We’re just about halfway through 2026, and most construction teams are no longer operating off the CPM schedule alone. Mid-year is when teams go from comparing what was initially planned to chasing the clock, diligently executing and evaluating what’s actually working across projects and jobsites. This is when reality sets in… the plans you made in 2025 may look a tad bit different in 2026. Those 100% construction drawings have a few more markups, redlines and changes that remind you to always verify that you’re working off the latest and greatest contract documents.
The midpoint of the year is the perfect time to review expectations vs reality. This is when we can objectively say what the true construction trends are.
To help you with that, Autodesk and Miller Davis Company came together to host a webinar on construction trends for 2026 and how teams are responding. Obviously, there’s a lot of hype out there – and it can be distracting. So for this webinar, we set out to identify what’s “really real” across the industry while filtering out the noise.
You’ll walk away with:
Watch the webinar on demand or review the key takeaways below.
If you ask industry experts what the latest trends are, you’ll likely get the following answers:
These are all important things shaping the industry, but if we really think about it, these top five trends aren’t standalone initiatives. They don’t maximize their value in isolation, which is why companies that are seeing the most success treat them as different parts of the same system.
As Ariel Castillo, Director of Innovation at Miller-Davis Company, says, “If you zoom out, these are not necessarily just five trends. This is more like a connected ecosystem that is basically pushing the companies forward so that we can continue outperforming how we do on a daily basis.”
Another thing to mention is the order in which these trends are tackled matters a great deal.
They must be treated as layers that build on one another to produce better outcomes across the business. You can’t just dive into digital twins, prefab, or AI without a solid foundation from your CDE and project management workflows.
As Ariel explains, “If your data is centralized and structured, that’s how you can start scaling.”
A common data environment is foundational to modern construction workflows because it creates a centralized, reliable source of project information that teams can use to make decisions.
“We need to move away from data capture to intelligent execution or getting things done in a really good way. The common data environment is your hub to capture and centralize that information,” remarks Ariel.
For him, the rise of the CDE is one of the biggest shifts the industry has made over the last decade. Not too long ago, many construction companies were still relying on traditional servers, disconnected systems, and email chains to manage project information. Drawings, RFIs, and field updates weren’t always accessible in real time, which caused failed inspections, reactive coordination and risky decision-making.
“We have seen a big, big shift in the last decade where companies are feeling more comfortable and understanding that a CDE is critical so that they can centralize information.”
Once that data is centralized, the next step is collaborating and connecting workflows across the business. Project management, field management, accounting, safety, and preconstruction need to work together. Remaining in silos will continue to limit the business from scaling and reaching its full potential.
As he puts it later in the discussion: “Technology is not going to transform the way you do construction, but connected workflows will do that.”
Autodesk's Design and Make Report: Spotlight on Construction found that the industry's top digital tool is… (drumroll) spreadsheets.
They’re not the most high-tech, but clearly have a lot of staying power.
Ariel attributes this to legacy processes, saying that the popularity of spreadsheets isn’t because people love them, but because people haven’t realized there are better options.
“I don't know if I would call it love. I think it's more of a long-term relationship that we haven't figured out how to leave yet.”
He continues, “It's not necessarily that construction prefers the spreadsheet. It's just telling me that spreadsheets are still the fallback when systems don't fully deliver. It's how people are used to getting things done. We've been using them for years. They're flexible, they're familiar, they're fast, but the problem is they create silos, version control issues, and a lot of manual work behind the scenes, especially with those formulas that only one person knows how they were created.”
Even though spreadsheets remain the most popular tool, AI tools are still gaining traction very quickly.
Ariel points to the fact that AI chatbots like ChatGPT already sit at 22% adoption, despite barely existing in construction workflows a few years ago.
“These are tools we’ve been using for decades,” Ariel explains, referencing CRMs, time tracking systems, asset management software, AR/VR, and bid management tools. “AI didn’t exist in this space a few years ago, and it’s already competing with those legacy tools. And that’s a signal.”
Speaking of AI, one of the biggest misconceptions in construction right now is that AI alone will transform the industry.
But it’s important to note that AI delivers value only after digital workflows are in place. Remember those layers we mentioned earlier? AI sits on top of them, not before.
As Ariel explains, “AI doesn’t work in isolation. It’s feeding from that data, from those systems.”
That’s why companies rushing into AI without structured data or connected workflows often struggle to see meaningful results. If project information is scattered across emails, spreadsheets, and disconnected systems, AI simply amplifies the chaos.
