Peeking into the void: Digital twins for construction site logistics

Construction is one of the least-digitized industries in the economy. To rein in the rising costs of building activities, digital transformation is one of the pillars that industry leaders rely on. A case in point are logistics processes which are characterized by very limited visibility and inefficient organization. To progress beyond this current state of the art, we conceptualize the idea of a lightweight digital twin for non-high-tech industries. In collaboration with a leading supplier of building materials, we explore the opportunities offered by digital silo twin capabilities. Focusing on fill level monitoring we identify diverse opportunities for generating informational, automational and transformational business value. Leveraging new information sources for the redesign of core business processes drastically increases the complexity of operational decision-making. To tap into these opportunities, we design and implement a decision support system for silo dispatch and replenishment activity. (C) 2020 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.