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Technological change drives transformation in most sectors of the economy. Industry 4.0 technologies have been applied at different stages of a building’s lifecycle. However, limited studies exist on their application in real estate facilities management (REFM). This study aims to assess the existing knowledge on the topic to suggest further research directions.

Scopus-indexed literature from 2013 to 2023 was examined and visualised using VOSviewer software to output quantitative (descriptive) results. Content analysis was used to complement the quantitative findings.

Findings indicated a concentration of research in China, Norway and Italy. The knowledge areas included three clusters: lifecycle integration and management, data curation and management and organisational and management capabilities. The benefits, challenges and support strategies were highlighted.

More collaboration is needed across countries and territories on technology integration in REFM. Future research using alternative methodologies is recommended, with a focus on adopting and non-adopting REFM organisations. Further, implications for facility managers, employees, technology suppliers or vendors, training, organisations and management exist.

Further, implications for facility managers, employees, technology suppliers or vendors, training, organisations and management exist.

The study reveals the knowledge base on technology use in REFM. It adds to the evidence base on innovation and technology adoption in REFM.

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the feasibility of an end-to-end simplified and automated reconstruction pipeline for digital building assets using the design science research approach. Current methods to create digital assets by capturing the state of existing buildings can provide high accuracy but are time-consuming, expensive and difficult.

Using design science research, this research identifies the need for a crowdsourced and cloud-based approach to reconstruct digital building assets. The research then develops and tests a fully functional smartphone application prototype. The proposed end-to-end smartphone workflow begins with data capture and ends with user applications.

The resulting implementation can achieve a realistic three-dimensional (3D) model characterized by different typologies, minimal trade-off in accuracy and low processing costs. By crowdsourcing the images, the proposed approach can reduce costs for asset reconstruction by an estimated 93% compared to manual modeling and 80% compared to locally processed reconstruction algorithms.

The resulting implementation achieves “good enough” reconstruction of as-is 3D models with minimal tradeoffs in accuracy compared to automated approaches and 15× cost savings compared to a manual approach. Potential facility management use cases include the issue and information tracking, 3D mark-up and multi-model configurators.

Through user engagement, development, testing and validation, this work demonstrates the feasibility and impact of a novel crowdsourced and cloud-based approach for the reconstruction of digital building assets.

This paper aims to gain insight in how the involvement of facilities management (FM) and clinical employees are practiced in new Norwegian hospital projects and to study the benefits and lessons learned from the involvement.

This study is conducted by cross-sectional case studies of eight hospital projects by using a literature review, interviews and document studies of FM and clinical employees and project leaders (PLs) among Sykehusbygg.

The service design approach with a structured interaction between the PL’s of Sykehusbygg, and the different disciplines of clinical employees and FM specialist was rewarding and efficient. The facilitator role of Sykehusbygg is essential to manage such a broad and complex involvement process using a wide range of various techniques at the different stages of the projects (dialogue meetings, review meetings, workshops, post-it notes, 2-D drawings, mock-up and 3-D models, as well as virtual reality (VR) and Building Information Modeling technology). The clinical employees’ framework is stronger and much more structured than the involvement of FM competences through the different stages of the projects. The property management competences were involved at the early concept phase and design phase, whereas the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) competences were getting involved through the construction and commissioning phase. The value of FM involvement in all stages of the project is seen beneficial, particularly when the FM specialist become a part of the design team and located physically at the same place. The main reported benefits of early FM involvement are cost-effective technical solutions and installations, less design flaws and improved functionality, as well as a stronger ownership and mutual respect between the clinical and FM disciplines. However, not all hospital organizations see the benefits of the FM involvement of all stages, as they are driven by reducing capital cost. In one of the new projects, other ways of involving the FM competences were tested. Additionally, particularly for the O&M competences, a dialogue meeting with a clear focus of sharing experiences with different technical solution was found rewarding in terms of cost benefits.

This study does not consider the social impact of the choices made in the design phase. The findings also indicated a certain development of the FM involvement. This is not studied in two of the newest projects where they are still in the design phase and the FM role was not interviewed.

The PL role is important as a facilitator role of the involvement process.

