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Despite the opportunities of digital twins (DTs) for smart buildings, limited research has been conducted regarding the facility management stage, and this is explained by the high complexity of accurately representing and modelling the physics behind the DTs process. This study thus organises and consolidates the fragmented literature on DTs implementation for smart buildings at the facility management stage by exploring the enablers, applications and challenges and examining the interrelationships amongst them.

A systematic literature review approach is adopted to analyse and synthesise the existing literature relating to the subject topic.

The study revealed six main categories of enablers of DTs for smart building at the facility management stage, namely perception technologies, network technologies, storage technologies, application technologies, knowledge-building and design processes. Three substantial categories of DTs application for smart buildings were revealed at the facility management stage: efficient operation and service monitoring, efficient building energy management and effective smart building maintenance. Subsequently, the top four major challenges were identified as being “lack of a systematic and comprehensive reference model”, “real-time data integration”, “the complexity and uncertainty nature of real-time data” and “real-time data visualisation”. An integrative framework is finally proposed by examining the interactive relationship amongst the enablers, the applications and the challenges.

The findings could guide facility managers/engineers to fairly understand the enablers, applications and challenges when DTs are being implemented to improve smart building performance and achieve user satisfaction at the facility management stage.

This study contributes to the knowledge body on DTs by extending the scope of the existing studies to identify the enablers and applications of DTs for smart buildings at the facility management stage and the specific challenges.

The purpose of this study is to explore how the discipline facilities management (FM) can be developed in a smart city perspective through considering the current and new FM services under the role of Urban FM, as well as governance structures that limit and enable it.

The approach is primarily theoretical by examining current literature around the ideas of Urban FM and Smart Cities linking them to observations in one city aiming to be a Smart City. This specific paper focusses on maintenance management, workspace management and energy management services in a Smart City perspective.

The results outline how Urban FM can fill the gaps that are apparent in city planning through connectivity to communities and neighbourhoods using the Smart City not only approaches of optimising data but also considers prominent governance structures of FM, Urban FM, City Planning and Smart Cities. The study addresses the limitations of what can be done when cities are not organisations, which make identifying the “core business” obscure and intangible but attempts to overcome this limitation by considering social value in communities and wider linkages to the city environment.

The paper sets out the potential of Urban FM in Smart Cities, but the findings are limited to primarily theoretical research and need further empirical examination.

The results indicate how facilities management can improve services in cities through the digitalisation of cities and the role of Urban FM. The study will be useful for municipalities in examining how to improve facilities, particularly in cities that aspire to be a Smart City and it is also important for policymakers in considering governance structures to meet sustainable development goals.

The study positions the discipline of facilities management in Smart Cities which has the potential to improve facilities in cities and the development of Urban FM.

Facilities management (FM) activities affect citizens’ health and safety, long-term urban environmental sustainability and the relationships between the built and natural environments of cities. This study aims to comprehend the status of smart FM tools application, how they are used to improve the delivery of FM services and the barriers to their implementation.

To investigate the current smart solutions that leverage the quality of FM service, a case study based on the FM practice in Hong Kong was carried out. The case study was conducted in two phases of data acquisition based on a qualitative research methodology. After conducting in-depth interviews to determine the application of smart FM tools in different types of properties and to identify the initiatives and barriers to smart FM tool application, three workshops were conducted to validate the findings and further investigate the influence of FM professionals on smart FM tools application in Hong Kong.

The findings of the case study revealed, firstly, that four types of smart FM tools – user-centric, safety and hygiene, maintenance and sustainability-oriented – are used to assist the delivery of FM services. Secondly, smart FM tools are shown to be useful in assisting FM activities. Thirdly, the existing barriers to smart FM tool application manifest differently in shopping malls, office buildings and residential buildings. Fourthly, smart FM tools are used to address the four attributes of user needs: comfort, health and wellbeing, convenience and information to occupants.

