Construction has always been characterized as a fragmented, complex, and challenging industry. This has been reflected throughout the life cycle of construction projects, whether in design, construction, or operation and maintenance (O&M). Although efforts have been made to identify and solve problems in design and construction, there is a high degree of disconnection and lack of consensus in the O&M stage, represented by Facility Management (FM). This paper carries out a bibliographic review of the challenges and problems faced by facility management and the methods and technologies proposed for their solution. Moreover, an introduction to Virtual Design and Construction is made as an emerging methodology showing interesting results in the design and construction stages. The hypothesis is that the same positive results can be obtained if VDC were applied to an O&M stage. Finally, an Int...

Compared with other industries, construction has maintained one of the lowest growth rates in productivity and innovation over the last decades. Moreover, low compliance with schedule targets has remained a common issue throughout projects. Therefore, although methodologies developed have benefited productivity in design, construction and operation, meeting client and project objectives becomes challenging without properly integrating organization, information, systems and processes. This perspective introduces the Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) framework. First, this paper studies and reviews VDC since its creation at the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering (CIFE) of Stanford University in 2001. After that, a comprehensive bibliographical review of the VDC framework is presented and updated with examples of its application in construction projects, delving into its element...