Is your construction data fit for the lifecycle of the project? This is a question more and more construction companies are asking themselves these days. Whether it is associated with managing the various stages of a project, or linking the data with systems to help manage the lifecycle of the finished project, the talk of "lifecycle" has never been hotter in construction.

Autodesk, is focusing on the lifecycle in a somewhat unique manner these days. Across the pond, as they say, in the United Kingdom, BAM FM, which is the facilities management arm of BAM Construct UK, www.bam.co.uk, Hertfordshire, U.K., is looking to prove a model that applies the ideas associated with BIM (building information modeling) to every component of a building's lifecycle.

Billed as a research and development project, the idea is based around the notion of bringing BIM into the way facilities are managed after a building is completed. Anticipated results include buildings with fewer faults and lower operating costs, says BAM, which also has the software and data systems in place that prove data associated with BIM can be transferred automatically into facilities management software.

The project is at UCL Academy, London, and includes Autodesk products Revit and BIM 360 Field (formerly Vela Systems). The process of pulling information from 3D BIM models into a building's facilities management workflow systems is designed to improve the way owners manage their assets.

A brief example for how BAM is using BIM 360 Field is for a project with Rolls-Royce to build an advanced blade casting facility at Rotherham's Advanced Manufacturing Park. Autodesk calls the factory one of the most advanced blade casting facilities in the world and is set to feature groundbreaking manufacturing techniques.