Structural BIM Workflow: Connecting Design, Engineering, and Fabrication
Architecture, engineering, and construction (AEC) firms have more digital tools and project data than ever before. Yet as projects move between disciplines, organizations, and lifecycle stages, that information can still become fragmented or disconnected. So, is the industry’s next digital leap really about adopting more technology, or making better use of the information it already has?
In summary: > The AEC industry has invested heavily in digital technology, but fragmented information remains a major barrier to more efficient project delivery. > Connected workflows can help preserve project information and design intent as data moves between disciplines and lifecycle stages. > Successful digital transformation starts with business challenges and outcomes – not simply adopting the latest technology. > Open standards and interoperability are essential for collaboration, particularly on complex projects involving multiple organizations, platforms, and countries. > By connecting domain expertise, trusted project data, and open ecosystems, the industry can turn digital information into actionable AEC Intelligence. |
Sunil Pandita, Chief Division Officer for Planning & Design at the Nemetschek Group and CEO of ALLPLAN, believes the answer lies in connecting domain expertise, trusted project data, and open collaboration. Here, he explains how this approach can turn digital information into actionable AEC Intelligence – and ultimately, better project decisions.
From digital tools to AEC Intelligence
In both my roles, my focus is on helping the AEC industry improve how projects are designed, delivered, and managed throughout the asset lifecycle. We work with professionals across buildings and infrastructure who are looking to improve productivity, collaboration, and quality.
However, it’s time to move the conversation beyond individual technologies. The industry often discusses AI, BIM, and digital twins separately, but the real opportunity lies in how these technologies work together.
For me, the future is about transforming domain expertise, trusted project data, and open collaboration into actionable intelligence. Technology only creates value when it helps people make better decisions. That is why I believe the industry should focus less on individual tools and more on how information flows across the entire project lifecycle.
The real digital challenge: information fragmentation
Over the past 30 years, AEC companies have invested in digital tools to improve efficiency. The challenge today, however, is often around information fragmentation in the project rather than technology adoption.
Project teams frequently work with different systems, disciplines, and workflows. As information moves from design to engineering, fabrication, construction, and operation, data is often recreated, reformatted, or manually transferred. Every handover creates a disconnected duplicate and introduces the possibility of delays, inconsistencies, and lost information.
The solution should be establishing connected workflows built around shared data rather than siloed software platforms. Teams need a common framework that allows information to move consistently across disciplines while preserving design intent and project context.
This becomes especially important in construction projects where architects, engineers, contractors, fabricators, and owners all contribute to project outcomes. Each stakeholder brings valuable expertise, but collaboration becomes far more effective when everyone works from the connected information. The goal is to create continuity and trust throughout the project lifecycle so that decisions made during design remain valuable during construction and operation.
The Mülheim airship hangar in Germany combines innovation, sustainability, and a pioneering spirit to create a breathtaking piece of modern architecture. Copyright: Stefan Lamberty / WDL 
The Mülheim airship hangar in Germany combines innovation, sustainability, and a pioneering spirit to create a breathtaking piece of modern architecture. Copyright: Stefan Lamberty / WDL Start with the problem – not the technology
The pace of technological change can feel overwhelming, particularly when organizations are balancing project delivery with digital transformation. My advice is to focus on outcomes rather than technologies.
Successful digital adoption begins by identifying specific business challenges such as reducing rework, improving collaboration, accelerating delivery, or increasing project visibility. Technology should serve those objectives rather than becoming an objective in itself.
It is also important to build on existing expertise. Engineers, architects, and contractors already possess deep domain knowledge. Digital tools should enhance that expertise, not replace it. The most successful implementations typically combine experienced professionals with technologies that simplify workflows and make better use of their knowledge.
Open, interoperable solutions are also important, allowing organizations to evolve their digital workflows as their needs change without creating new information silos.
Ultimately, digital transformation is a continuous process of improving how people, data, and workflows come together to deliver better outcomes.
Why open standards matter for connected construction
Regulators have an important role to play in creating an environment where collaboration and innovation can flourish. Rather than focusing on specific technologies, I believe the greatest opportunity lies in supporting open standards, common information requirements, and consistent approaches to digital project delivery. When organizations operate within shared frameworks, collaboration becomes easier and information can move more effectively between stakeholders.
Open BIM is a good example, enabling project participants to exchange information across different platforms while maintaining data quality and transparency. Organizations such as buildingSMART International have played an important role in advancing these open standards across the industry.
As projects become increasingly complex, governments and regulatory bodies can help by encouraging interoperability and promoting standards that improve information consistency throughout the asset lifecycle. This allows organizations to choose the solutions that best fit their needs while ensuring that data remains accessible, reliable, and useful across disciplines. In the long term, that creates a stronger foundation for innovation, productivity, and better project outcomes.
What cross-border projects can teach us about connected data
Asia Pacific provides a powerful example of why open standards and connected workflows are becoming increasingly important. The region combines major infrastructure investment and rapid urbanization with growing collaboration between organizations across different countries. Projects can involve international consultants, contractors, fabricators, and owners working across multiple jurisdictions.
While this creates tremendous opportunities, it also introduces complexity. Different countries have their own regulations, standards, procurement approaches, and digital maturity levels. Without a consistent approach to information management, these differences can create inefficiencies and make collaboration more difficult.
Rather than requiring every stakeholder to use the same software, the focus should be on ensuring that information can move reliably between organizations while maintaining its context and integrity.
In many ways, the region is well positioned to lead the next phase of digital construction because it has the opportunity to build these connected workflows from the outset. We have seen how connected workflows can improve outcomes in projects across the region. For example, on precast residential developments in Singapore, model-based workflows have helped improve productivity, enhance visualization, and reduce manual errors by enabling teams to work from a shared digital representation throughout the project lifecycle.
As cross-border collaboration continues to increase, success will depend less on standardizing software and more on standardizing how information is created, shared, and managed across project teams.
Digital transformation needs people, too
Technology adoption requires more than software. It also requires education, knowledge sharing, and opportunities for professionals to develop the skills needed to make effective use of new digital workflows.
At ALLPLAN and within the Nemetschek Group, we support this through webinars, technical workshops, customer events, and industry conferences such as ALLPLAN’s Global Infrastructure Digital Summit, where experts share practical experiences and real-world project insights.
We also support future generations of professionals through student competitions, educational initiatives, and collaboration with universities and academic institutions. These programs help build awareness of BIM, digital engineering, and modern Design-to-Build workflows at an early stage.
Education is only part of the picture, however. Our goal is to help customers connect their workflows more effectively through interoperability, open standards, cloud-based collaboration, and integrated processes that connect design, engineering, fabrication, and construction. We help organizations move from isolated digital tools toward connected ecosystems that deliver measurable business value.
The next step: turning project data into intelligence
The future of the AEC industry will not be defined by any single technology. Instead, it will be defined by how effectively we connect expertise, information, and workflows.
AI, BIM, digital twins, and cloud collaboration will all continue to evolve. However, their true value emerges when they work together within a connected ecosystem. AI becomes more powerful when it operates on trusted project data. Digital twins become more valuable when they remain connected to real-world conditions. BIM becomes more impactful when information flows seamlessly across the lifecycle. This is what I describe as AEC Intelligence: the combination of deep domain expertise, high-quality data, and open ecosystems that enable better decisions.
At ALLPLAN, our focus is on helping customers build these connected workflows and transform project information into actionable intelligence across design, engineering, construction, and operation.
The industry has already digitized much of its information. The next step is turning that information into knowledge, insight, and better outcomes for people, projects, and society.
