Doubling Down on Efficiency: Creating a Digital Twin at UNC Charlotte
If one combines building information modeling (BIM) with the latest scanning tools and the best practices in asset management, it’s possible to create a digital twin, a virtual replica of a building or facility that exists in the digital realm. Digital twins are not yet commonplace in the A/E/C industry, but their popularity is growing. A recent project at UNC Charlotte demonstrates why.
Background
Many months ago, Syska’s engineers met with the facilities management team at UNC Charlotte to introduce themselves and discuss various commissioning and design services.
During that meeting, Syska talked about its work on the New York-Presbyterian David H. Koch Ambulatory Care Center in New York City. That work included extensive use of BIM, which Syska employed not only to make engineering calculations, but also to log information on assets – physical items in a facility that must be managed, maintained, or regularly replaced.
The UNC Charlotte team was intrigued, recognizing that a comprehensive asset database would simplify the work of facility managers and operations staff. After further discussion, Syska proposed a BIM model that would meet the highest Level of Development (LOD) – 500 – which is significantly more advanced than models used in standard construction documents. Typical models are LOD 250-300, which limits the amount of information to physical size for “the largest available similar product” to prove constructability.
Attaining LOD 500 for the UNC Charlotte model would incorporate laser scans of the building to generate 3D models of assets and provide full details of each, including their conduits, maintenance histories, and operating instructions, effectively turning the BIM model into a true digital twin.
The UNC Charlotte team was intrigued, recognizing that a comprehensive asset database would simplify the work of facility managers and operations staff.
The Start
The first step was to choose an appropriate building to replicate. UNC Charlotte decided on the Facilities, Operations, and Parking Services building, AKA “FOPS.” FOPS, an approximately 32,500-square-foot, single-story administrative structure, houses the engineering team, the IT team for facilities, the maintenance operations staff, and the parking staff.
“We always use this building for experiments because if things go wrong, we’re right here to fix it,” says Don Janus, director of engineering for UNC Charlotte’s facilities management department.
But the project went smoothly, which Don attributes in part to “the breadth and depth of the Syska team.”
“We always use this building for experiments because if things go wrong, we’re right here to fix it.”
Don Janus, Director of Engineering, UNC Charlotte
Scanning played a fundamental role in the replication process. According to Brandon Henson, Syska’s project manager, the team used tools like Matterport and OpenSpace AI to convert images into 3D models, which were then uploaded into a point cloud. Although scanning sometimes presented logistical challenges, such as the need to remove ceiling tiles when spaces were unoccupied to reach certain equipment, the resulting images were easily converted. Mike Ortega from Syska’s New York office and Matt McCarthy from the Richmond office, both BIM specialists, oversaw the conversions along with consultant Symetri and Josh Parker, UNC Charlotte’s former BIM manager who now serves as assistant director of asset management.
After scans were converted to the 3D Revit model, the Syska BIM team went to work on confirming that all assets were modeled in their exact location as in the real-life building. A team from Syska’s Shanghai office then entered the asset data into the BIM model along with BIM specialist Ricky Johnson.
Although scanning sometimes presented logistical challenges, such as the need to remove ceiling tiles when spaces were unoccupied to reach certain equipment, the resulting images were easily converted.
The Finished Product
Once the model was built in Revit, it was then loaded onto a platform called Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC), which gives the end user the ability to have all the information for multiple buildings on one platform. The result is what Don describes as a “single source of truth” that helps facility managers troubleshoot and make informed decisions. “Now we understand everything this building should be doing at all times,” he says. “If we start deviating from that, we can get ourselves back in line.” He adds that the digital twin can also guide decisions about future projects.
Don and Brandon note that access to comprehensive data solves two common problems affecting the facilities management industry. One is the retirement of experienced employees. They’ve worked at one site for so long that they have all the relevant details about equipment in their heads. When new employees take over these roles, digital twins support knowledge transfer. Don and Brandon also point out that younger generations grew up with tools to access information rapidly. Digital twins offer the immediacy that they expect.
“Now we understand everything this building should be doing at all times. If we start deviating from that, we can get ourselves back in line.”
Don Janus, Director of Engineering, UNC Charlotte
Next Steps
Don hopes to create digital twins for other campus buildings, now that a template has been established. Eventually, he’d like to integrate the data with UNC Charlotte’s work order management system and potentially other systems. This kind of integration is what he views as “the final goal and promise of the digital twin.” Brandon agrees. In a blog he recently wrote for Syska’s Innovations subsidiary, he stated that “the digital counterpart can evolve from a static model into a dynamic, real-time simulation that can mirror the real performance of the building or facility.”
Brandon and Don would like to see other academic facilities embrace this technology. For those that aren’t yet ready, Don suggests some basic steps they can take to make their data cleaner and more reliable. For example, if an institution has no standard naming convention for its equipment, there are many suggested models available online. He also recommends regular communication between the people scanning equipment and the people entering the data. “Don’t expect to build a digital twin overnight,” he cautions. “Little steps prepare you for the big steps.”
Brandon believes that digital twins can benefit other industry sectors, too. As he observes in his blog, digital twins can track temperature variations and power usage across server racks in data centers, allowing personnel to react to equipment breakdowns and emergencies quickly. In hospitals, digital twins can ensure that maintenance of central utility plants, chillers and other equipment is performed on schedule, thereby extending the lifecycle of these assets.
More immediately, Brandon is excited about continuing the relationship with UNC Charlotte, which is his alma mater and that of several Syska colleagues. “As UNC Charlotte alumni, we take extra pride in working on campus projects,” he states.
Don, too, is a UNC Charlotte alum. In fact, he graduated the same year as Brandon did. “We were both the troublemakers sitting in the back of the class,” he confesses. Today, the opposite is true. Through the digital twin project, the two are promoting discipline -- for the benefit of UNC Charlotte and for the wider facilities management industry.