An operational framework for implementing digital systems in public administrations’ processes in the design phase

Governments have been promoting policies for fostering innovation and economic growth through processes of digital transformation in different sectors over the last decade. Referring to the Architecture, Engineering, Construction and Operation (AECO) industry, public administrations (PAs) have been trying to comply with legal requirements by exploiting cutting-edge digital tools and innovative methods such as Building Information Modelling (BIM). Compared to traditional methods and technologies, this process can boost project management by increasing collaboration among stakeholders, providing enhanced facility visualisation and reducing errors. Although its strategic benefits are widely recognised, the lack of technical skills and the strong attachment to old standards of operation have hindered its adoption, especially in the Italian context. Thus, there is a great need to push PAs towards a change of mentality and processes and check their adoption. After collecting data through literature review and interviews, this research aims to define an operational framework that supports PAs to implement and check the digitalisation of their workflows for the design phase. The framework consists of three consecutive milestones, including acquisition, modelling and verification. The framework is based on an iterative process, which is in common among the three identified milestones. For each of these milestones, a set of key performance indicators was defined to assess the implementation. Indicators were developed by exploiting five-point-based levels and addressing focal points for implementing digital systems. Taking limits and the BIM maturity level of PAs into account, this step-by-step adoption will help PAs to support BIM implementation and leverage their processes.