Three Key Considerations for Building Owners in Data-Driven Digital Construction
As digital construction and BIM-based workflows mature, building owners are increasingly in a position to shape not only how projects are delivered, but also how project data creates long-term value. Data-driven digital construction is not primarily a technology challenge—it is a contractual, organizational, and strategic one. The following three principles are especially important for building owners who want to fully benefit from digital construction throughout the asset life cycle.
Make the Digital Model the Legal Basis of the Contract
Organizations tend to optimize what they are contractually measured on. If the contract defines a set of drawings as the primary deliverable, consultants will naturally prioritize drawing quality over model quality. In many projects today, this leads to a familiar problem: the 3D model exists, but its reliability is uncertain. As a result, it cannot be confidently used for quantity takeoffs, cost estimation, coordination, or downstream applications without extensive manual verification.
By making the digital model the legal basis of the contract, building owners send a clear signal that model quality matters. When the model is treated as the primary source of truth, it becomes more robust, consistent, and suitable for multiple uses across the project life cycle—from early tendering and construction planning to as-built documentation and facility management.
This approach also enables better reuse of data beyond the construction phase, which is where much of the long-term value lies for building owners. A high-quality, contractually binding model supports future renovations, operational optimization, and integration with digital twins or asset management systems.
For those interested in best practices in this area, the TotalBIM project by Chalmers University of Technology is rapidly becoming a gold standard for digital construction in the Nordic region, demonstrating how legally anchored models can transform project outcomes.
Mandate a Project Platform as Part of the Contract
Without clear direction from the building owner, each consultant and contractor will default to their preferred software platforms, tools, and workflows. While this may be convenient for individual stakeholders, it often results in fragmented data, incompatible file formats, and a loss of transparency and control at the project level.
By mandating a project-wide digital platform—typically a common data environment (CDE)—as part of the contract, building owners ensure consistency across all disciplines and phases. More importantly, they retain ownership and access to the project’s data throughout the entire process, rather than having it locked into proprietary systems or scattered across multiple platforms.
A unified project platform improves collaboration, reduces errors caused by misaligned information, and makes it easier to track changes, responsibilities, and approvals. For building owners, this is not about limiting flexibility, but about establishing a clear digital backbone that supports reliable decision-making and long-term data stewardship.
Define the Data Structure Before the Design Stage
One of the most common mistakes in digital construction is treating data structure as a technical detail to be resolved later in the project. In reality, data structure should be defined before the design stage begins. Clear requirements for how data is organized, classified, and exchanged allow all stakeholders—designers, contractors, and suppliers—to work toward the same standards from day one.
Defining what information must be delivered, in what format, and at which project milestones enables building owners to maintain control across phases and ensures that data remains usable after project completion. Developing a company-wide BIM manual is an effective way to formalize these requirements and create consistency across multiple projects.
As technology evolves, the ability to aggregate and analyze data from different projects within a company-level CDE will become increasingly valuable. Consistent data structures make it possible to compare performance, optimize portfolios, and unlock advanced use cases such as predictive maintenance, AI-driven insights, and digital twins.
