The Future of Campus Management:
How Digital Twins are Transforming Facilities Maintenance
In this post, learn how facility managers are employing digital twins for facility maintenance and campus planning.
What Are Digital Twins?
A digital twin is a virtual replica of a physical asset, system, or process that uses real-time data, simulations, and AI to monitor, analyze, and optimize performance. By integrating IoT sensors, building information modeling (BIM), and AI-driven analytics, digital twins create a dynamic, data-rich model that continuously updates to reflect changes in the physical world. This allows facility managers to enhance and streamline management of their campus.
How Are Digital Twins Used Post-Construction?
After a project is complete, digital twins serve as a powerful tool for facility management, documenting the valuable data captured in construction and allowing owners to easily access it to optimize building performance, enhance sustainability, and predict maintenance needs. By leveraging digital twins, the construction industry is moving toward smarter, more efficient, and data-driven building solutions.
As academic institutions grow in size and complexity, facility managers face increasing challenges in maintaining operational efficiency, sustainability, and safety. Digital twin technology is transforming how academic facilities are managed, providing real-time data, predictive insights, and advanced operational control. By creating a virtual replica of a physical building, digital twins enable institutions to optimize resources, streamline maintenance, and improve the overall student experience. Here are five key benefits of digital twins for academic facilities:
1. Real-Time Monitoring
A digital twin offers a real-time, virtual representation of a building or facility, enabling managers to monitor operations and systems (HVAC, lighting, etc.) continuously. This visibility allows for early detection of performance issues, reducing downtime.
2. Enhanced Energy Efficiency
Digital twins continuously monitor and analyze energy usage across campus buildings, identifying inefficiencies and recommending optimizations. By integrating IoT sensors and AI-driven analytics, facility managers can adjust HVAC, lighting, and water systems in real time, reducing waste and lowering utility costs. This leads to more sustainable operations and helps institutions meet their environmental goals.
3. Predictive Maintenance to Reduce Downtime
One of the biggest challenges in campus facility management is unexpected equipment failure. Digital twins use predictive analytics to forecast when critical systems—such as HVAC, elevators, and electrical grids—are likely to fail. By proactively scheduling maintenance, institutions can avoid costly disruptions, extend the lifespan of assets, and ensure a safe and functional environment for students and staff.
4. Improved Space Utilization
With fluctuating classroom occupancy, evolving hybrid learning models, and dynamic campus needs, optimizing space is more important than ever. Digital twins provide detailed insights into user preferences and how rooms are being used, allowing facility managers to reallocate space effectively. This ensures that classrooms, labs, and communal areas are utilized efficiently, reducing underused real estate and enhancing student experiences.
5. Enhancing Master Planning and Campus Growth
By creating a real-time, data-rich virtual model of the entire campus, digital twins provide planners and administrators with a comprehensive view of how buildings, infrastructure, and systems interact. This holistic perspective enables universities to simulate various development scenarios—such as new construction, renovations, or changes in space utilization—and assess the cost and schedule implications while evaluating their impact on energy consumption, traffic flow, utilities, and the student experience before implementing physical changes. These simulations help decision-makers identify the most effective and sustainable strategies for long-term campus growth.
VIDEO: How Windover is solving the handover gap from construction to facilities management with Autodesk’s Digital Twin software, Tandem. Read the full case study here.
Embracing the Future of Campus Management
Digital twins are revolutionizing the way academic facilities operate, providing facility managers with the tools they need to optimize efficiency, sustainability, and safety. As universities strive to create smarter, more connected campuses, leveraging this technology will be a key differentiator. By implementing digital twin solutions, academic institutions can stay ahead of challenges, improve campus operations, and enhance the learning environment for future generations.
CASE STUDY
Through innovation and partnership, Windover and Endicott College have implemented cutting-edge solutions like digital twins, IoT sensors, BIM, laser scanning, and drone surveys across Endicott’s campus, transforming how the college manages and optimizes its facilities.
The Story: Throughout 15 years of collaboration, Windover and Endicott College have embarked on over 25 construction projects, transforming the oceanside campus on Boston’s North Shore to accommodate growing student enrollment and expanded programming. Today, Endicott and Windover’s collaboration continues as the team employs digital twin, laser scanning, building information modeling (BIM), and IoT sensor technology to enable real-time data collection and enhance facilities management.
Endicott partnered with Windover to deploy digital twin technology across its 235-acre campus, starting with the newly completed Cummings School of Nursing and Health Sciences and then opting to implement the technology on multiple existing buildings, creating an interconnected smart campus. With real-time data from IoT sensors and advanced modeling, Endicott has gained unparalleled visibility into building operations, energy use, and predictive maintenance—saving time, reducing costs, and enhancing the overall campus experience.
This digital twin, which employs Autodesk’s Tandem software, integrates everything from HVAC systems to security infrastructure, allowing Endicott to simulate scenarios and proactively address challenges before they become costly issues.
The result? A smarter, more efficient, and future-ready campus.