Data and real estate management

At the same time, managing large amounts of data can be quite a challenge. Editing and or enriching data to make it usable for analysis takes a lot of time. Moreover, storage of those amounts of information can be quite costly. It is therefore important that you as a real estate organization ask yourself in advance what information you need before you start collecting it.

As a real estate organization, how do you determine which data and information you need?

Real estate data goes beyond the technical (architectural and installation) data. Financial data, user data, energy and climate data also provide important information when determining future-oriented real estate policy. Unreliable information due to poor data can cause the right decisions not to be made, with adverse consequences. At the same time, the unnecessary information causes confusion and undesired delay.

Data and information can be used if they meet the following criteria: useful, complete, correct, uniform and transparent. Determining the information that is right for the organization is a complex process with many aspects, but it starts with asking yourself the right questions. What (policy) objectives should the real estate contribute to? What is the role of real estate? What regulations are we dealing with? What are the contractual obligations? Are there social issues that have an impact? What data sources do we already have and what information do we need? These types of questions form the basis for the design of your real estate information management. Then you will think about how you will collect and keep track of that desired information.

Collecting real estate data

There are several ways to obtain data about real estate. You can collect them yourself, for example by carrying out an inspection. But some data can also be obtained by using specific sources. In addition, nowadays it is possible to obtain data via the use of sensors or other instruments, such as laser scanners. Based on the profile of necessary information established within the information management, you can draw up a plan in which it becomes clear which data can be collected in what way. Once the data is available, it can be used to generate the information required for the policy.

From data to information

In practice, we often see that real estate data are fragmented, are no longer up-to-date or simply not present. As mentioned above, it is important to first get clarity about the data that is required and then to collect the desired data. This also includes insight into the already available data within the organization. If the necessary insight into the desired, available and collectable data has been obtained, then it can be looked at in an efficient way to manage it. In that case, a real estate information management system offers the solution. All necessary and present information centrally coordinated, managed and available to all stakeholders.

Unlocking data and converting it into usable management information is at least as important as collecting the right data. With a multitude of information, a clear dashboard helps you to see the forest through the trees. A graphical overview of the most important information needed to monitor and steer based on key performance indicators (KPIs).

A good dashboard allows you to monitor for example:

How you score in terms of energy performance;
The state of maintenance of the property;
The financial position;
Performance in the field of complaint handling;
Agreements from performance contracts.

The role of BIM in collecting and processing data

BIM (Building Information Model) is simply a three-dimensional digital model of a building (buildings and civil infrastructure) that serves as an information carrier for all parties involved in a construction or renovation project. Thanks to BIM, project developers, contractors, engineers, architects, renovation companies and installers work together very efficiently because they rely on one central information carrier.

DEMO Research

DEMO business unit Research participates in European research projects, including in the field of making real estate more sustainable. We apply knowledge and insights from these projects to our services in real estate advice and software. One of the ongoing projects is BIM-Speed.

BIM-Speed; smarter and more efficient method for renovation

This project focuses on the development and application of BIM in renovation projects in the building sector. Most of the existing residential buildings were built before 1990 and are in need of renovation. If you consider that European buildings are responsible for 40% of annual energy consumption and 36% of CO₂ emissions, then a reduction in this can contribute significantly to the climate goals. The challenge is to considerably improve the performance of these buildings.

The aim of this project is to develop methodologies and toolkits with one centrally accessible source of information, the Building Information Model (BIM) - the digital representation of a building. This model should be the catalyst for a smarter, more efficient method of thorough renovation for the housing sector. The methodologies and tools significantly save time in the process of collecting and analyzing data.

In renovation projects, it is common to collect many gigabytes of data. However, managing this amount of information proves to be a difficult challenge, not to mention the exchange between parties. The trick is to collect and store only the data needed to determine the strategy for the renovation project. The project has developed several "use cases" that allow users to specify the objectives of the renovation project and then assess which business processes, tools, use cases, software and devices should be used to collect this data.

Do-it-yourself statements are usually:

Saving and improving energy performance;
Shortening the duration of the renovation project;
Cost optimization for all phases (construction, renovation, life cycle);
Increase comfort for the residents.

What methods and toolkits can you think of?

User-friendly web and mobile applications for collecting residents' input in building renovation projects;
Verification of compliance with information security, privacy and ethical rules;
A set-up of the repository (data storage) for the data obtained;
APIs to link the data to the BIM Cloud platform;
Decision support tool;
Solutions for Big Data Analytics.

Source: https://www.bim-speed.eu/

Learn more

Could you use some help in determining which real estate data and information you need or do you feel like you are collecting too much, too little or incorrect data? Our DEMO professionals are happy to help you. Make an appointment without obligation to see what we can do for you. This is also possible via a video call.

Make an appointment