All categories · Q&A
🏢 Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
This category covers the software that takes a BIM model past practical completion: handover tools that structure asset data (COBie, IFC, ISO 19650-3 asset information models), CAFM/IWMS and enterprise asset management systems that run maintenance and space operations, and digital twin platforms that link the model to live BMS, IoT and CMMS data. Together they turn the project information model into an asset information model the owner can operate for decades.
What is Autodesk Tandem and how is it different from Revit?
Autodesk Tandem is a cloud digital twin platform launched in 2021. Revit is where you author the model; Tandem is where the owner receives that model and turns it into an asset database for operations. You load Revit or IFC models into a Tandem facility, apply a template that says which parameters each asset type must have, and then fill, validate and later connect that data to sensors. Tandem does not edit geometry.
About Autodesk Tandem · Certification
How do Tandem facility templates relate to an Asset Information Requirements (AIR) document?
A facility template is the machine-readable version of your AIR. It defines the classification system (Uniformat, MasterFormat or your own), the parameter sets required for each asset class, and which parameters are mandatory. When you apply the template, Tandem reports which elements are missing required data, which is how you check a handover against ISO 19650-3 requirements. Build the template before the project starts and issue it with the EIR so designers and contractors fill the right fields.
About Autodesk Tandem · Certification
Can I feed BMS or IoT data into Tandem and read it back through an API?
Yes. Tandem Streams accept time-series readings that are attached to model elements, so a sensor or BMS point appears against the room or equipment it serves. Tandem Connect provides pre-built integrations, and the Tandem REST API lets you read facilities, elements, parameters and stream data or write values from your own code. Autodesk publishes JavaScript, Python and C# samples, including a stream simulator and embedded viewer examples, on the autodesk-tandem GitHub organisation.
About Autodesk Tandem · Certification
What is the Bentley iTwin Platform and what is iTwin.js?
The iTwin Platform is Bentley's collection of cloud APIs and services for building infrastructure digital twins. It stores engineering data in an iModel, adds reality data such as point clouds and meshes, and aligns GIS and sensor data. iTwin.js is the open-source TypeScript library, now at version 5.x, that developers use to build viewers and applications on that data. iTwin Experience is Bentley's own cloud application built on the platform.
About Bentley iTwin Platform · Certification
Which file types can go into an iModel?
iModels are populated by connectors that read design files such as DGN from MicroStation and OpenRoads, RVT from Revit, DWG and IFC, plus reality data (point clouds, photogrammetry meshes) and GIS layers. Each source keeps its provenance, and change tracking records what altered between synchronisations. Reality data is processed through the Reality Capture APIs rather than converted into the iModel.
About Bentley iTwin Platform · Certification
How do I start building a custom viewer on iTwin without buying a licence?
Register on developer.bentley.com, which offers a free developer tier, and follow the free tutorials (more than 60, covering authorisation for web, native, service and single-page apps, iModel export, webhooks, thematic display, and viewing iModels in CesiumJS or three.js). Use iTwin.js 5.x from GitHub for the client. When you move to production you talk to Bentley about a plan; pricing is quote-based.
About Bentley iTwin Platform · Certification
What does Siemens Building X do?
Building X is Siemens Smart Infrastructure's cloud platform for building operations. It collects real-time data from building automation, energy, fire safety and security systems and offers apps for energy and sustainability, safety and security, and operations and maintenance. Siemens describes it as a central foundation of secure data that other applications can be built on through its APIs.
About Siemens Building X · Certification
Is Building X only for buildings with Siemens controllers?
No, but it is easiest there. Siemens building automation connects natively, and open protocols such as BACnet are brought in through gateways and connectors set up by an integrator. Building X exposes APIs for application data, building data management and user management, so third-party systems and custom apps can read and write data. Pricing is by quotation.
About Siemens Building X · Certification
What security certifications does Building X list, and why does that matter for a twin?
The product page lists ISO/IEC 27001, 27017 and 27018 (2025), a SOC 2 Type II report (2025), STAR Registry listing, UL Solutions Smart System Verified Platinum (2025) and ISO 50001 for energy data management (2026). A digital twin connects operational technology to the cloud, so owners' IT security teams will ask for exactly these certifications before allowing BMS data out of the building. ISO 19650-5 on security-minded information management covers the same concern from the information side.
About Siemens Building X · Certification
What is IBM Maximo and what is the current version?
