Evaluating the Effectiveness of Building Information Modeling (7D BIM) in Enhancing Facility Management and Maintenance of Heritage Buildings

Heritage buildings continue to face persistent challenges in documentation, fragmented data management, and limited integration of digital technologies in post-restoration facility management. Building Information Modelling (BIM), particularly 7D BIM, provides a framework for managing heritage assets throughout their operational lifecycle. Yet, despite increasing interest in BIM for construction and conservation, empirical evidence on its contribution to facility management efficiency in heritage settings, especially in Arabic-speaking contexts, remains limited. This study investigates the extent to which BIM adoption enhances facility management performance, with attention to operational efficiency, risk reduction, maintenance quality, and decision support. A mixed-methods explanatory sequential design was employed. Twenty semi-structured interviews with experts in heritage conservation, BIM, and facility management informed a 20-item survey administered to 32 heritage professionals. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, principal component factor analysis, and linear regression in IBM SPSS Statistics. Regression results indicated that BIM adoption explained 51.6% of the variance in heritage FM efficiency (R² = 0.516; F = 31.937; p < 0.001). Factor analysis identified four dimensions: documentation quality, operational efficiency, risk and safety management, and long-term maintenance planning. Qualitative findings showed that BIM supports a shift from reactive to preventive maintenance, reduces information asymmetry, and improves traceability and transparency. Overall, the study offers an empirical mixed-methods assessment of 7D BIM in an Egyptian and Arab context and proposes a framework linking BIM adoption to measurable FM performance dimensions.