A study on software architecture for effective BIM/GIS-based facility management data integration

Abstract In this study, we propose software architecture for the effective integration of building information modeling (BIM) into a geographic information system (GIS)-based facilities management (FM) system. This requires the acquisition of data from various sources followed by the transformation of these data into an appropriate format. The integration and representation of heterogeneous data in a GIS are very important for use cases involving both BIM and GIS data, such as in the management of municipal facilities. We propose a BIM/GIS-based information Extract, Transform, and Load (BG-ETL) architecture that separates geometrical information from that related to the relevant properties. The property required for each use-case perspective is extracted and transformed from information for the BIM with FM to GIS using the ETL concept. In consideration of the viewpoint of geometry, the surface model for several representations in the GIS, we designed BG-ETL, developed a prototype, and verified the results through interviews. The results show that BG-ETL considering BIM/GIS integration issue has benefits such as reusability and extensibility.