IBM Maximo Application Suite (MAS) is an enterprise asset management platform that combines maintenance management, inspections, reliability, asset performance management and asset investment planning. The current documented version is Maximo Application Suite 9.2. It runs on Red Hat OpenShift on-premises, on AWS, Azure or IBM Cloud, or as IBM-managed SaaS.
How is Maximo licensed?
MAS uses a credit-based system called AppPoints. One entitlement covers the suite; each application and user type consumes a number of AppPoints, so you can add functionality or users without buying separate licences. IBM sells two packages: client-managed software and software as a service. Prices are not published; they come from IBM or a partner quote.
How do I load COBie handover data into Maximo?
Maximo Manage includes BIM functionality with its own storage configuration for models and documents. The usual route is to validate the COBie workbook first, map COBie Facility, Floor, Space, Type and Component sheets to Maximo locations, asset classifications and assets, then load through the BIM import tools or the Maximo Integration Framework. Keep the COBie Component names as asset identifiers so the 3D model elements stay linked to the assets after import. Plan the classification structure before loading, because changing it afterwards is painful.
What is Archibus and who sells it now?
Archibus is an integrated workplace management system (IWMS) that covers space and occupancy, moves, maintenance, assets, leases and capital projects. It has been on the market since the 1980s and is now sold by Eptura, which positions it as a FedRAMP-authorised IWMS for complex, highly customised environments. It is available on-premises or as SaaS with a mobile technician app.
About Eptura Archibus · Certification
How does Archibus use my AutoCAD or Revit floor plans?
Archibus links rooms and assets in its database to polylines in DWG drawings or rooms and families in Revit through its Autodesk integration. Once linked, space reports, occupancy plans and move scenarios are drawn from the live drawing, and changes to room boundaries update areas in the database. The link is by asset or room identifier, so a consistent naming convention in the CAD/BIM files is essential.
About Eptura Archibus · Certification
When would I choose Archibus over Planon or Maximo?
Choose Archibus when space and workplace management drive the requirement and you need FedRAMP authorisation or a very customised deployment, typically in US federal, healthcare or university estates. Planon is the closer competitor in Europe with strong sustainability and lease accounting modules. Maximo is a heavier enterprise asset management platform better suited to plant and infrastructure maintenance than to office space planning.
About Eptura Archibus · Certification
What is Planon and what editions does it offer?
Planon is a Dutch company with about four decades in facility and real estate software. Its platform has an Integrated Workplace Management Solution (real estate, space and workplace services, asset and maintenance, energy and sustainability), a Campus Management edition for universities, Field Services for FM providers, Lease Accounting for FASB/IASB compliance and Planon for SAP.
About Planon · Certification
What services does Planon provide for rolling out the platform?
Planon lists four service domains: implementation services with accelerator suites, learning services for training users and administrators, optimisation services to keep the system aligned with changing needs, and support services with a service desk portal. Most customers implement with Planon or a certified partner because the platform is configuration-driven.
About Planon · Certification
How should I structure BIM handover data so it can be loaded into an IWMS like Planon?
Deliver a COBie workbook or an IFC file whose spaces, asset types and components use the owner's classification and naming rules. IWMS platforms load spaces first, then asset types, then components, and each component must reference a valid space. Export spatial areas in the units the IWMS expects, include manufacturer, model and warranty fields on the Type sheet, and agree the property mapping with the Planon implementation team before the first data drop.
About Planon · Certification
What is Dalux FM?
Dalux FM is a cloud CMMS from the Danish company Dalux. It is BIM-based: work orders, planned maintenance, assets, documents and a helpdesk are navigated through 2D and 3D building models on web, iOS and Android. It shares the platform with Dalux Field, Box and Handover, so data captured during construction flows into operations.
About Dalux FM · Certification
How do technicians report and find assets in Dalux FM?
Assets carry QR codes; scanning one on the phone opens the asset with its history, documents and open tasks. Building users and tenants report issues through the HelpDesk by dropping a pin on the floor plan or using GPS. Technicians work from the mobile app, and external suppliers can be ordered through the supplier portal. The mobile viewer handles large models, so you can navigate to the asset in 3D on site.
About Dalux FM · Certification
How do I set up a Dalux project so the handover into Dalux FM is smooth?
