Enhance Construction Asset & Equipment Tracking with the New BIM 360 Assets Module  

Interested in learning more about the new Assets Module in BIM 360? Watch our webinar recording here. 

The construction industry is massive. In 2018 alone, the global construction industry  spent 11.4 trillion US dollars. In addition to steady growth, construction projects are only growing in complexity putting higher demands on teams. With 25% of projects growing past scope of work in the field by over 30%, teams can’t afford to risk any loss of productivity.   

A big part of any project is the managing and tracking of construction assets. This can include  system components, moveable equipment, building materials, or even rooms or areas. Whether you are a contractor or owner, the tracking, installation, and commissioning of these construction assets is critical in ensuring a successful project delivery.  

With the introduction of the new Assets Module in BIM 360, teams can now easily track key milestones  in the asset lifespan, from design and fabrication, to delivery, installation, commissioning, and ultimately handover. Additionally, all asset-related documentation, including product information such as cut-sheets and warranty documents are stored in a centralized database repository. Data is easy to export and  connects to other project workflows like Checklists and Issues.  

“The BIM 360 Asset module saves our team time as well as reduces the amount of paper documentation needed outside of the platform,” says Simon Terroitin, BIM Coordinator at EBC, Inc. “Having this tool means we can now connect assets status to the construction process and access it in the field.” 

The Benefits of Asset and Equipment Tracking in Construction 

When executed properly, using a platform solution for asset and equipment tracking can help teams improve their overall project quality, especially when it comes to the commissioning and handover phase. Here are a few ways a solution like BIM 360 Assets can help your team:  

1. Accelerated Commissioning & Quicker Resolutions – with all your asset related information organized in a central location, teams can quickly access relevant documents, flag and respond to defects, and initiate faster inspections and testing.   
2. Lower Project Costs – by giving teams a better lifecycle tool to track and manage assets from design through construction, it minimizes the amount of costly rework across different teams.    
3. Improved Transparency – maintaining clear project status visibility is a key part of successful project management as well as gives accurate information to clients. By having a central location to track and manage all assets and equipment, teams always have an updated single source of truth. 
4. Reduced Risk – since teams now have historical records for each asset or piece of equipment, it is easy to reference any work completed or issues to avoid any future warranty or litigation issues.  
5. Faster Transition to Operations – owners want to move into operating their buildings as quickly as possible. With all information organized for a quicker handover, contractors don’t need to waste precious time at the end of the project searching for documentation to close out the project. As an added bonus, this typically leads to better client relationships and a higher probability of repeat work!  

Improve Commissioning & Handover with our ebook - Ultimate Guide to Leveraging Data in Construction Lifecycles.

BIM 360 Assets: Key Features 

The BIM 360 Assets module delivers a user-friendly and centralized place to track and manage the lifecycle of project assets and equipment from design through handover. Since this is a brand-new module, here are a few of the key feature highlights that can help you get started:  

• Centralized Documentation - Quickly access all asset information including product information such as cut-sheets, certifications, training materials, and warranty documents through a centralized repository. 

“BIM360 Assets provides a single dashboard for tracking and managing various project asset types and gives us a visible path from construction through operations,” says Andy Leek, Vice President of Technology & Innovation at PARIC. “It will also make handover a much more seamless process.” 

• Customization - Easily track when an asset has been specified all the way through acceptance using custom statuses and attributes.  

“Having a fully customizable asset tracking tool that is linked directly to things like documents, issues, checklists, and locations, as well as the ability to extract all of this information all at once for handover, is what every contractor has been dreaming of for the past 20 years,” says Simon Terroitin, BIM Coordinator at EBC, Inc.  

• Integrated Field Management Workflows - Connect assets and commissioning efforts to other field management workflows like Checklists and Issues.  

“The best thing about the new asset module is the ability to apply checklists across multiple phases of delivery,” says Michael Murphy, Digital Construction Operations Manager at BAM Ireland. “This is a more ‘true to life’ approach which now means we can better integrate asset /element-centric approaches into our rapidly evolving digitized workflows.” 

• Barcode / QR Code Scanner - Carry out relevant inspections and ongoing maintenance effortlessly with the simple scan of a barcode or QR code from your mobile device.  
• Defects - Quickly document any defects by capturing photos and attaching them directly to an asset.  
• Inspections / Testing - Easily complete any onsite inspections or testing by connecting assets to Checklists.   
• Mobile Accessibility - View commissioning and asset related information onsite allowing for quick resolutions.  
• Asset List Imports – Quickly populate your asset list from Excel.  
• Connection to Assemble - Easily extract asset data directly from the model and import into BIM 360 Assets module. This allows the office team to track assets in the field as well as gives field team’s visibility into asset data from the model. With a bi-directional connection, teams can see progress visualizations in Assemble that includes all updated asset information generated in the field. 

Learn more about how asset and equipment tracking can help enhance your commissioning and handover workflows!