Digitalization of construction life cycle: A systematic review of building and reliability information modelling (BRIM)

Building information modelling (BIM) is changing the way that facilities and infrastructure are conceived and managed. It gives opportunities for improving buildings design and construction, which in turn enables successful project delivery. However, studies have revealed that BIM application is mostly centered on the early stages of the construction life cycle (CLC) especially planning, design and construction. This segregated application implies that there could be a missed opportunity, especially that operation and maintenance (O&M) stages sometimes account for approximately 60% of the total CLC costs. Additionally, O&M stages offer the highest opportunity to achieve good return on investment (ROI). Based on this premise, this study applies a systematic approach to review existing literature surrounding BIM applications in CLC, with specific interest on the O&M stages to establish the proficiency of integrating BIM and reliability information management (RIM). Besides highlighting current BIM and RIM knowledge trends within CLC, the study also identifies the possible drivers and barriers of such integrations. The main findings show that the growing applications of BIM in architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) industry is changing the way O&M can be approached. BIM was found to be integrated mainly under four major areas: safety, data capturing and simulation, technological/project management and operation and maintenance (O&M). Based on the systematic review, drivers and barriers of the integrations can be categorized into three main areas; governmental, technical and organizational.