“And if you don’t have a lot of data or if that data is messy, then your AI is going to be as well,” Ariel says.
The companies seeing the most traction with AI are the ones that already have a strong digital foundation in place. They’ve centralized information through a CDE, connected workflows across departments, and digitized day-to-day project execution.
Once that happens, AI becomes much more useful.
“This is when you can start thinking about executing and optimizing your tasks based on that data,” Ariel explains.
Digital maturity isn’t a neat, linear progression. It happens in phases across different teams and workflows, and most companies operate at multiple stages of digital maturity at once. One department can be highly mature while another lags behind.
Ariel explains it really well: “The reality is that you need to look at your business and understand that you can be at multiple stages at the same time. You can have a department that is in stage three of the digital maturity index, and then you can have another one that could be in stage one.”
He points to a common example: project management teams may already have a CDE in place, while safety teams still rely on manual forms and disconnected processes. That unevenness is normal, but you shouldn’t ignore it.
As Ariel puts it, “Your lowest stage is basically what’s going to define where you are.”
The key is establishing a baseline across departments, then steadily improving over time. And that process takes longer than many teams expect. Ariel notes that Miller-Davis began its journey in 2021 and continues to evolve today.
For Ariel, digital transformation starts by listening closely to the people doing the work every day. “Take your time to understand what they do on a daily basis and what areas they struggle the most,” he says.
That could mean double data entry, chasing spreadsheets, manually tracking RFIs, or hunting through email chains for PDFs and approvals.
That process helps teams identify what he calls “mosquito bites” versus “shark bites.” Minor annoyances may slow people down, but shark bites are the issues actively hurting the business and need immediate attention.
Another important point: digital maturity is not just about buying more technology. “There are companies where their tech stack is huge, but that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re using it effectively,” Ariel explains.
Digital transformation fails if partners aren’t brought along on the journey. We need to remember that construction is a team sport, with owners, designers, GCs, and trade partners working together. Technology adoption stalls when the benefits aren’t clear to everyone.
As Ariel points out, construction projects involve a huge number of moving parts and people. Even a small job can involve owners, architects, general contractors, and dozens of subcontractors, all relying on information from one another to keep the job moving forward.
That’s why disconnected workflows and teams create even more problems.
“There’s no point in me as a CM having a super digital ecosystem if I cannot count on the other parties interacting with me on the project to actually leverage it,” Ariel explains.
He gives the example of digital pay apps. If trade partners still submit documents via email and PDFs, teams end up reverting to manual work like chasing files or scanning paperwork. That creates what Ariel calls a “digital bottleneck.”
The companies making the most progress are focused on empowering their teams with streamlined workflows — not forcing old methods simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”
“You want to get them on board, and you don’t want to force them,” Ariel says. “You want to show them what the benefit is for them as well.”
That means helping teams work more efficiently through connected workflows and a single source of truth.
The biggest takeaway for construction teams in 2026 is that digital transformation doesn’t start with chasing the latest technology trend. It starts with building a strong foundation.
Before teams can fully benefit from AI, automation, digital twins, or advanced workflows, they need centralized, connected project data and processes that work across departments and project partners.
Companies investing in connected workflows today are positioning themselves to adapt more effectively as market conditions, labor shortages, and customer expectations become increasingly challenging.
More importantly, they’re creating healthier, more proactive environments where teams, leaders, and project partners can work together more effectively every day.
Construction teams are under pressure to modernize, but as this conversation shows, the path forward is less about chasing shiny new tools and more about building connected, practical workflows that truly help people do their jobs better.
The webinar dives deeper into how leading teams are approaching AI, digital maturity, collaboration, and operational change in the real world. These trends are influencing decisions today — not sometime in the distant future.
And at the end of the day, the companies that lead won’t just advance their own digital maturity, but they’ll help elevate the entire construction ecosystem around them.
To hear the full conversation, real-world examples, and audience Q&A, watch the webinar on demand.
Extended reality (XR) technologies like AR and VR have come a long way since the days of bulky headsets and grainy visuals. If you picked up a VR headset years ago and walked away unimpressed, I encourage you to take another look and see just how far the technology has come.
More than just a visualization tool, XR is starting to solve real problems in construction. In fact, firms like Kane Group are now using AR and VR for everything from design reviews and coordination to training and installation planning.
If you’re interested in using extended reality in your construction workflows, this episode is for you. It features Gary Cowan, Head of Digital Construction at Kane Group, who shares how his team built a complete XR technology stack and why he believes immersive technology will become an essential part of construction's future.
