Property development is a capital-intensive activity, due to the numerous stakeholders and the vast amount of information and resources involved in the process. Management of the building life cycle is crucial to the FM profession. Unfortunately, problems of communication and information losses are commonly found within the process. A study from the U. S. reveals the fact that the inadequate interoperability and data management alone costs the building industry $15.8 billion a year, which is around 3-4% of the total industry turnover (Gallaher et al. 2004).

The founding of Building Information Modelling (BIM) presents a great opportunity to improve the process. BIM encompasses and enables a logical interface connecting the building geometry, spatial relationships, geographic information, quantities and properties of building components, etc. in typical building development projects.  It makes all the data readily available for different stakeholders, allowing the team to work more effectively and minimizing chance for data loss. It helps gaining greater visibility of the project for better monitoring and managing.  However, up to now the use of BIM focuses mainly on the design and construction phases in the building process.  The importance and use of BIM in FM has often been ignored.

There is an urgent need to study the possibilities and opportunities of implementing BIM in FM in HK.  It would be essential for local FM professionals to understand the motives, concerns, development and investment requirements of BIM so that services will be offered in the most competent and competitive manner.