Agree the asset register structure at the start and capture it in Dalux Handover, where the contractor fills asset data and documents against model objects during construction. Use consistent object identifiers in the IFC or Revit models so the same element is recognised across Field, Box and FM. At completion, the Handover data set is transferred into Dalux FM with the models, avoiding a spreadsheet re-import. Test the transfer on a sample building before the full handover.
About Dalux FM · Certification
What is YouBIM?
YouBIM is a web-based platform from Gorham, Maine that links BIM models to facility operations. A proprietary add-in exports 3D geometry and asset data from BIM authoring tools; FM staff then use a browser to find equipment, view documents and maintenance history and receive automated maintenance reminders. It advertises integration with IBM Maximo.
About YouBIM · Certification
Do I need to change my Revit model before using it in YouBIM?
Probably a little. YouBIM states that some adjustments may be needed to make an existing model FM-ready: equipment must exist as separate elements with the parameters FM needs (asset ID, manufacturer, model, serial, warranty), rooms must be bounded, and design-only detail can be stripped. This is the same preparation you would do for a COBie export, so it is worth doing once and reusing.
About YouBIM · Certification
How does a BIM viewer like YouBIM fit alongside a CMMS like Maximo?
The CMMS stays the system of record for work orders, inventory and costs. The BIM viewer provides the spatial front end: a technician finds the asset in 3D, sees its documents and jumps to the related Maximo record. The link is by asset identifier, so both systems must use the same IDs, which is why identifier governance in the handover specification matters more than geometry.
About YouBIM · Certification
What is Willow?
Willow is an operational AI and digital twin platform for facilities and infrastructure. It connects static, spatial and live data from more than 75 building systems, including BMS, CMMS and IoT devices, into a knowledge graph built on Willow's buildings ontology. Cross-system fault detection, impact scoring and Willow Copilot then recommend or automate responses. It is built on Azure.
About Willow · Certification
What is the WillowTwin ontology and is it free?
It is Willow's open digital twin definition language (DTDL) ontology for buildings and real estate, published on GitHub under WillowInc/opendigitaltwins-building. It extends the DTDL-based RealEstateCore ontology with models for spaces, assets, systems and relationships such as isPartOf, locatedIn and isFedBy. The repository is public and intended for use with Azure Digital Twins.
About Willow · Certification
Does Willow replace my BMS or CMMS?
No. Willow sits above them, reading telemetry from the BMS and work orders from the CMMS through its 75+ integrations and writing back actions where automated control is enabled. The value comes from cross-system diagnostics that a single BMS cannot do, for example correlating an air-handling fault with occupancy and energy cost. Keep the CMMS as the maintenance system of record and treat Willow as the analytics and orchestration layer.
About Willow · Certification
What is Twinit and how is it related to Invicara?
Twinit is a composable platform for building AI-native digital twin applications for buildings, infrastructure, plants and cities. It was built by Invicara, which has worked in digital twins since 2018 and now describes itself as a Twinit company providing services to Twinit partners. Twinit integrates IT, OT and engineering data into semantic graphs that workflows and AI agents can use.
About Twinit (Invicara) · Certification
What is the Asset Twin product in Twinit for?
Asset Twin bridges project handover to operations. It holds the as-built record of assets, their documents and relationships so that the data assembled during design and construction becomes the starting point for maintenance and operations intelligence. It is paired with Project Intelligence, which unifies BIM, GIS, schedule, cost and risk during delivery.
About Twinit (Invicara) · Certification
How do developers build on Twinit?
Through open APIs and SDKs, App Templates and the Twinit Workbench extension for VS Code and Cursor. Data is modelled in semantic graph layers, with workflow and AI orchestration on top, so an application typically defines its graph schema, connects IT/OT/IoT and engineering sources, then adds workflows or agents. Invicara runs the digitaltwin-factory developer community for support.
About Twinit (Invicara) · Certification
What is SpinalCom's SpinalTwin?
SpinalTwin is the digital twin application suite from the French company SpinalCom. It runs on SpinalCore, a Building Operating System (BOS) that models spaces, equipment, building systems and data flows as a graph. Companion products include SpinalOffice for occupants, Spinalboard dashboards and SpinalConnectors for BMS and IoT. Clients cited include EDF, Enedis and Vinci.
About SpinalTwin (SpinalCom) · Certification
How does SpinalTwin display my BIM model?
