BIM-based framework for managing performance of subway stations Mohamed Marzouk ⁎, Ahmed Abdelaty Structural Engineering Department, Faculty of Engineering, Cairo University, Egypt abstract article info Article history: Accepted 8 February 2014 Available online 5 March 2014 Keywords: Building Information Modeling Wireless Sensor Network Thermal comfort PM concentration levels Subway stations Rapid transit systems are considered a sustainable mode of transportation compared to other modes of transpor- tation taking into consideration number of passengers, energy consumed and amount of pollution emitted. Build- ing Information Modeling (BIM) is utilized in this research along with a global ranking system to monitor Indoor Environmental Quality (IEQ) in subway stations. The research is concerned with developing global rating system for subway stations' networks. The developed framework is capable of monitoring indoor temperature and Par- ticulate Matter (PM) concentration levels in subway stations. A rating system is developed using Simos' ranking method in order to determine the weights of different components contributing to the whole level of service of a subway station as well as maintenance priority indices. A case study is presented to illustrate the use of the pro- posed system. The developed ranking system showed its effectiveness in ranking maintenance actions globally. © 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. 1. Introduction Rapid transit systems have gained a lot of tension due to the large number of passengers using these systems worldwide. These systems provide a safe and a rapid tool of transportation to daily commuters. In addition, they are considered a sustainable, environment-friendly mode of transportation. Many subway stations have been constructed several years ago and they are prone to deterioration and failure to pro- vide acceptable services. As a result, there is an urgent need to maintain subway station at an acceptable level that provides a safe and comfort- able service to users. The process of maintaining subway stations at an acceptable level requires fund allocation among existing running sub- way stations. Across the world, the majority of rapid transit systems consist of several interchanging lines. The importance of every line varies according to some factors such as number of users and impor- tance of locations the line serves. Similarly, subway stations vary in im- portance due to several factors such as the availability of using other modes of transportation. Subway stations connecting two or more lines in the rapid transit network have more importance compared to other subway stations. Its asset managers should determine the factors which affect the level of importance of every component inside subway station. Determination of components' importance and maintenance priority indices is a complex task and is governed by the preferences of the asset managers. There is a real need to prioritize maintenance ac- tions among different subway stations according to their importance and contribution to the whole level of service. Asset managers need a proper maintenance/rehabilitation in order to mitigate the conse- quences of service failure in rapid transit systems. PM 10 and PM 2.5 concentrations have a great effect on the health of passengers and can cause many dangerous diseases [1]. Greater Cairo has high rates of pollution in terms of PM levels and different pollutant gases [2]. The United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) de- fines the PM as a combination between very small particles and liquid droplets. PM has many sources such as dust particles and metals [3]. PM 10 is defined as particles that have a diameter which is less than 10 μm while PM 2.5 is the particles with diameters less than 2.5 μm [4]. Few research studies addressing subway station asset management or monitoring indoor environmental quality for subway stations were con- ducted. Also, research studies that address network level asset manage- ment were few. Although BIM has proved to be a powerful tool in construction research and industry, research efforts have been made to enable integration between BIM and monitoring indoor environmen- tal quality [5]. This research study tackles a new approach to use BIM in monitoring IEQ for subway stations. In the first part of this research study, an attempt to monitor indoor environmental quality using BIM and modern communication technology is developed. The second part of this research study seeks development of a network level mainte- nance rating system for subway stations. 2. Background Previous attempts have been made to develop asset management plans. Semaan and Zayed [6] developed stochastic diagnostic model for subway stations taking in consideration different functional condi- tion criteria. The model is capable of identifying functional condition criteria, set up the hierarchical structure of criteria and assesses criteria's weights. The allocated weights to these criteria were determined using Automation in Construction 41 (2014) 70–77 ⁎ Corresponding author. Tel.: +20 2 35678442; fax: +20 2 35723486. E-mail address: mm_marzouk@yahoo.com (M. Marzouk). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.autcon.2014.02.004 0926-5805/© 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved. Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Automation in Construction journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/autcon