No abstract

Fragmentation in the construction sector has been identified as a main concern by several scholars over the years as it creates silos not only between the actors and stages across an asset's lifecycle but also across a portfolio of projects. Among other things, fragmentation has a negative impact on the flow of information between participating organizations, thereby affecting value generation. Despite the rising digitization of this sector, these challenges remain and even compound issues such as the effective management of information throughout the built asset's lifecycle. Research and development pertaining to the management of information and generation of value has mainly focused on separate phases of assets or the delivery stage. However, a gap in knowledge and theory for information management and requirements management throughout the use phase of the asset's lifecycle still remains. This paper highlights the consequences of fragmentation from an information management perspective and its impact on value generation across an asset's lifecycle.

The built asset industry’s notorious productivity gap is being targeted through digitalization, operationalized through Building Information Modelling (BIM), and the application of Lean philosophy to the planning, design, delivery, maintenance, and management of the built environment. While both approaches grow in popularity, their development has remained largely on parallel tracks. Both approaches have existed, for the most part, as two independent initiatives aimed at improving performance and productivity. An increasing amount of work however is pointing to the significant potential that can be achieved through the integration of both approaches. This paper investigates the mutual relations and synergies between BIM and Lean from an information management perspective. The paper also presents the key similarities, differences, synergies, and interactions between these two main drivers of built asset industry reform, while providing an investigation into the principles guiding the application of both within the construction industry.