SpinalCom's browser viewer (spinal-browser-viewer on GitHub) visualises 3D models generated through the Autodesk Forge / Autodesk Platform Services pipeline. That means Revit, IFC and other formats supported by the Autodesk model derivative service can be converted and shown, with model elements linked to nodes in the SpinalCore graph. Native IFC parsing is not documented.
About SpinalTwin (SpinalCom) · Certification
Is SpinalCore really open source, and where do I start?
The SpinalCom GitHub organisation publishes more than 350 repositories in TypeScript and JavaScript, including spinal-core-connectorjs, spinal-model-graph, spinal-organ-api-server and the browser viewer, with commits as recent as September 2026. Licences are set per repository, so check each one before reuse. A typical stack is the graph model, an organ API server, connectors for BMS protocols and the viewer; commercial support and the packaged SpinalTwin apps come from SpinalCom.
About SpinalTwin (SpinalCom) · Certification
What is Twinview?
Twinview is a UK cloud digital twin platform that is part of the SPACE Group of businesses. It describes itself as the intelligence layer across an estate: it connects BMS, CAFM, BIM models, IoT sensors and document systems without replacing them and provides live dashboards, universal search, asset performance tracking and audit trails. Users cited include the NHS and AXA.
About Twinview · Certification
What security features does Twinview list for enterprise deployment?
The platform page lists SOC 2 compliance, role-based access control, single sign-on integration and encryption, plus a 99.9% uptime commitment. These matter because the twin will hold BMS and CAFM data from sensitive estates such as hospitals.
About Twinview · Certification
Twinview versus Autodesk Tandem for a UK NHS estate: what is the practical difference?
Tandem is strongest at receiving Revit and IFC models and enforcing asset data requirements at handover, with streams for sensors added later. Twinview starts from the operational side: it connects an existing CAFM, BMS and document store and adds a model-based view and dashboards. If your priority is a compliant ISO 19650-3 handover, Tandem or a COBie pipeline comes first; if the estate already runs a CAFM and wants live insight, Twinview is the shorter route. Some estates use both.
About Twinview · Certification
What was BIM 360 Ops?
BIM 360 Ops was Autodesk's mobile-first facility operations app in the BIM 360 family, introduced around 2016. Contractors pushed asset lists, documents and warranties from construction, and owners used the app for work requests and maintenance on phones and tablets. Autodesk has retired it; Autodesk Tandem is the current operations-phase product.
About Autodesk BIM 360 Ops · Certification
We still have data in BIM 360 Ops. Where should it go?
Export the asset, ticket and document data while you still have access, then rebuild the asset register in your chosen system. If you are staying with Autodesk, load the models into Tandem and use a facility template to re-map the asset parameters. If you use a CMMS such as Maximo or Dalux FM, convert the export into that system's import template, keeping the original asset IDs so historical tickets stay traceable.
About Autodesk BIM 360 Ops · Certification
Why did Autodesk move from BIM 360 Ops to Tandem?
BIM 360 Ops was a maintenance-ticket app with limited use of the model itself. Tandem was designed the other way round: the model and its data are the product, with templates to enforce asset information requirements, streams for live data and an API for integration. That reflects the industry shift from handing over documents to handing over a structured asset information model under ISO 19650-3.
About Autodesk BIM 360 Ops · Certification
Is Cityzenith still around?
Cityzenith was a Chicago company founded in 2009 whose SmartWorld / SmartWorldOS platform aimed at city and building digital twins for decarbonisation. As of 15 September 2026 the cityzenith.com domain does not resolve, although a LinkedIn company page still exists. No official closure notice was found, so treat the product as unavailable and do not plan new deployments on it.
About Cityzenith SmartWorldOS · Certification
What are current alternatives to a city-scale twin like Cityzenith proposed?
For city and infrastructure scale, the Bentley iTwin Platform handles engineering models, reality capture and GIS together. Microsoft Azure Digital Twins with the RealEstateCore or Willow ontologies provides the graph layer for buildings and districts. Twinit and Willow offer commercial building-portfolio twins. Choose based on whether geometry, live telemetry or graph analytics is the primary need.
About Cityzenith SmartWorldOS · Certification
What lesson should owners take from digital twin start-ups disappearing?
Keep your asset information in open, exportable formats. If the handover data lives as COBie workbooks, IFC files and documented parameter mappings, you can move to another platform when a vendor changes direction. Put data export and exit clauses in the SaaS contract, keep the ontology or classification you used under your own control, and avoid storing the only copy of asset data inside a proprietary twin.
