The Project Manager’s Core Competencies in Smart Building Project Management

Abstract

Project manager competencies have been widely discussed in the literature. Although many works present lists of competencies for project managers, specific competencies for smart buildings were not found. This work aimed to identify the main competencies of project managers for the management of smart building projects. The methodology consisted of a two-step approach using the guidelines of preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analysis (PRISMA) to perform broad and detailed bibliographic research. Initially, a literature review was carried out to identify the main research fields related to the management of smart building projects and the specificities of these fields that can influence the management of this type of project. Next, these specificities were related to the competencies of project managers mentioned in the literature, to identify a set of more relevant competencies for project managers of smart building projects. The results showed that the main research fields are related to scope, risks, costs, schedule, technologies and systems, sustainability, and general characterization, which consider objectives, barriers, challenges, and regulations. They also showed that the most relevant competencies for managing smart buildings projects are technical competencies, leadership, communication, budgeting, attitudes toward risk, strategic management, organization, and specifying real requirements. These findings show the importance of hard and soft skills for managing smart building projects.

Digital Twin Approach in Buildings: Future Challenges via a Critical Literature Review

“…DT, devices, and sensors installed for monitoring and Building Automation Control Systems (BACS) create smart buildings and make the potential upgrade to cognitive buildings achievable. Physical/digital (phygital) constructions, smart grid nodes, and smart cities are capable of communicating with other buildings, mobility systems, and users [108,109].…”

The Main Barriers Limiting the Development of Smart Buildings

“…Regarding the barrier "building management systems' functionality limitations", Eini et al [29] highlight that a comprehensive development of building management systems (BMSs) is challenging due to many building components, the vast amount of data, the diversity in building dynamics, and the inevitable uncertainties. Rodrigues et al [30] highlight that managing large volumes of data is a complex activity that makes developing BMSs difficult. Pašek and Sojková [31] and Marinakis [32] reached the same conclusion.…”

“…Regarding "difficulties in adopting and coordinating energy-efficient systems", we identified approaches related to increased energy use due to the growing number of installed devices, the need for energy management improvements, and incentives for consumption reduction [11,30,[36][37][38]. The difficulties in introducing renewable energy generation systems are pointed out by Apanavičienė and Shahrabani [13], and the need for an adequate energy microgeneration tax system is described by Gobbo Jr. et al [33].…”

“…Regarding the barrier "Difficulty accessing smarter technologies, materials, and equipment", the unavailability of sustainable materials and smart equipment [15,30,43,44], the time required to approve new technologies [30,44], and the complexity of competition rules and processes are factors identified as inhibitors of the smart construction market [45,46].…”

“…Regarding identifying barriers that limit the development of smart buildings, we did not identify works whose main objective was to identify these barriers and address them in an integrated way. However, we identified works that focus on specific aspects, such as the difficulties imposed on project management by the requirements and specificities of smart buildings [27,28]. We also identified works that, although they did not aim to identify barriers, cited some barriers or presented situations that could be identified as barriers.…”