As projects become more complex and accountability continues to increase, success will depend less on how well we store information and more on how effectively we connect it, writes James Lawrence, solution consultant at Newforma
For years, digital transformation in construction has centred on one objective: getting project information under control.
We’ve replaced paper drawings with digital files, adopted Common Data Environments
(CDEs) and invested in systems that make it easier to store, share and manage documentation. Those changes have transformed the industry, improving collaboration and giving project teams faster access to information than ever before.
However, as projects become larger, more complex and increasingly data-driven, it’s becoming clear that simply managing documents is no longer enough. The next challenge isn’t creating more information or implementing yet another platform. It’s making sure the information that already exists is connected in a way that helps people make better decisions.
That’s a subtle but important distinction.
Joining the dots
When I speak to project teams, very few tell me they struggle to find a drawing. What
they struggle to find is context. They can usually locate the latest revision but understanding why it changed, who approved it, whether it triggered an RFI, affected a submittal or resulted in a design issue often means searching through multiple systems, emails and conversations.
The information exists, but it’s fragmented.
This isn’t the result of poor processes or inadequate technology. In many cases, organisations have invested in excellent solutions that perform exactly as intended.
Design teams work in specialist authoring tools, document controllers manage information through a CDE, contractors track issues elsewhere, while commercial discussions often take place in email or collaboration platforms. Each system performs its role well, but they’re rarely designed to tell the whole story together.
As a result, project teams spend a surprising amount of time joining the dots. Decisions
that should take minutes can take hours because people are manually piecing together information from different sources to understand the full picture. On complex projects involving multiple organisations and hundreds of stakeholders, that inefficiency quickly becomes a significant commercial and operational risk.
Beyond document management
This is why I believe the industry needs to start thinking beyond document management and towards project intelligence.
Project intelligence isn’t about collecting more data. Construction already generates
more information than most teams know what to do with. Instead, it’s about connecting existing information so that every document, model, RFI, issue, submittal and approval becomes part of a much richer picture of what’s happening across a project.
Take a relatively common scenario. A site team identifies a coordination issue that needs investigating. The answer is unlikely to sit within a single drawing or model.
Understanding the issue may require reviewing the latest design revision, checking whether an RFI has already been raised, confirming what was approved during the submittal process, reviewing related BIM issues and understanding any commercial discussions that influenced the final decision.
None of that information is particularly difficult to find individually but locating it across multiple disconnected systems inevitably slows the process.
When those information sources are connected, something changes. Instead of searching for information, teams can start understanding it. They gain immediate visibility into the relationships between project data, allowing them to make faster, more informed decisions based on complete context rather than partial information.
A shifting landscape
This shift is becoming increasingly important as the industry’s regulatory landscape
evolves. The Building Safety Act has rightly increased expectations around accountability, traceability and the quality of project information throughout an asset’s lifecycle. Organisations are no longer expected simply to retain documents; they need to demonstrate how decisions were made, who made them and what information informed those decisions.
Meeting those expectations requires more than good document control. It requires a connected digital thread that links project information from design through construction and ultimately into operation.
When information can be traced back through revisions, approvals, communications and technical decisions, organisations are in a much stronger position to demonstrate compliance, manage risk and provide confidence to clients and regulators alike.
Beyond compliance
The benefits extend well beyond compliance. One of the greatest frustrations I hear from asset owners is that valuable project knowledge is often lost at handover.
They receive thousands of files but very little understanding of the decisions behind them. Facilities teams inherit documentation without the context that gives it value, while future refurbishment or maintenance projects often involve rediscovering information that already existed during delivery.
A connected approach to project information helps preserve that knowledge. Rather than
handing over a collection of disconnected documents, project teams can provide a complete record of how an asset evolved, why decisions were made and how different pieces of information relate to one another. That creates lasting value throughout the operational life of the asset, not just during construction.
The construction industry has made enormous progress over the past decade by digitising documentation and improving collaboration. The next phase of that journey isn’t about replacing today’s systems or creating even more data. It’s about enabling those systems to work together so that information flows naturally between them and supports better decision-making at every stage of a project.
Ultimately, document control will always remain fundamental to successful project delivery. But as projects become more complex and accountability continues to increase, success will depend less on how well we store information and more on how effectively we connect it.
The organisations that recognise that shift will be the ones best placed to deliver projects with greater confidence, stronger governance and better outcomes for everyone involved.
**Please note that this is a commercial profile
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