Investigation of the Costs and Benefits of Digital Twins in Construction
Abstract
New digital technologies instigated by Industry 4.0 are driving digital transformation across various industries. One of the most recent concepts attracting attention in the research and industrial community is digital twins (DT). Remarkable advancements as a result of DT adoption have been seen in manufacturing and automotive industries; however, much less adoption has been seen in the construction industry due to challenges such as industry key players’ technology-averse attitudes and a lack of evidence of the costs and benefits of DT adoption. This paper presents an exploratory investigation into the cost and benefits of DT implementation in the construction industry from the perspective of early adopters. Interviews with these adopters revealed that beyond the initial software and hardware cost, there are significant costs related to staff training, implementation time, and employer/employee adoption resistance. We propose a set of considerations and guidance for researchers and industry practitioners interested in DT implementation.
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High implementation costs are one of the most frequently cited and tangible barriers to the adoption of digital twin systems in civil infrastructures.
“One of the most frequently cited and tangible barriers to the adoption of DTs systems in civil infrastructures is the high implementation costs.”
From Advancing civil infrastructure with digital twins: a review of applications and challenges (2025) · cites this paper as Abugu et al., 2024
Implementation costs of digital twins in civil engineering remain high due to the need for sophisticated sensors, high-performance computing, and advanced simulation tools.
“These challenges include high implementation costs due to the need for sophisticated sensors, high-performance computing, and advanced simulation tools.”
From Advancing civil infrastructure with digital twins: a review of applications and challenges (2025) · cites this paper as Abugu et al., 2024
Abugu et al. (2024) confirmed high upfront costs for software, hardware, and training as major barriers to digital twin adoption.
“Confirms high upfront costs for software, hardware, and training as major barriers”
From Advancing civil infrastructure with digital twins: a review of applications and challenges (2025) · cites this paper as Abugu et al. (2024)
Cites
Digital Twin in Industry: State-of-the-Art
Tao, F., Zhang, H., Liu, A., & Nee, A. Y. C. (2019) · IEEE Transactions on Industrial Informatics · doi:10.1109/tii.2018.2873186 · Cited by 4,391 · see citing works
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Advancing civil infrastructure with digital twins: a review of applications and challenges
Kaveh, H., & Alhajj, R. (2025) · Journal of Civil Engineering and Management · doi:10.3846/jcem.2025.24921 · Cited by 12 · see citing works
- Authors
- Abugu, C. T., Anumba, C. J., & Asare, K. A. B.
- Affiliations
- University of Florida (US)
- Corresponding author
- Abugu, Christian T.
- Anumba, Chimay J.
- Asare, Kofi A. B.
- Venue
- Computing in Civil Engineering 2023
- Publisher
- American Society of Civil Engineers
- Published
- 2024-01-25
- Pages
- 544-552
- OpenAlex
- W4392455641
- Cited by
- 5
- References
- 1
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 3 · 2024: 1
- FWCI
- 5.26
- Type
- conference paper
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- ASCE International Conference on Computing in Civil Engineering (i3CE) (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Building and Construction › BIM and Construction Integration
- Physical Sciences › Engineering › Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering › Digital Transformation in Industry
- Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Management Science and Operations Research › Construction Project Management and Performance
- Keywords
- digital twin, construction industry, Industry 4.0, digital transformation, technology adoption, implementation costs, employee training, resistance to change, early adopters
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