Check out our discussion below.
We discuss:
One of the biggest challenges in construction is the gap between what's designed and what gets built. According to Gary, that disconnect often comes down to details that aren't captured early enough.
"Design intent in early-stage design is very low LOD (level of development)," he says. "You don't think about all of the small pieces, the fixtures, the clips, all those kinds of things that normally aren't modeled."
As such, teams can arrive on-site and discover that things don't fit together as expected. Clearance requirements are missed. Support structures aren't accounted for. Small oversights snowball into bigger issues.
His solution is simple in theory, though harder in practice: think through more scenarios before construction begins. "The more you pre-think, the more you put into your model, the more you account for, the smoother the installation goes on-site."
For Kane Group, the journey into XR started with a problem many construction teams know all too well: some projects become so complex that traditional design reviews simply aren't enough.
Gary points to a major hotel project in London that involved roughly 11 kilometers of pipework and extensive prefabrication. The model was packed with information, making it difficult to evaluate on a standard screen.
"There was no real other way to design review it," he says. "It was so dense. And if you looked at it on a computer screen, it was like a Where's Waldo picture. You just couldn't pick anything out."
That challenge led the team to begin experimenting with virtual reality in 2017. Today, Kane Group uses a complete end-to-end XR technology stack that combines both virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) to improve design reviews, collaboration, and project delivery
The benefits of XR
One of the biggest advantages of VR is that it changes how people experience a model.
Gary has this analogy to explain it: Imagine asking two people to describe the Eiffel Tower. One studies a photograph for an hour. The other travels to Paris and sees it in person.
"Who do you think is going to give you the most accurate, the most vivid representation?" he asks.
For him, VR is the closest thing construction teams must physically walking a project before it's built. Team members can step into a model, move through the space, and evaluate issues from a completely different perspective than they would on a 2D screen.
The technology also creates opportunities for younger team members. "We can give our junior design engineers almost real-world access to the site without putting them in danger.”
The need for smooth processes and team collaboration
Technology alone isn't enough to make XR successful. Effective implementation depends on strong collaboration between design managers, BIM teams, and operations staff.
VR helps accelerate that process by making communication more visual and interactive. Instead of relying on markups and redline drawings, teams can review models together in an immersive environment.
"Trying to convey design intent with scribbles on a page is impossible for me," Gary remarks. "How could you ever get an accurate picture across from one individual to another?"
VR gives teams the ability to review issues together, which can then shorten feedback cycles and reduce the back-and-forth that often slows projects down.
A quick reality check on XR
While XR can deliver significant benefits, Gary cautions against viewing it as a plug-and-play solution. "You can't just buy VR and stick it on, and it solves all your problems.”
Successful adoption requires strong modeling standards, complete project data, and well-defined workflows. Teams need to understand how information moves through their systems and ensure their models contain the level of detail needed to support immersive reviews.
"There are so many moving parts to that stew to make it nice. It takes a bit of skill and a bit of foresight and a bit of knowledge."
All to say that XR works best when it's supported by the right processes, people, and data.
So, what’s it like to leverage AR and VR in construction? Gary says the experience of stepping into a virtual model often changes how people think about their work. "When you put them into that virtual reality, it's almost like a penny-drop moment," he says. "It makes it real to them."
That's because a model viewed on a screen can only tell you so much. Designers might think a space looks fine based on plans and sections, but VR introduces something that's often missing: context and scale.
"You don't get a sense of the scale of what it is that you're drawing.”
He continues, "Looking at it on paper, people say, 'Yeah, I think that's okay.' But when you put the headset on, and you walk in, you see people go, 'Oh.'"
Exposing issues early on
Working with mixed reality also helps expose potential issues early on, before the project makes it to the field. Headroom concerns, access challenges, and design shortcuts that looked acceptable in 2D suddenly become obvious.
The result is better design decisions and higher-quality outcomes. "It raises the bar," he says, because people can see exactly how their decisions will play out in the real world.
Use cases beyond design reviews
While design coordination remains a primary use case, Kane Group has found several other ways to use XR throughout a project.
For one client, the team used VR to support decision-making during the design process. Instead of reviewing color palettes on paper, stakeholders were able to walk through different options in a virtual environment and choose the one they preferred.
The technology is also proving valuable for training, visualization, and installation planning.
In fact, Gary says his team is working to get field crews into the virtual model before they ever set foot on-site. The goal is simple: familiarity.