About Cityzenith SmartWorldOS · Certification
What is COBie?
COBie (Construction Operations Building Information Exchange) is a non-proprietary format for handing over the non-geometric asset data from a building model to the owner. It was created by Bill East at the US Army Corps of Engineers in 2007 and is usually delivered as a spreadsheet with worksheets such as Contact, Facility, Floor, Space, Zone, Type, Component, System, Attribute, Document and Job. It can also be carried as IFC or ifcXML. In the UK it is specified by BS 1192-4:2014.
Certification: Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
What are AIR and AIM in ISO 19650-3?
ISO 19650-3:2020 covers information management during the operational phase of assets. The Asset Information Requirements (AIR) state what information the owner needs about the asset to run it, derived from the Organisational Information Requirements (OIR). The Asset Information Model (AIM) is the collection of information that satisfies the AIR: models, data, documents and their links. The project information model delivered under ISO 19650-2 is transferred into the AIM at handover, and trigger events such as refurbishments or replacements define when the AIM must be updated.
Certification: Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
Should I hand over IFC, COBie, or both?
Both, for different purposes. IFC carries geometry plus properties and is what a twin or viewer loads; COBie carries the tabular asset data a CMMS or IWMS imports. COBie is formally a subset of IFC, so a good IFC export with correct spaces, types and property sets can generate the COBie workbook. Specify in the AIR which property sets, classification and identifiers both must share so the two deliverables reconcile.
Certification: Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
How does a digital twin connect to BMS, IoT and CMMS systems?
The BMS exposes points over BACnet, Modbus or vendor APIs, usually through a gateway that publishes them to the twin as time-series streams. IoT sensors publish over MQTT or vendor clouds to the same ingestion layer. The CMMS is connected by REST API or integration framework so assets, work orders and locations sync in both directions. The twin's job is to tie all of these to the same element identifiers from the model, which is why an ontology (RealEstateCore, Brick, Willow) or a strict asset ID scheme is set up first.
Certification: Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
Which tool should I choose: Tandem, iTwin, Dalux FM, Maximo, Planon or Willow?
Match the tool to the primary job. Tandem: receiving Revit/IFC models and enforcing handover data on Autodesk projects. iTwin: infrastructure and multi-source engineering data with developer extensibility. Dalux FM: model-based CMMS for teams already on Dalux. Maximo: enterprise EAM for large asset fleets fed from COBie. Planon or Archibus: IWMS for space, leases and workplace. Willow, Twinview or Building X: operational analytics on top of BMS and CMMS. Most owners end up with a handover tool plus a CMMS plus an analytics layer.
Certification: Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
Which open ontologies are used for building digital twins and how do they relate to IFC?
RealEstateCore and the WillowTwin ontology are DTDL ontologies for Azure Digital Twins; Brick Schema is an open-source ontology for building subsystems and their relationships; Project Haystack tags BMS points. IFC describes the designed building with geometry, while these ontologies describe the operational graph of spaces, systems and points. A common pattern is to load IFC into the twin for geometry and identifiers, then map elements to ontology classes so telemetry can attach to them.
Certification: Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
What is Azure Digital Twins and when would I use it instead of a vendor twin?
Azure Digital Twins is a Microsoft platform-as-a-service for creating twin graphs from DTDL models, connected to IoT Hub for live data, with a query API, event routes to Azure services and a 3D Scenes Studio (preview) for visualisation. Use it when you are building a bespoke solution and have a development team; vendor products such as Willow are themselves built on Azure. For a standard building handover, a product like Tandem or Dalux FM is faster than assembling Azure services yourself.
Certification: Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
Our COBie deliverable fails validation. What are the usual causes?
The common failures are components without a valid Space reference, Types without a Category (classification), duplicate or blank names, missing Contact emails that other sheets reference, attributes on instances that should be on types, and units or dates in the wrong format. Fix the source model rather than the spreadsheet: bound every room, assign classification to each family type, and fill the required shared parameters. Run a validator such as the free COBie Extension in Autodesk's BIM Interoperability Tools before every data drop.
Certification: Facility Management, Asset Handover & Digital Twins
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About this database
Product names are trademarks of their respective owners. Facts are verified against vendor documentation and dated sources; pricing is described by model only. Spotted an error or a missing tool? Write to [email protected] and we will correct it. Database updated: 2026-09-15.