usability metrics and specific user feedback on the application's design and features. These SUS results are promising for a prototype but suggest room for improvement. The evaluation's participant group was relatively homogeneous in terms of technological familiarity, which might not fully represent the diversity of real-world facility management teams. Future evaluations should aim for a broader participant pool to ensure the application's usability and effectiveness across a wider range of users, acknowledging the differences in age and tech-savviness among facility management personnel. The findings from our usability tests indicated no significant difference in the time required for users to report complaints between the two applications. Despite the minimal time difference, participants reported a notable enhancement in their spatial awareness when using the augmented reality application. This increased awareness, combined with the ability to access technical data for elements sourced from the BIM, instilled a greater confidence in users when reporting complaints or providing feedback. This feedback underscores the augmented reality application's potential to improve the user experience by facilitating a more intuitive and informed interaction with the facility environment. However, from the perspective of facility management personnel, quantifying the application's impact poses certain challenges, primarily due to the specialized nature of facility management work. An accurate evaluation of the application's effectiveness in real-world facility management operations would require its assessment by professional facility management personnel, confronting actual facility management challenges. The usability tests, while informative, inherently possess limitations due to their simulated nature and the diverse professional backgrounds of the participants. These factors contribute to the difficulty in fully replicating the complex real-world scenarios encountered by facility management personnel, thereby complicating the assessment of the application's practical effects for facility management personnel. In conclusion, while the usability tests provide valuable insights into the augmented reality application's potential benefits in terms of enhanced spatial awareness and user confidence, further research and real-world testing are necessary to fully understand its impact on facility management personnel. The exploration of the application's utility in addressing real-world facility management challenges, as experienced by professional facility management personnel, will be crucial in validating its effectiveness and identifying areas for further refinement.