A dialogue meeting with a group of O&M people was found rewarding and valuable for knowledge sharing. This methodology can be further developed and tested, as this group of stakeholders is not always available for giving input in the project.

The value of this study is the description of the interaction between the PLs and the hospital organization in the eight projects and lessons learned by the involvement of FM competences and clinical employees.

The purpose of this study is to identify the key data categories and characteristics defined by asset information requirements (AIR) and how this affects the development and maintenance of an asset information model (AIM) for a blockchain-based digital twin (DT).

A mixed-method approach involving qualitative and quantitative analysis was used to gather empirical data through semistructured interviews and a digital questionnaire survey with an emphasis on AIR for blockchain-based DTs from a data-driven predictive analytics perspective.

Based on the analysis of results three key data categories were identified, core data, static operation and maintenance (OM) data, and dynamic OM data, along with the data characteristics required to perform data-driven predictive analytics through artificial intelligence (AI) in a blockchain-based DT platform. The findings also include how the creation and maintenance of an AIM is affected in this context.

The key data categories and characteristics specified through AIR to support predictive data-driven analytics through AI in a blockchain-based DT will contribute to the development and maintenance of an AIM.

The research explores the process of defining, delivering and maintaining the AIM and the potential use of blockchain technology (BCT) as a facilitator for data trust, integrity and security.

The purpose of this research is to develop a framework of an ontology-based Asset Information Model (AIM) for a Digital Twin (DT) platform and enhance predictive maintenance practices in building facilities that could enable proactive and data-driven decision-making during the Operation and Maintenance (O&M) process.

A scoping literature review was accomplished to establish the theoretical foundation for the current investigation. A study on developing an ontology-based AIM for predictive maintenance in building facilities was conducted. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with industry professionals to gather qualitative data for ontology-based AIM framework validation and insights.

The research findings indicate that while the development of ontology faced challenges in defining missing entities and relations in the context of predictive maintenance, insights gained from the interviews enabled the establishment of a comprehensive framework for ontology-based AIM adoption in the Facility Management (FM) sector.

The proposed ontology-based AIM has the potential to enable proactive and data-driven decision-making during the process, optimizing predictive maintenance practices and ultimately enhancing energy efficiency and sustainability in the building industry.

The research contributes to a practical guide for ontology development processes and presents a framework of an Ontology-based AIM for a Digital Twin platform.

Through its advanced computational capabilities, cyber–physical systems (CPS) proffer solutions to some of the cultural challenges plaguing the effective delivery of facilities management (FM) mandates. This study aims to explore the drivers for the uptake of CPS for FM functions using a qualitative approach – the Delphi technique.

Using the Delphi technique, the study selected experts through a well-defined process entailing a pre-determined set of criteria. The experts gave their opinions in two iterations which were subjected to statistical analyses such as the measure of central tendency and interquartile deviation in ascertaining consensus among the experts and the Mann–Whitney U test in establishing if there is a difference in the opinions given by the experts.

The study’s findings show that six of the identified drivers of the uptake of CPS for FM were attributed to be of very high significance, while 12 were of high significance. Furthermore, it was revealed that there is no significant statistical difference in the opinions given by experts in professional practice and academia.

The study’s outcome provides the requisite insight into the propelling measures for the uptake of CPS for FM by organisations and, by extension, aiding digital transformation for effective FM delivery.

To the best of the authors’ knowledge, evidence from the literature suggests that no study has showcased the drivers of the incorporation of CPS for FM. Hence, this study fills this gap in knowledge by unravelling the significant propelling measures of the integration of CPS for FM functions.

This study aims to facilitate consistency of information in building information modelling (BIM) and address the current BIM gaps through the perspectives of the productization concept and product structure (PS).

The study follows a conceptual research approach in conjunction with a single case study. First, the previous studies on BIM implementation, productization and PS are reviewed. Further, a case study is used to analyse the current state of productization in the construction sector and develop a functional PS for construction.

A Part-Phase-Elements Matrix is proposed as a construction-specific PS to facilitate consistency in information and to enhance BIM. The proposed matrix provides new avenues to facilitate consistent information exchange through the interconnection between conceptual PS and standard building objects library, and encourage collaborative communication between stakeholders.

