What question did this study set out to answer?

The research aims to explore barriers and benefits of adopting digital twin technology in the construction industry.

March 12, 2026Open Access

Digital Twins Across the Asset Lifecycle: Technical, Organisational, Economic, and Regulatory Challenges

Key Points

The research aims to explore barriers and benefits of adopting digital twin technology in the construction industry.
Conducted a systematic literature review of 160 studies from 2018 to 2026
Used PRISMA guidelines for study selection and inter-rater reliability testing (Cohen’s κ = 0.83)
Analyzed performance gains from digital twin implementations
Notable reductions in rework and logistics by up to 80% reported
Cost savings approximately 5% indicated from high-performing pilots
Schedule acceleration of around two months observed
Energy reductions between 15-30% demonstrated
Maintenance cost reductions of 10-25% noted

Abstract

The construction industry faces persistent challenges in productivity, efficiency, and sustainability. Digital twin (DT) technology has emerged as a promising pathway for lifecycle optimisation, yet its construction adoption remains limited. Key barriers include fragmentation across project phases, weak data continuity at handover, and conceptual ambiguity between DT and Building Information Modelling (BIM). This systematic literature review analyses 160 peer-reviewed studies (2018–2026) selected from 463 Scopus records using a PRISMA-guided process and inter-rater reliability testing (Cohen’s κ = 0.83). The review clarifies that DTs extend beyond BIM in three ways: they enable bidirectional, automated physical-digital data exchange; integrate heterogeneous real-time sources such as IoT sensors and operational systems; and maintain lifecycle continuity from design through to end-of-life. Select advanced implementations report notable performance gains. These include rework and logistics reductions of up to 80%, cost savings of approximately 5%, schedule acceleration of around two months, energy reductions of 15–30%, and maintenance cost reductions of 10–25%. These figures reflect case-level outcomes from high-performing pilots and should not be read as typical industry benchmarks. Broader adoption remains constrained by interoperability gaps, data quality challenges, digital maturity deficits, misaligned stakeholder incentives, and paper-based regulatory environments. DTs represent a socio-technical transformation, not a standalone technology upgrade. Realising their potential requires coordinated progress in standards development, governance frameworks, collaborative delivery models, and workforce capability. Future research should focus on scalable interoperability, longitudinal lifecycle value validation, human-centred adoption strategies, and sustainability assessment methods to support evidence-based diffusion of DTs in the built environment.

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