A Review of Building Information Modeling and Simulation as Virtual Representations Under the Digital Twin Concept

Abstract

Building Information Modeling (BIM) is a highly promising technique for achieving digitalization in the construction industry, widely used in modern construction projects for digitally representing facilities. Nevertheless, retains limitations in terms of representing construction operations. The digital twin concept may potentially overcome these limitations and initiate advanced digital transformation in the construction industry as it has revolutionized the product lifecycle management in the manufacturing industry. This research provides a critical review of applying digital twin in the construction industry. Altogether, 140 papers from related journals and databases were reviewed. The digital aspect of twinning consists of BIM and simulation modeling. These two techniques have been used to create virtual or digital representations of actual buildings and real-world construction processes. However, integrating and applying BIM and simulation modeling according to the digital twin concept remains to be fully studied. Comprehensive evaluations of BIM, simulation modeling, and digital twin will provide a well-defined framework for this research, to identify direction and potential for digital twin in the construction industry, thereby progressing to the next level of digitalization and improvement in construction management practice.