Wen, H; AbouRizk, S and Mohamed, Y (2025) Gap analysis of digitalization levels in construction and manufacturing: A comparative study of construction 4.0 and industry 4.0. Journal of Construction Engineering and Management, 151(3): 04025001, ISSN 0733-9364
Abstract
The digital transformation of the construction industry has been much slower than that of manufacturing. The gaps and causes require in-depth study, and the findings contribute to future directions. Therefore, this study conducts extensive research on the gaps and differences between Construction 4.0 and Industry 4.0. This study utilizes hybrid approaches of brainstorming, bibliometric analysis, literature review, the Delphi method, and the Bayesian network to benchmark digital technologies and application scenarios. The results of this study show that there are only half the number of digital construction academic records than there are of digital manufacturing; the build-phase substantially lags behind other phases in the lifecycle; cyber-physical systems and cybersecurity are less applied in construction; scenarios such as operational efficiency and process optimization, equipment and facility management, supply chain, and cybersecurity show fewer applications in construction; and data openness and worker digital skill are the most contributive and changeable causes of construction digitalization.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Index terms: | transformation, bayesian network, gap analysis, digital construction, efficiency, industry 4.0, Delphi method, construction 4.0, construction industry, lifecycle, comparative study, bibliometric analysis, literature review, digitalization, digital technology |
| Subjects: | digital engineering, digital technology, performance measurement, performance management, research evaluation and metrics, probabilistic model, industry analysis, information systems, data collection methods, research design and methodology, business, computing systems, data analysis and analytics, technology adoption, project delivery |
| Topics: | Digital Applications, Business Strategy, Research Practice, Information Management, Quality Management, Project Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
N.B. Descriptive scope is a count of how many of the five facets of empirical research are indicated by the words used in title, abstract and keywords. It is not intended as a judgement on the research; merely a count of the kind of word we would expect to indicate Phenomenon, Concepts, Theoretical framing, Empirical techniques, Analytical techniques. If all five are present, then a code of “5 PCTEA” will indicate this. If you feel the coding for this record is questionable, we welcome discussion around the terms we matched or the way we categorized them. The facet you would expect may not be coded, or a facet may be coded inappropriately. This can also bear on a larger question, of which facets should be treated as defining in construction management research. Please get in touch, and we will look at it. More details here