33rd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 33) - Osaka and Kyoto, Japan - 2025

https://doi.org/10.24928/2025/0288

Analysis of the Integration Between Digital Twins and Lean Construction for Construction Projects

Jorge Mauricio Ramirez1 & Ivanka Iordanova2

1PhD Candidate, Département de génie de la construction, École de technologie supérieure, Université du Québec, Canada, [email protected], orcid.org/0009-0009-0332-6042
2Professor, Département de génie de la construction, École de technologie supérieure, Université du Québec, Canada, [email protected], orcid.org/0000-0002-4596-2604

Abstract

In recent years, academics and stakeholders in the Architecture, Engineering and Construction (AEC) industry have developed strategies to address the issue of low productivity, resulting in the emergence of two distinct approaches: the 'managerial' and the 'technological'. Recently, researchers have advocated the integration of these approaches, in particular by exploring the potential for an integrated implementation of the Digital Twin (DT) concept and Lean Construction (LC) theory. In order to contribute to the theoretical foundation of this integration, this study investigates the theoretical feasibility of an integration between DT and LC in the context of construction projects by adopting a mixed methods research approach, combining literature review with a hybrid analytical approach. The following general research question is addressed: "Is a synergy between the DT concept and the LC theory feasible and beneficial in the context of construction projects? If ‘yes’, in what contexts and how?” As a novelty, this study explores possible interactions between the principles, functionalities, potentials, barriers and challenges of both DT and LC in order to theorize the positive and negative aspects of this integration in the context of construction projects. Preliminary results show that some of the barriers that prevent the full use of LC in the execution of construction projects can be overcome if its implementation is supported by a technological application based on the concept of DT. In turn, a DT application can add value to the process and the final product, thus addressing some of the challenges to its wider adoption in the construction phase of AEC projects.

Keywords

Lean construction (LC), Digital Twin (DT), DT-LC integration, construction productivity.

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Reference in APA 7th edition format:

Ramirez, J. M. & Iordanova, I.. (2025). Analysis of the Integration Between Digital Twins and Lean Construction for Construction Projects. In Seppänen, O., Koskela, L., & Murata , K. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 33rd Annual Conference of the International Group for Lean Construction (IGLC 33) (pp. 941–952). https://doi.org/10.24928/2025/0288

Shortened reference for use in IGLC papers:

Ramirez, J. M. & Iordanova, I.. (2025). Analysis of the Integration Between Digital Twins and Lean Construction for Construction Projects. IGLC33. https://doi.org/10.24928/2025/0288

 

Founded in 1993, the IGLC is an international network of researchers from practice and academia in architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) who feel that the practice, education, and research of the AEC industry have to be radically renewed in order to respond to the global challenges ahead.

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