Digital twin system for managing and controlling physical resources during construction activities: application in the concrete walls constructive system

Abstract

Digital Twins operate on key principles that can be summarized as integrating physical and virtual worlds into bidirectional and dynamically updated data flows, providing conceptualization, comparison, and collaboration based on existing advanced technologies to solve specific problems and realize value. Based on these principles, Digital Twins can effectively address key challenges in the construction industry, such as low productivity and quality commonly observed on construction sites. The main objective of this study is to propose and develop an integrated Digital Twin system to improve the management and control of physical resources (personnel, equipment, and materials) during construction activities in construction projects. The system focuses on the quality and productivity of the concrete wall constructive system and is called Smart Twins 5.0. The specific objectives are: (a) propose conceptual, technical, and technological requirements to design the integrated system using digital technologies to manage and control construction activities, considering the Digital Twins principles; (b) propose simulation components for the integrated system to manage and control construction activities, considering the Digital Twins principles; and (c) propose practical requirements for implementing and using Digital Twin to manage and control construction activities. The research strategy to conduct the study is Design Science Research (DSR), which includes the following steps: (a) Awareness – conducting a literature review to explore the research problem and investigating the practical problems through a pilot implementation; (b) Suggestion – proposing the three artifacts: a conceptual model for Digital Twins, a computational model for simulating workers' behavior on-site, and the integrated system called Smart Twins 5.0, which incorporates the others; (c) Development – instantiating operational versions of the proposals and defining a strategy for real-world implementation on construction sites; (d) Evaluation – measuring system performance based on predefined constructs; and (e) Conclusion – discussion of results and future work, final considerations, and dissemination of results. The key results include the proposal of a conceptual model for any Digital Twins for construction activities, a computational model that represents an original effort to simulate workers' behavior using Agent-based Model (ABM) and Discrete Event (DE) as components of a Digital Twin, and the integrated system Smart Twins 5.0, which bridged the gaps between Digital Twins theory and practice at the operational level of construction sites to enhance managers' decision-making during the construction phases, promoting quality and productivity improvements. The key contributions include discussions on artifacts, models, and methods that align with the objectives and requirements of the study, thereby advancing knowledge in Digital Twin systems for the construction industry. The final system is designed to improve the information flow regarding the on-site management and control of physical resources.