The value of this study lies in its focus on the industry level (FM industry) and the application process of smart FM tools in different types of property, revealing the benefits, initiatives and barriers to their future application. This study provides a comprehensive picture of the current status and elaborates the barriers to smart FM tool application, which will help FM practitioners to make strategic decisions on selecting and developing smart FM tools. Also, this study will facilitate smart FM tool application policy development.

This paper aims to explore smart facilities services in the context of university campus by aiming to understand how the service development processes can be classified.

The qualitative study is based on literature review about smart facilities services and a case study about developing visualisation, data and smart service in one building in Finnish campus. The case study data were gathered by diverse methods and analysed by content analysis.

Three smart facilities service processes were identified: experience processes for users, data-based service processes and technology processes. All the processes require more than only technocratic approach.

Single case study without longitudinal data gathering is not strong in terms of generalisation.

The process classification can help different stakeholders to identify their role and tasks in smart facilities service development.

The research aims to understand how to develop smart services in addition to more investigated topic what the services include.

This study aims to review the status quo, current state of research, research hot themes and research gaps in sustainable facilities management (SFM) in the built environment (BE) through an extant literature review.

To map and analyze knowledge paths in the context of SFM research, a sequential explanatory mixed-method review involving bibliometric and content analysis was used to help identify current research trends, research hot themes and knowledge gaps. The Scopus search engine was used to find 169 relevant articles. For a better understanding of the literature accumulated, a bibliometric analysis was carried out by using VOSviewer to reveal current research themes, the status quo and current state of research as well as research gaps.

Through the literature review and content analysis, the current research themes on SFM revealed from the study include green building technologies, assessment methods of SFM, smart buildings and building information modeling. The research hot themes in SFM include smart buildings and green building technologies, green buildings (GB), architectural and building designs in the university sector, assessment methods in buildings and decision-making and the adoption of asset and facility management in the university sector. Indoor air pollution, intelligent buildings, climate change, maintenance, environmental management, facilities, historic preservation, environmental performance, energy management, etc. are the research gaps identified from the study, and these serve as potential areas for future research studies under SFM. It was recognized that facilities managers are increasingly involved with sustainability policies within their organizations and are developing sustainability agendas to keep up with the changing nature of the facilities management (FM) profession.

The findings of this study hold relevance to the FM practice, as the integration of SFM by facilities managers can lead to waste reduction, decreased operating expenses and reduced energy consumption. In addition, occupants of sustainable buildings experience improved conditions that contribute to better health and productivity, thus boosting their overall well-being. Consistent with the themes of smart buildings and green technologies, revealed to be the hot themes in the SFM research scope, properties with sustainable features can command higher rental rates and property values, appealing to a broader range of stakeholders. SFM practices in universities can aid in saving money from reduced facility operational costs and improve the image of institutions while creating better indoor environments for students and staff. The analyses of countries involved in research can open doors for the establishment of research groups and the development of collaboration between universities in different countries researching similar topics of interest.

The geographical scope of this study is not limited and, therefore, encourages broad applicability of the findings to the global sustainable BE.

This paper aims to explore the opportunities of integrating internet of things (IoT) with building information modelling (BIM) to support the digital transformation of facilities management (FM). In this regard, a conceptual framework is proposed to implement IoT-BIM-based smart FM in buildings.

A semi-systematic literature review was conducted to examine the opportunities of integrating IoT-BIM-based smart FM.

BIM models are seldom used during the operations stage, and the comprehensive digital information developed during the design and construction stage is not efficiently used throughout the building’s life cycle. Therefore, this paper suggests that IoT-BIM can be effectively integrated into six FM functions, namely, energy management, operations and maintenance management, space management, FM project management, emergency management and quality management. IoT-BIM provides a beneficial platform for the digital transformation in FM, optimising the effectiveness and efficiency of buildings.

