Cross industry learning: a comparative study of product lifecycle management and building information modelling

Abstract

Discrete manufacturing industries have made significant improvements in productivity and management efficiency over the past three decades in part due to the application of product lifecycle management (PLM). This progress has not been matched in the construction industry. As construction firms continue to adopt building information modelling (BIM) and strive to achieve similar improvements, learning from the experiences of discrete manufacturing and implementations of PLM could prove valuable. Based on a review of existing literature, this paper provides a typology for comparing PLM and BIM so as to discuss and associate findings from existing studies. The review of 56 papers contrasts the underlying concepts, objectives, methods and supporting technologies of PLM and BIM. In addition, their intended impacts and criticisms are also explored. Discussion centres on elucidating the differences and similarities between PLM and BIM relative to the unique characteristics of their application domains. The paper shows that whilst the differences are significant, their similarities merit further research into the transfer of lessons learned.