From traditional construction industry process management to building lifecycle management

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is an innovative approach based on a virtual model, which allows to manage all the information about the building. This approach is applicable to all the phases of the building process, but many surveys show the lack of BIM implementation in the use e maintenance phases. The BIM use in the management phase represents a unexpressed potentiality, a differentiating factor compared to Product Lifecycle Management (PLM), a holistic approach able to oversee the whole life cycle of a product and the information connected with it, widespread and consolidated in the manufacturing sector. Starting from this assumptions, in an empirical study, the paper presents a qualitative investigation into the current situation of the processes management of the constructed heritage in a French real estate company. The case study proposes the integration of the PLM and BIM approaches, that could be defined as Building Lifecycle Management (BLM), in order to close the gap of the traditional method.