Enhancing the facilities management process through the application of building information modelling as a tool for managing the Irish public sector estates

The Irish Government manages estates faced with increased pressure on their greenhouse gas emissions, as well as poorly managed assets that leave it increasingly difficult for an effective facilities management (FM) process to be operated. In order for Ireland to realise a smarter and better-equipped public estate which can respond to increased staffing demands, it is critical that a new dimension of FM be explored. Such an avenue, as highlighted by Forfás — Ireland's policy advisory board for enterprise, trade, science, technology and innovation — can come in the form of information and communication technology (ICT), which can enable companies to remain competitive. One action proposed by Forfás is to work with industry organisations to drive increased adoption of ICT uptake such as building information modelling (BIM). The UK has begun to apply such a strategy, which has been evident from the development and partnership of the Government Soft Landings (GSL) policy and BIM. This paper will review the current state of the Irish FM sector and investigate how adopting a similar approach to the combined UK GSL policy and BIM implementation strategy could help to move the Irish Government towards a more enhanced estate. The data collation methodology adopted by the authors in this paper included the use of a questionnaire survey that was designed and distributed in collaboration with the Irish Facilities Property Management sector. It is hoped that the research findings will demonstrate the business case for the implementation of BIM and, in particular, the adoption of a similar soft landings policy in advancing the Irish FM sector.