"They've already seen it in their mind's eye," he explains. "So, when they go to actually put it in, it's already familiar."
If you’re considering XR, Gary’s advice is to start with the problem, not the technology.
Different teams have different goals. An architect might want to visualize finishes and design options, while a contractor may be more focused on coordination, constructability, and field execution.
That's why he recommends asking one key question first: "What do we hope to achieve from adopting this technology?"
Is the goal to create better client experiences? Improve design reviews? Reduce coordination issues? The answer will help determine which tools make the most sense.
Just as importantly, don't let outdated perceptions of VR hold you back. "Don't be scared of it. Just go and buy a headset."
That's much easier today than it was a decade ago. Early VR systems required dedicated hardware, significant investment, and equipment that was literally tethered to a computer. Today, standalone headsets are relatively affordable and easy to deploy.
"It's not a huge cost for any company depending on their size and scale," says Gary.
So, dive in and experiment. "See what you can do. It's a discovery."
You don't need a fully developed XR strategy on day one. Sometimes the best way to understand the technology's potential is simply to put on a headset and start exploring.
On the question of where XR is headed, Gary's answer starts with AI.
“In the next three to four years, we're going to see AI properly getting implemented. And for me, I see that snowballing with XR. Think of the Apple Vision Pro and how they've coined spatial computing.”
He continues, "I think we'll be doing spatial coordination. We won't be coordinating in a Revit session on a screen. We'll all be in a model, and we'll be making decisions."
He envisions a future where construction professionals can interact with AI assistants inside immersive environments, eliminating many of today's manual tasks. "Every construction professional needs their own Jarvis," he says.
The technology is advancing quickly, and Gary believes it's only getting started. "It's only going to get better. It's only going to get faster. What a time to be alive."
Digital Builder is hosted by me, Eric Thomas. Remember, new episodes of Digital Builder go live every week. Listen to the Digital Builder Podcast on:
or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Calling all construction professionals—we’ve got some exciting news: Autodesk University (AU) will be back in Las Vegas in 2026!
Taking place from September 15-17, AU 2026: The Design & Make Conference will fill you with knowledge and inspiration so you can build the world you want to see. From driving digital transformation to building resilience through sustainability and cloud-based solutions, AU 2026 covers the essential topics to help you improve your business—both in the short and long term.
Why should you attend AU 2026? For starters, there is no other construction event quite like it. Autodesk University brings together AEC thought leaders and professionals in an environment that’s primed for learning, networking, and innovation.
But let’s get to the specifics. Here are five reasons AU 2026 is a must-attend for construction pros—plus tips on how to maximize your time during the event.
AU 2026 will have sessions on a variety of AEC industry topics, including construction-specific classes. You’ll get to attend and participate in a variety of class and session types, including:
Industry Talks: Led by top AEC experts, these discussions are packed with thought leadership and insights. They will give you the opportunity to hear from innovators and gain new perspectives about the industry.
Technical Instructions: Skills-based instructional classes showcasing workflows, processes, and tips and tricks to improve efficiency and outcomes.
Roundtables: AU 2026’s roundtable discussions allow you to learn from a group of experts with multiple viewpoints on trending topics. In these roundtables, you’ll hear thought leaders discuss ideas and share their diverse views, so you can gain a deeper understanding of the subject matter.
Case Studies: When you attend AU 2026, you won’t just gain knowledge; you’ll also learn how to apply it. See real-life examples of successful projects from inception all the way to completion. Learn the challenges other firms have faced and the steps they took to overcome them.
We're not exaggerating when we say this is one of the biggest learning opportunities of the year for construction professionals. AU sessions will cover popular workflows and topics, including:
No matter where you are in your business or career, you’re bound to find something that resonates with you.
For an industry that’s often mischaracterized as “traditional,” the construction sector is always changing. And AU 2026 will empower you to keep up with these changes.
With sessions dedicated to emerging trends—including digital twins, AI, and industrialized construction—you’ll have no problem keeping tabs on the latest developments in the industry.
So whether you’re looking to improve project efficiency, secure that promotion, or drive higher ROI for your clients, AU 2026 will give you the insights you need to meet your objectives.
We’re planning to unveil exciting announcements at AU 2026. Autodesk Construction Solutions leaders will take the stage during AU 2026 to talk about what’s next for our construction platform and solutions and the things you can look forward to as part of the Autodesk family.
While you’re at AU 2026, make it a point to stop by the Expo floor to discover what’s next for your field.
