Recent technological developments and advances in artificial intelligence (AI) have enabled sophisticated capabilities to be a part of digital twins (DTs), virtually making it possible to introduce automation into all aspects of work processes. Given these possibilities that DT can offer, practitioners are facing increasingly difficult decisions regarding what capabilities to select when deploying a DT in practice. The lack of research in this field has not helped. It has resulted in the rebranding and reuse of emerging technological capabilities such as prediction, simulation, AI, and machine learning (ML) as necessary constituents of DT. Inappropriate selection of capabilities in a DT can result in missed opportunities, strategic misalignments, inflated expectations, and the risk of it being rejected as hype by the practitioners. To alleviate this challenge, this paper proposes a digitalization framework, designed and developed by following a design science research (DSR) methodology over a period of 18 months. The framework can help practitioners select an appropriate level of sophistication in a DT by weighing the pros and cons for each level, determining evaluation criteria for the digital twin system, and assessing the implications of the selected DT on the organizational processes and strategies and value creation. Three real-life case studies illustrated the application and usefulness of the framework.

Facilities management (FM) is a discipline comprising of various operations, activities and maintenance services to support the main functions of an in-use building or facility. It demands comprehensive sets of information about the facility. While various FM information systems are currently being used to manage such information, the multifarious graphical and non-graphical information stored in Building Information Models (BIM) from the pre-use phase have not been sufficiently integrated in existing FM systems. BIM, with its visualization, interoperability and information exchange capabilities, can streamline FM activities. Hence, use of BIM for FM has gained global research interest. This paper analyzes this trend based on qualitative analysis of the state- of-art literature on the topic. In particular, this paper scrutinizes the nature of BIM and FM within their variety of functions and interactions. The analysis concentrates on the value-adding potential of BIM and reports the findings to designate the benefits of BIM for FM, and assess potential challenges that are hindering the effective use of BIM in FM.

Building Information Modelling (BIM) tools and processes are increasingly adopted and implemented in the construction industry. Consequently, BIM education is considered increasingly important in Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) education. While most of the research and literature on BIM education in engineering studies has focused on BIM implementation strategies, processes, benefits, and challenges, there is limited study on students’ perception towards the implementation of BIM courses, or about online BIM learning platforms, or about the BIM tools themselves. Therefore, this paper takes the first steps towards addressing this gap. This study analyses students’ (57 students) perception and sentiments towards the use of an online BIM learning platform and explores the potential implications of the findings for BIM education. The findings suggest that online BIM learning platforms are highly rated by students as a positive learning experience, indicating the need for greater integration of such tools and approaches in AEC courses.