As a recent approach, the integration of BIM with IoT has created a new direction for moving from traditional FM to digitalise smart FM. However, the adaptation of IoT-BIM concept, particularly for FM, is yet to be explored. Hence, this paper contributes to the IoT-BIM research in the FM domain by highlighting six IoT-BIM-based smart FM for digital transformation in FM.

Current facility management (FM) practices are inefficient and ineffective, partially because of missing information and communication issues. Information and communications technologies (ICT) are asserted to provide a promising solution for managing and operating facilities. However, the impact of ICT applications on current FM practices needs to be validated and the perception of FM professionals on ICT-based FM needs to be understood. Therefore, this paper aims to investigate the impacts and the perception of ICT application on FM practice and further develop an ICT-based integrated framework for smart FM practices.

To achieve the objective, the research starts with reviewing several promising ICT for FM, including building information modeling, geographic information systems, unmanned aerial vehicle and augmented reality. On this basis, a conceptional framework was synthesized in consideration of the benefits of each technology. A survey questionnaire to FM professionals was conducted to evaluate the proposed framework and identify the challenges of adopting ICT in the FM industry. Furthermore, return on investment and strength, weakness, opportunities and threats analysis have been used in this paper as evaluation methods for ICT industry adoption.

The survey results are validated by FM professionals for the future engagement of the integrated ICT applications. Also, the proposed framework can assist the decision-makers to have comprehensive information about facilities and systematize the communication among stakeholders.

This research provides an integrated framework for smart FM to improve decision-making, capitalizing on the ICT applications. Apart from this, the study sheds light on future research endeavors for other ICT applications.

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.

Effective use of post-occupancy evaluation (POE) data – quantitative physical measurements and qualitative occupants’ perceptions are limited due to practical challenges and research gaps. Although building information modelling (BIM) has enabled a paradigm shift in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industries, its use in facility management (FM) is still infancy. Limited research has used building performance data to enable changes to BIM models for the benefit of FM. This paper aims to propose the innovative process to collect and contextualize two fragmented types of POE data sets by filling methodological gap in POE research. Moreover, it presents innovative modelling techniques to facilitate BIM as a more effective platform to visualize such currently fragmented data sets in real-time while enabling a decision-making model to benefit facility managers.

The paper presents a process of capturing cloud-based POE data, both wireless sensor network-based physical measurement data and mobile app-based occupant perception data. Real-time capture and visualization of such building performance data was demonstrated through a pilot data collection. Subsequently, the innovative visualization of the cloud connected data is supported by a prototype game engine-based BIM model.

Cloud-based POE data, both quantitative physical measurements and qualitative occupants’ reported perceptions, can be effectively used in FM practice with the use of innovative data capture and visualization techniques in a beneficial manner for facility operation and management decisions. This paper also demonstrates the ability of BIM to serve as a “single source of truth” to support post-construction building performance data.

While addressing a number of research gaps, the paper provides a holistic approach to BIM-based performance monitoring for smart FM to achieve the ultimate vision of BIM enabled FM. The innovative system is expected to provide a powerful and practical tool for data collection, analysis and visualization for intelligent facility management decision making. This paper contributes to fill an important research and practice gap in the area of next generation smart building management practices.

This study aims to explore an emerging collection of smart building technologies, known as smart workplace solutions (SWS), in the context of facilities management (FM).

This study is based on semi-structured interviews with facility managers in Finland, Norway and Sweden who have deployed SWSs in their organizations. SWS features, based on empirical data from a previous study, were also used to further analyse the interviews.

It analyses the benefits that SWSs bring from the facility management point of view. It is clear that the impetus for change and for deploying SWS in the context of FM is primarily driven by cost savings related to reductions in office space.

This research has been conducted with a focus on office buildings only. However, other building types can learn from the benefits that facility managers receive in the area of user-centred smart buildings.

SWSs are often seen as employee experience solutions that are only related to “soft” elements such as collaboration, innovation and learning. Understanding the FM business case can help make a more practical case for their deployment.

SWSs are an emerging area, and this study has collected data from facility managers who use them daily.