This study explores the core of the productization concept and PS as means to facilitate consistency of information and thus address the current gaps in BIM. This as building projects progressively move towards systematic modular and prefabricated construction where the flow of reliable information about product and construction offerings becomes increasingly important.

Integrated project delivery (IPD) and building information modeling (BIM) have been discussed as prominent collaborative concepts in recent architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) literature, thus recommended for more advanced value creation. However, they have been studied predominantly as discrete even though they are typically highly interrelated. This study aims to enhance collaboration in AEC projects by tracing recent trends in IPD and BIM literature by making sense of trends and by exploring how their interplay has been discussed and conceptualized.

This systematic literature review draws on Scopus and Web of Science as the primary databases. In total, 120 academic papers and review articles were sourced. Yet, the final sample includes 71 sources from the past decade (2011–2020), focusing on both IPD and BIM.

This study identifies 11 interrelated and overlapping themes that are indicative of trends in the recent IPD and BIM literature. This research found that among the identified themes, the clusters of sustainability, transformation and increasing the competence level of staff in the AEC industry, in addition to the concept of quality, require more extensive research in the context of IPD and BIM. Additionally, this study identifies four different approaches to the interplay of IPD and BIM, indicating an absence of scholarly consistency.

Based on the systematic analysis of the recent literature, this study indicates that IPD and BIM have several joint fundamental cornerstones. It is evident that both concepts support the implementation of each other. The success of implementing either one is strongly related to the other. Additionally, we have not found earlier systematic literature reviews that examine the interplay between IPD and BIM in the recent AEC literature.

Although facilities management (FM) has been advocated in the construction industry to address the issues of facilities in buildings, their adoption is still plagued with barriers. The factors affecting FM practices need detailed investigation. However, few studies have been conducted on the factors affecting FM practices in developing countries such as South Africa. This study aims to investigate the factors affecting effective FM practices in public buildings in South Africa.

To achieve this aim, a quantitative survey was carried out using questionnaire to gather relevant data in the study area. The collected data were analysed using descriptive statistics and principal component (factor) analysis. The study was conducted on 39 facilities managers in the Department of Public Works in KwaZulu-Natal Province, South Africa.

The descriptive analysis revealed that availability of funds, occupants’ knowledge of FM, absence of policy guiding FM practice, state of deterioration of facilities and design concepts and scope were significant challenges affecting effective FM practices in public buildings in South Africa. The result of the principal component analysis of the factors affecting FM practices were grouped into organisational factors, structural/design errors and end users’ elements.

As it is widely understood that “money” plays a significant role in the performance of any activity or function, administrators/governments of public facilities should strive to plan and make appropriate finances accessible to facilities managers. Participation of facilities managers in the planning stage can also help reduce design flaws and their maintenance implications. In addition, adequate training for professionals can improve FM awareness and productivity.

The paper reveals the structural framework of the factors that can influence the effective facilities management practices in public buildings.

The purpose of this research is to develop a generic framework of a digital twin (DT)-based automated construction progress monitoring through reality capture to extended reality (RC-to-XR).

IDEF0 data modeling method has been designed to establish an integration of reality capturing technologies by using BIM, DTs and XR for automated construction progress monitoring. Structural equation modeling (SEM) method has been used to test the proposed hypotheses and develop the skill model to examine the reliability, validity and contribution of the framework to understand the DRX model's effectiveness if implemented in real practice.

The research findings validate the positive impact and importance of utilizing technology integration in a logical framework such as DRX, which provides trustable, real-time, transparent and digital construction progress monitoring.

DRX system captures accurate, real-time and comprehensive data at construction stage, analyses data and information precisely and quickly, visualizes information and reports in a real scale environment, facilitates information flows and communication, learns from itself, historical data and accessible online data to predict future actions, provides semantic and digitalize construction information with analytical capabilities and optimizes decision-making process.

The research presents a framework of an automated construction progress monitoring system that integrates BIM, various reality capturing technologies, DT and XR technologies (VR, AR and MR), arraying the steps on how these technologies work collaboratively to create, capture, generate, analyze, manage and visualize construction progress data, information and reports.