Project Data Categorization, Adoption Factors, and Non-Functional Requirements for Blockchain Based Digital Twins in the Construction Industry 4.0

Abstract

As key technologies of the fourth industrial revolution, blockchain and digital twins have great potential to enhance collaboration, data sharing, efficiency, and sustainability in the construction industry. Blockchain can improve data integrity and enhance trust in the data value chain throughout the entire lifecycle of projects. This paper aims to develop a novel theoretical framework for the adoption of environmentally sustainable blockchain-based digital twins (BCDT) for Construction Industry (CI) 4.0. The paper identifies which key data from construction projects lifecycle should be anchored in BCDTs to benefit CI 4.0 and the environment. The paper also identifies key factors and non-functional requirements necessary for the adoption of BCDTs in a decentralized and sustainable CI 4.0. At first, a content analysis of the literature allowed the identification of which data from projects lifecycle would benefit from blockchain technology (BCT) adoption and what the key factors and non-functional requirements necessary for the adoption of BCDT in the CI4.0 are. Furthermore, the analysis of structured interviews and online survey permitted to firstly validate the hypotheses raised from the literature and to offer a novel framework for BCDT of CI 4.0 in the context of the circular economy (CE). The findings are that (1) the key project lifecycle data relevant for BCDTs relate to the BIM dimensions (3D, 4D, 5D, 6D, 7D, and 8D) and a new dimension called the contractual dimension (cD) is also proposed. (2) Ecosystems of BCDTs should embrace a novel form of collaboration that is decentralized and presented as Level 4 maturity for BCDTs. This new level of maturity leverages distributed blockchain networks to enhance collaboration, processes automation with smart contracts, and data sharing within a decentralized data value chain. Finally (3), the main non-functional requirements for BCDTs are security, privacy, interoperability, data ownership, data integrity, and the decentralization and scalability of data storage. With the proposed framework including the BCDT dimensions, the Maturity Level 4, and the key non-functional requirements, this paper provides the building blocks for industry practitioners to adopt BCDTs. This is promising for CI 4.0 to embrace a paradigm shift towards decentralized ecosystems of united BCDTs where trust, collaboration, data sharing, information security, efficiency, and sustainability are improved throughout the lifecycle of projects and within a decentralized CE (DCE).

Asset information requirements for blockchain-based digital twins: a data-driven predictive analytics perspective

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“…One commonly discussed challenge of BCT is the energy consumption of certain BCT protocols. By switching to more energy-efficient consensus mechanisms the overall energy consumption of BCT can be reduced (Salah et al ., 2019; Suhail et al ., 2022; Teisserenc and Sepasgozar, 2021b; Vranken, 2017). However, due to the transaction speed limitations of BCT, large data volumes are challenging to store or process on the blockchain (Nawari and Ravindran, 2019; Pedersen et al ., 2019; Suhail et al ., 2022).…”

“…For instance, off-chain storage induces centralization the validity of off-chain transactions cannot be guaranteed, state consistency of on and off-chain storage in real-time and security issues (Suhail et al ., 2022). Hence it is recommended that future studies identify and define what data to be stored on or off the blockchain (Suhail et al ., 2022; Teisserenc and Sepasgozar, 2021b).…”

A conceptual framework of decentralized blockchain integrated system based on building information modeling to steering digital administration of disputes in the IPD contracts

“…BCT surrounds cryptography and peer-to-peer networks to secure a distributed database of historical timestamped transactions (Teisserenc and Sepasgozar, 2021). In BCT, transactions are recorded in an unaltered publicly shared ledger; whenever transactions are performed on the concerned system, each connected node stores a copy of the (Singh et al , 2023).…”

Theoretical framework and research prospect of the impact of China’s digital economic development on population

“…First is the impact of the digital economy on industry. Against the backdrop of the fourth Industrial Revolution, the development of the digital economy has great potential for strengthening cooperation, data sharing, efficiency improvement, and sustainable development in the construction industry (Teisserenc & Sepasgozar, 2021). Meanwhile, the digital economy can also promote the internal and external practices of the construction industry (Li et al, 2019).…”