A Digital Information Management System (DIMS) Framework for Circular Construction: Integrating Industry 4.0 Technologies for Lifecycle Material Flow Management

The growing reliance on virgin resources in construction, alongside accelerated urban development and the significant volumes of waste generated at the end-of-life phase of buildings, has intensified environmental impacts across the built environment. These challenges highlight the urgent need to transition towards a circular economy (CE) in the construction sector. At the same time, the sector’s ongoing digital transformation presents opportunities to enhance stakeholder collaboration and improve construction and demolition waste management (CDWM) practices. This paper aims to develop a conceptual framework for a Digital Information Management System (DIMS) to support CE implementation in construction through improved CDWM. Following the Design Science Research methodology, this paper addresses the first two stages: problem identification and solution proposition. A questionnaire survey with industry experts was conducted to validate the problem areas identified in the literature and assess the applicability of the proposed conceptual framework. The findings confirm critical gaps in CDWM, including limited stakeholder collaboration, fragmented processes, and the absence of lifecycle-spanning information systems, and validate the proposed conceptual framework solution, particularly the integration of BIM and IoT to support material and product flow tracking throughout the project lifecycle, supported by clearly defined stakeholder roles and engagements. However, respondents expressed reservations regarding Blockchain due to concerns about energy consumption and long-term data storage. Overall, the validated conceptual framework for DIMS provides a robust foundation for future studies, to focus on co-creating and developing a detailed conceptual model for DIMS for future real-world implementation.