The Expo at AU will feature hundreds of partners within the Autodesk ecosystem. Meet the developers behind the tech and get up close and hand-on with emerging solutions that can help transform your business.
One of the best things about 2026 is in-person networking. This year’s conference gives you dozens of opportunities to do this. Participate in AU 2026 meetups, workshops, and receptions to meet your fellow innovators and build real-world connections that can’t be replicated online.
You work hard, so don’t forget to relax and unwind while you’re at the show. Being in Las Vegas means there are endless choices of world-class food and entertainment – a great opportunity to bring the whole team to recharge!
Autodesk University only comes around once a year, so it’s important to make the absolute most of it! Attendees will have different AU journeys, depending on your objectives, but here are some general tips to maximize your experience.
Make sure your seat is saved at AU 2026! Head to the Autodesk University website now to register for the event.
There’s a lot to see and do at AU 2026, so planning ahead is a must. You’ll receive this year’s full schedule as soon as it’s available, which will give you the opportunity to view the keynotes, theater talks, and sessions ahead of time. Bookmark the ones you want to attend and allocate time to do so.
If you’re planning to meet other industry pros, reach out to them before the event and secure those calendar invites so you can set aside time to connect in person.
The future belongs to those who make it—start building yours at Autodesk University 2026. We’re excited to connect with you at AU 2026, where you’ll find a wealth of industry knowledge, networking, and education.
Register now. See you in Las Vegas September 15-17!
At Autodesk’s Digital Builder podcast, we spend a lot of time talking about technology. And while today’s episode also dives deep into construction tech, it also covers a lot of the things that make construction human: communication, coordination, and the people keeping everything moving.
On this episode, I sit down with Woody Benisek-Beal, Director of Construction at The Kraft Group, the company that owns and operates Gillette Stadium. Woody and I talk about what it takes to manage construction at the stadium, given that it never truly shuts down. We cover how his team balances the fan experience during renovations around live events, along with the tech that powers it all.
We discuss:
What makes managing construction at Gillette Stadium so challenging is that the venue never really stops operating. As Woody puts it, “there are things going on in the stadium all the time.”
Beyond football games, the venue hosts concerts, corporate functions, birthday parties, and countless other events throughout the year.
As such, construction teams can’t just “slap up a couple of fences” and work without disruption. Every project requires coordination across operations, facilities, security, and event teams.
“You’ve really got to be on your A game in terms of communicating,” Woody says. In an environment this active, even small changes require teams to think several steps ahead before they do anything.
Having lots of meetings often gets some flak because people associate them with conversations that could've been an email. But at Gillette Stadium, those syncs are truly necessary because every group views the venue through a different lens.
Security teams think about safety and access. Operations teams focus on event flow. Facilities teams worry about maintenance and logistics. Construction teams are trying to keep projects moving. Bringing everyone together regularly helps prevent surprises and keeps projects from disrupting the experience for fans, staff, and event crews.
“We force ourselves to communicate,” Woody says. That includes recurring meetings with event managers, facilities teams, operations staff, security personnel, and construction leaders to make sure everyone stays aligned.
Those conversations often focus on the small details that can become big problems if teams aren’t coordinated. They ask questions like: “Do they know we’re coming in here to rip a wall down? Does security know that because we’re going to have to take a security camera off the wall?”
As Woody explains, “There’s no way that one person could manage all of this at the same time.” It takes a coordinated team effort to keep a live venue running while construction continues around it.
For Woody, the biggest challenge between design and execution isn’t necessarily the construction itself. It’s making sure everyone understands what’s actually being built—and believe it or not, that’s easier said than done.
People who work in design and construction every day can look at a plan set, a model, or a dimension and instantly understand the space. Operators and non-technical stakeholders often interpret things differently.
As Woody explains, “Four feet feels different to a lot of different people.”
A dimension on a drawing may technically work, but once people move into the finished space, the experience can feel completely different from what was expected. A clearance between a railing and a seat row might seem fine on paper, but operators may realize later that it impacts traffic flow, visibility, or fan movement in ways they didn’t anticipate.
That’s where visualization tools and model-based workflows become critical. Woody says getting designs, concepts, and construction drawings into model environments helps bridge the gap between technical and non-technical stakeholders.
“People are very visual,” he explains. “People who aren’t technical get a lot more out of this process when we’re able to show them what they’re going to see when they move into the space instead of just describing it on a two-dimensional plan.”
