Development of a Framework for the Implementation of Digital Twin for Building Maintenance Management

Obarisiagbon, Osaze (2025) Development of a Framework for the Implementation of Digital Twin for Building Maintenance Management. Doctoral thesis, Birmingham City University.

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Abstract

Building maintenance (BM) is becoming increasingly challenging due to the overbearing complexity of maintenance-related issues, which result in continuous downtime of buildings and assets. The reoccurrence of issues such as design and construction flaws, the use of substandard materials, occupant misuse, and poor management practices have prompted BM organisations to explore proactive management strategies. Technologies such as Computerised Maintenance Management Systems, Building Information Modelling, and Computer-Aided Facility Management have been employed to address conventional error-prone manual procedures. However, these technologies have limitations, especially regarding real-time data updates, which are crucial for BM. Real-time data ensures the adequate availability of comprehensive information on buildings and assets. Digital Twin (DT), a recent technology, offers real-time data status and predictive capabilities through scenario analysis, thereby enhancing strategic planning and improving decision-making for BM management. However, implementing DT in BM organisations, both in developing and developed countries, presents challenges due to the non-availability of established literature. Therefore, this study explores how DT can be implemented at the organisational level for BM management, with a focus on Nigeria as a developing country, to provide contextual insights.

A sequential mixed research method was employed to collect primary data through closed-end questionnaires with BM experts in Nigeria, followed by semi-structured interviews with BM experts in Nigeria and DT experts from developed countries. A purposive sampling technique was employed to recruit participants for both research methods. Sixty-one expert BM professionals were approached for the preliminary quantitative survey, and questionnaires were distributed to them. A snowball sampling technique was subsequently employed to aid in recruiting eleven DT experts and nine BM professionals for the study interviews.

Findings revealed that maintenance-related issues in Nigeria stem from organisational dynamics, technical complexities, and user-related challenges. While Nigerian BM organisations are transitioning towards proactive strategies, substantial potential remains untapped in predictive strategies that can be achieved through DT. DT can assist BM organisations with activities such as building operations, user comfort, decision-making, operating costs, and fault prediction through various analyses, including performance, diagnostic, prognostic, and optimisation. Although these findings evidently reveal DT’s capabilities for BM management, gaps exist between its technical and organisational implementation in literature, posing challenges.

To bridge this gap, the study employed the People, Process, and Technology (PPT) framework as a research lens to identify organisational requirements for DT implementation. These requirements include building owners/clients, maintenance teams, building professionals, and technical staff for the people dimension; workflow and data management for the process dimension; and organisational digitisation for the technology dimension. To connect these dimensions, the Generic Design and Construction Process Protocol was incorporated, which consequently shaped the study’s developed framework.

The developed framework illustrates the interconnection among these dimensions in implementing DT for BM management. An expert focus group evaluated the framework, emphasising its usefulness and applicability for DT implementation in BM organisations. The study concluded that BM organisations should place a greater emphasis on the people and process dimensions, as the technology dimension is effective only when the other two dimensions are adequately structured, thus enabling seamless DT implementation. The research contributed both theoretically and practically, conceptualising DT for maintenance activities and providing a framework for a systematic practical DT implementation for BM organisations.

Item Type:	Thesis (Doctoral)
Dates:	Date Event 15 April 2025 Accepted
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Digital twin; Digital technologies; Building maintenance; Proactive maintenance; Organisational implementation, People, Process, and Technology framework
Subjects:	CAH13 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01 - architecture, building and planning > CAH13-01-02 - building
Divisions:	Architecture, Built Environment, Computing and Engineering > Architecture and Built Environment > Built Environment Doctoral Research College > Doctoral Theses Collection
Depositing User:	Louise Muldowney
Date Deposited:	01 Sep 2025 10:18
Last Modified:	01 Sep 2025 10:18
URI:	https://www.open-access.bcu.ac.uk/id/eprint/16621

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