D1.2 RECONMATIC. Digital Information Management System
Creators: name: Saad, Ali
name: Underwood, Jason
name: Ferriz-Papi, Juan Antonio
Publisher: name: Zenodo
Year: 2024
Subjects: subject: circular economy
subject: construction
subject: life cycle
subject: material flow analysis
subject: data
subject: data management
subject: digital technologies
subject: waste
subject: Waste management
subject: Sustainable building

description: The construction industry, renowned for its resource intensity, can plate a pivotal role in the Circular Economy (CE) transition. However, the unique industrial characteristics and the intricate nature of CE pose challenges to its implementation in construction. Addressing these challenges necessitates the exploration of Industry 4.0 as promising solutions, given their potential to support decision-making aligned with CE objectives.

The literature is reviewed to identify problems in Construction and Demolition Waste Management (CDWM). Whereas a critical review of the extant literature in the field of Industry 4.0 has established three critical research gaps in the integration of Industry 4.0 technologies to support CDWM. Specifically, the absence of a comprehensive integrative Digital Information Management System (DIMS) covering the entire project life-cycle, from inception to demolition, is an identified key limitation. Information Management involves the procedures through which an organization gathers, organizes, stores, utilizes, and disseminates its data to carry out its fundamental business functions throughout various stages of asset life-cycle activities. Knowing that it is vital in CDWM to understand the generation, composition, flows and recycling potentials. Material flow analysis (MFA) serves as a valuable tool for quantifying material flows and stocks and is widely utilized for this purpose. Most current digital information systems also lack support for MFA. Furthermore, there is lack of clarity of the roles and engagement of various stakeholders within these systems and the CDWM process.

Therefore, this research endeavours to address these identified gaps by proposing the development of a DIMS for Facilitating CDWM, particularly in relation to MFA. This system aims to seamlessly integrates Building Information Modelling (BIM), Blockchain, and the Internet of Things (IoT) to facilitate effective CDWM. The overarching goal is to align these technological advancements with the principles of CE, paving the way for a more sustainable and efficient construction industry, while serving the RECONMATIC demonstrators as pilot applications.

To develop the DIMS, this research adopts the Design Science Research (DSR) methodology. This structured approach commences with an awareness of the problem, progresses to proposing a solution, and involves the iterative development of the artifact through a co-creation between RECONMATIC partners and the wider industry. The subsequent steps include rigorous evaluation of the artifact's effectiveness through the RECONMATIC demonstrators, followed by developing a system architecture and then implement the system architecture in the development of a DIMS demonstrator prototype leading to conclusive findings and informed recommendations. By employing DSR, the research ensures a systematic and practical approach to addressing the challenges in construction waste management within the context of CE principles.

To-date, the study is in the pivotal stage of proposing a solution to integrate BIM, IoT, and Blockchain. This proposed solution aims to address the existing gaps in CDWM by supporting MFA and comprehensively covering the entire life-cycle of a project, while taking into consideration the role and engagement of stakeholders in the system. This stage of establishing a proposed framework that provides a holistic understanding to the key concepts and constructs, and their relationships, sets the foundation for the subsequent phases of design, development, evaluation, and ultimately, the implementation of an innovative demonstrator solution in the construction industry. With this, the study is poised to advance into the co-creation of the initial system architecture, meticulously designed within the proposed framework developed for the DIMS.