Like many construction teams, The Kraft Group didn’t overhaul its tech stack overnight. According to Woody, the team is still evolving how it manages information, drawings, and workflows across projects.
“We’re doing a little bit of crawling before we walk,” he says.
Today, the group uses Autodesk Forma to improve visibility into projects, track updates, and collaborate with design teams and general contractors. That includes reviewing models, managing RFIs and shop drawings, and staying connected to what’s happening during design and construction.
For Woody, one of the biggest improvements has been simply making information easier to access.
He shares a story about a utility drawing he originally created as a civil engineer more than 20 years ago. The drawing suddenly became relevant again while teams were preparing infrastructure work related to the FIFA World Cup. Facilities teams needed to confirm what utilities existed underground before installing grounding rods near electrical equipment.
A few years ago, tracking down that information could have turned into a lengthy search through old folders and outdated files.
“It would have taken time to sift through old information, and that might have taken half a day.”
Now, the information lives in Autodesk Forma, where teams can quickly locate the right files and verify they’re working from the latest version.
Digital twins are becoming a bigger part of how owners and operators manage complex facilities, but building one at the scale of Gillette Stadium is no small task. For The Kraft Group, the process has been years in the making and continues evolving alongside the stadium itself.
Building a digital twin years after construction
When people think about digital twins, they often picture brand-new buildings designed entirely in modern BIM workflows. But at Gillette Stadium, the process has involved stitching together decades of information across projects, renovations, and systems.
According to Woody, the team started with “22- or 23-year-old 2D CAD drawing sheets, PDFs,” along with a 3D CAD model that hadn’t been updated in years. From there, they layered in hundreds of stadium improvement projects and newer Revit-based workflows to gradually build a more complete digital representation of the facility.
“It’s really coming along,” Woody says. “Having the digital twin as a tool to allow us to access the information immediately is huge.”
The process has also exposed gaps in older documentation. “It’s forcing us to really double-check what we’ve got,” he explains. “We’re noting things that aren’t correct that may have just been sitting in the background.”
Faster decisions during live events
One of the biggest operational opportunities involves maintenance and facilities management during live events.
Woody shares an example involving a plumbing issue during a football game. Today, if water starts flowing out of a restroom, facilities teams first need to assess the issue, identify the fixture, locate replacement parts, and track down the right information before repairs can begin.
“That just takes time,” Woody says.
The goal is to eventually connect that information directly to the digital twin. A facilities manager could pull up the restroom in the model, identify the exact fixture type, verify replacement parts, and immediately see whether inventory is available nearby.
Extending beyond operations
The potential applications don’t stop with maintenance workflows. Woody says the digital twin could also support event operations, planning, and even venue sales.
Teams could use it to coordinate event setups, review crowd flow strategies, or virtually walk prospective clients through premium spaces before booking an event.
“The ideas are endless,” Woody says.
For a venue as active and complex as Gillette Stadium, the digital twin is becoming much more than a model. It’s evolving into a shared operational foundation for the people who run the building every day.
Virtual reality and immersive technology aren’t just flashy add-ons for construction teams. Woody sees them becoming a practical part of how projects get designed, reviewed, and communicated in the future.
“It’s going to become hand in hand with how we think of projects.”
Why models still aren’t enough sometimes
Even with highly detailed Revit models and video walkthroughs, Woody says there are still moments when stakeholders don’t fully visualize how a space will come to life once it’s built.
“We’ve created video fly-throughs on some of our larger-scale projects to give people a good sense of depth and space and height,” he explains. “But even throughout the process, some people just don’t quite understand it.”
Woody recalls an example involving a column in the middle of a newly completed room. The column appeared in the model and had been discussed throughout the project, but once the team occupied the space, they realized it had a bigger impact than expected.
“We may or may not rework it,” he says. “We may try to make it smaller.”
VR helps people experience the space earlier
That’s where XR and VR tools become valuable. Instead of asking stakeholders to interpret plans, renderings, or dimensions, teams can place them directly inside the environment before construction progresses too far.
“Having the model visible through a headset, we could have been standing in that room as the structure was coming up,” Woody explains. “Or frankly, before we even came up out of the ground.”
The opportunity is less about the novelty of headsets and more about improving decision-making earlier in the process.
“People will get so much more out of our conversations when we’re describing what a space will look like if they can get into the space,” he says.
A tool that the next generation may adopt naturally
Woody also believes immersive technology could resonate strongly with younger construction professionals entering the industry.
