Multi-domain data integration and management for enhancing service-oriented digital twin for infrastructure operation and maintenance

Abstract

The evolution from Building Information Modelling (BIM) to Digital Twins (DT) marks a shift from static models to dynamic data-centric representations. Using DT can improve Infrastructure Operation and Maintenance (IOM) through prompt and comprehensive data, especially by providing services and value-added features. However, developing this service-oriented digital twin (SoDT) for IOM faces challenges due to data heterogeneity, fragmentation, and interoperability issues across various systems used by different asset authorities. This paper develops a service-oriented digital twin framework for IOM (SoDT-IOM), which focuses on multi-domain data integration and IOM service-oriented design. Service-oriented DT components and data integration mechanisms are developed, and an individual-multiple interacted data repository for IOM services is designed. Two-stage industrial interviews are conducted, and two use cases are illustrated to evaluate the functionality and efficacy of the framework. The evaluation results reveal that implementing a SoDT-IOM framework encounters challenges related to cost and data security; however, it is appreciated for its capacity to improve decision-making and collaboration with linked, accurate and timely data. This paper proposes further design requirements and implementation recommendations for SoDT of asset management from both technical and managerial perspectives.