Building information modelling-based digital twin applications in construction safety management: a review

In the last decade, digital technologies have led to an industrial transformation that has sparked research attention. The architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) industry has widely used building information modelling (BIM) and digital twin (DT), particularly in the context of construction safety management. This paper aimed to conduct a science mapping review of BIM-based DT applications to identify current hot topics and future research directions in this domain. In total, 85 relevant articles from the Scopus database were screened and analysed using a bibliometric and science mapping approach. The results show that the prominent research keywords in the literature on BIM-based DT focused on BIM, DT, and the Internet of Things (IoT). Moreover, the current hot topics include advanced technologies, asset management, facility management, and operation and maintenance. Furthermore, a framework for future research directions was presented to offer novel and practical insights to researchers and practitioners. Overall, these findings not only provide current hot topics of BIM-based DT applications in construction safety but also contribute to extending the research agenda towards Construction 4.0.