“You can tell they’ve got an eye on gaming,” he says, referring to the way modern VR systems are designed and navigated. “Folks who are just coming into the working world now, I think, will pick that up like a lot of other technology.”
As VR hardware becomes lighter, cheaper, and easier to use, Woody sees immersive design reviews becoming increasingly normal across construction workflows.
Digital Builder is hosted by me, Eric Thomas. Remember, new episodes of Digital Builder go live every week. Listen to the Digital Builder Podcast on:
or wherever you listen to podcasts.
Picture this: the crew is working on a major project, and they’re struggling to keep everyone aligned on the latest information. Folks are working off three different drawing versions, RFIs are buried in inboxes, and no one’s sure which approval is final. Meanwhile, someone prints a drawing set that’s already outdated, and another team builds off a revision no one else has seen.
This constant back-and-forth to find, verify, and reconcile information slows everything down and raises the risk of rework, delays, and mistakes.
As an industry, we can agree that teams shouldn’t have to chase down information just to do their jobs, which is why contractors are increasingly shifting from disconnected file-based workflows to digital, cloud-based systems.
That being said, having shared folders and drives doesn’t mean you have an effective common data environment (CDE). Too often, teams rely on tools like SharePoint or local servers without clear workflows, naming standards, or governance.
While these systems are a step up from manual processes, they have limitations and teams can still end up guessing which information to trust.
A CDE goes beyond file storage. It brings structure, governance, and clear workflows to how information is created, reviewed, approved, and shared across the entire project.
A common data environment is a structured, governed place for all project information. While CDEs are often associated with BIM standards, the concept has always centered on how project information is organized, shared, reviewed, and approved across teams.
A project-ready CDE defines workflows, approvals, and version control so teams know what’s current, what has been reviewed, and what’s ready to use. It gives teams a way to manage drawings, models, contracts, site documentation, RFIs, and change orders with the structure needed to support project delivery.
A CDE is not a shared drive, a cloud folder, or a place to dump files. If there are no clear workflows, approvals, or version controls in place, it’s not a CDE. Storing information is easy. Managing it in a way teams can trust is what actually makes the difference.
A CDE doesn’t just provide a central place to manage files and documents. It gives contractors several benefits that directly impact how projects run day to day. Consider the following:
The benefits of a common data environment can’t be understated, and adopting a CDE is a no-brainer. That being said, successful adoption starts with culture and change management. Here’s how to get it right.
Start by answering the question, “What’s in it for them (i.e., CDE users)? Use that answer to craft your communication strategy around the change.
Don’t lead with features. Lead with what the CDE fixes. Talk about fewer headaches, less rework, and not having to second-guess drawings. When field teams see how a CDE makes their day easier, they’re far more likely to buy in and use it.
Having technology champions is one of the best ways to drive adoption on the ground. If you’re looking to build momentum early, start by identifying CDE champions for various roles, including PM, VDC, supers, precon, operations, and IT.
From there, give them ownership, involve them in decisions, and let them lead by example on projects.
Ease folks into the CDE with a pilot project where the stakes are manageable, and the team is open to trying something new. Use it to test workflows, gather feedback, and make adjustments. The goal isn’t perfection. It’s learning what works, fixing what doesn’t, and building a playbook you can roll out in the future.
Consistency matters more than perfection. Set clear expectations around naming conventions, approvals, and where information lives. Reinforce those habits in meetings, check-ins, and day-to-day work. Over time, what feels new starts to feel like the standard way of working.
If you want to enact change and get it to stick, calling people out for doing it wrong isn’t nearly as effective as showing them a better way and supporting them through the shift. So, focus on coaching, not policing. Give teams the support they need, recognize progress, and make it safe to ask questions and learn as they go.
A CDE sits at the center of how project information is created, reviewed, and shared. As such, teams must be intentional about building a strong, well-defined foundation. The following steps will help you do just that.
Iron out how your team actually works today. Map out each workflow step by step, from creation to review to approval. Where do handoffs happen? Where do things get stuck or lost?
This exercise helps you spot gaps, redundancies, and inconsistencies. Once you have that clarity, you can design workflows that are cleaner, faster, and easier to follow inside your CDE.
A CDE only works if everyone follows the same rules. Set clear standards for how information is organized and managed. Keep them easy to follow so teams don’t default back to old habits. These include:
Define how information moves from draft to final. Who reviews it? Who signs off? What happens if changes are needed? Clear approval flows remove guesswork and prevent teams from acting on incomplete or unverified information. It also creates accountability, so nothing slips through the cracks.
