3D Printing in Facilities Management: A Systematic Review Toward Smart and Sustainable Building Operations

Abstract

Three-Dimensional Printing (3DP) is rapidly emerging as a pivotal technology for advancing Facilities Management (FM) toward smart and sustainable buildings. This systematic review, following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, critically evaluates 3DP applications, benefits, and challenges across core FM domains—construction, maintenance and repair, supply chain management, and specialized applications—through analysis of 179 studies. To our knowledge, this represents the first comprehensive, FM-specific systematic review of 3DP implementation frameworks. Evidence synthesis reveals that 3DP enables on-demand, localized manufacturing of bespoke components, with documented inventory cost reductions in maintenance applications, substantial production cost decreases for complex geometries, and significant lead time improvements from traditional procurement cycles to rapid on-demand fulfillment for spare parts applications. However, quantitative evidence remains limited and context-dependent, particularly regarding economic feasibility and scalability. 3DP adoption in FM faces significant barriers: quality assurance protocols, workforce readiness, BIM/IoT integration challenges, and regulatory uncertainty. This review identifies the absence of validated decision-making frameworks to guide FM professionals on 3DP implementation versus traditional alternatives, a fundamental research and practice gap. Through structured quality assessment and stakeholder analysis, we propose strategic recommendations emphasizing cross-sector collaboration, standardization development, and workforce upskilling. A novel conceptual decision framework supports practical implementation decisions. These findings position 3DP as potentially transformative for sustainable building operations while highlighting critical research priorities for systematic FM sector deployment.