Assessing the perceived benefits and implementation challenges of digital twin–Internet of Things adoption in construction projects

Abstract

Although prior studies have identified the benefits and implementation challenges of digital twin–Internet of Things (DT–IoT) adoption in construction, limited empirical evidence explains how specific implementation challenges are associated with weaker realization of expected benefits in construction projects. This study aims to examine the perceived benefits and implementation challenges of DT–IoT adoption and investigates the statistical associations between them. A systematic literature review was conducted to identify 14 benefit items and 17 implementation challenge items, which were refined through expert review and incorporated into a structured online questionnaire distributed via QuestionPro to construction professionals in the United States. A total of 135 valid responses were analyzed. Instrument reliability was confirmed using Cronbach’s alpha, and the data were analyzed using mean score ranking and Spearman’s rank correlation analysis. Enhanced project quality, optimized resource utilization and improved workforce productivity were the highest-ranked perceived benefits of DT–IoT adoption. The most critical perceived implementation challenges were technical incompatibility with existing systems, resistance to change and misalignment with existing workflows. The correlation analysis identified 45 statistically significant relationships between perceived benefits and implementation challenges. The absence of clear implementation guidelines, lack of technical skills and lack of team spirit were the implementation challenges most consistently associated with weaker realization of project quality, safety and efficiency, productivity, reduced dependency on manual processes and asset management outcomes. The findings suggest that construction firms should strengthen technical capability, assess system compatibility, establish clear implementation roadmaps and adopt phased deployment strategies to improve DT–IoT readiness and benefit realization. This study moves beyond the separate identification and ranking of DT–IoT benefits and implementation challenges by examining the relationships between them. It also shows that the challenges perceived as most critical were not necessarily those associated with the broadest range of perceived benefits, providing a more targeted basis for implementation prioritization.