Don’t rely on tribal knowledge. Write down your workflows, standards, and expectations in an internal playbook. Make information scannable and easy to reference in the field. This becomes the blueprint for how projects run in your CDE. It also makes onboarding new team members faster and helps keep everyone aligned as your projects scale.
Note: Defining standards is only half the job. The real impact comes from applying them consistently across every project. That means reinforcing expectations in day-to-day work, holding teams accountable, and making it easy to follow the process.
When standards are actually used, not just documented, your CDE becomes reliable. And that’s when teams stop second-guessing the data and start trusting it.
If you’ve read this far, you already know that a common data environment is more than a place to store files. It depends on clear workflows, standards, and shared ways of working. Once those foundations are in place, Forma Data Management helps contractors put their CDE approach into practice with a connected, governed environment for organizing, managing, and sharing project information across teams, workflows, and phases.
Here’s how.
Start by setting up Forma Data Management as your central hub for project information. Whenever possible, begin with a standardized project template so you’re not reinventing the wheel each time. This gives your team a consistent starting point and helps reinforce your standards from day one.
Structure your folders to reflect how your team works. Mirror your operational workflows so it’s intuitive for everyone to find what they need. Make sure naming conventions are intuitive and predictable, so no one has to guess where files live or what they’re looking at.
Align access with real project roles. Use role-based or company-based permissions to control who can view, edit, and approve information. Protect sensitive folders while still giving field teams the visibility they need to do their jobs without delays.
Apply naming conventions that match your internal standards. That way, files stay organized at every turn. Use attributes and metadata to make filtering, searching, and reporting easier. This helps teams quickly find the right information without having to dig for it.
Use built-in workflows to route documents through the right review and approval steps. Clearly separate work in progress from published or for construction documents so teams always know what’s ready to use and what’s still in review.
Forma Data Management becomes the connected foundation for your design and field workflows. It links tools like Forma Build, Forma Design Collaboration, and others, so everyone works from the same data.
Instead of downloading files and creating local copies, teams can work from connected data. That keeps information consistent across design, coordination, and construction, and reduces the risk of working from outdated files.
As mentioned earlier, it’s best to roll out your CDE on a pilot project first. During the pilot period, pay attention to how teams use the system, where they get stuck, and where permissions or workflows need adjusting. Use those insights to refine your setup.
As you roll out your CDE, make sure you guide your teams through the change and set them up for success. Some of the ways you can do this include
A CDE changes how projects run from the ground up. Instead of chasing files and second-guessing information, teams work from data they can trust.
Now, that shift doesn’t happen overnight. It starts with understanding what a CDE really is, getting your people aligned, and building the right foundation. From there, tools like Forma Data Management help bring it all together.
Ready to get started? We recommend keeping it simple. Choose one pilot project and stand up your first CDE in Forma Data Management.
Digital collaboration has skyrocketed in the construction industry in the last few years. For this reason, building strong relationships and investing in training and innovation is more critical than ever. Autodesk University (AU) 2026 in Las Vegas will help you do all that and more.
Taking place September 15-17, 2026, this in-person event will cover key topics to help improve your business. From driving digital transformation to implementing sustainable business practices, AU 2026 will be packed with learning and networking opportunities to help you achieve your firm’s goals.
Register today through August 3 and save $250!
Industry conferences give professionals the chance to keep up with trends, explore different perspectives, and gain knowledge that’ll help them grow and succeed. In-person events, in particular, offer attendees rich experiences that simply can’t be replicated online.
As for why you should attend AU 2026 specifically, here are just a few ways this event can help you advance your business and career.
AU 2026 has a strong lineup of keynotes, workshops, and live panels led by industry and product experts. These sessions will give you the chance to ask questions and have lively discussions on construction innovation.
What’s more, your opportunities to interact with experts aren’t limited to these functions. Being an in-person event, AU 2026 offers several chances to network and learn from your peers, so you can swap notes and discuss solutions.
As an AU 2026 attendee, you’ll connect with the very people behind the products you use every day. The Autodesk Forma (formerly Autodesk Construction Cloud) team will be on stage and on the floor to share exciting news and updates.
You’ll hear from key Autodesk product professionals, specialists, and industry enthusiasts who’ll provide info and tips on how to get the most out of the latest cloud-based technology. This is your chance to share feedback and learn more about what’s next for Autodesk Forma so you can further improve your Autodesk experience.
If you’re looking to the future and want to ensure you’re in the best position to succeed, then AU 2026 is a must-attend. You’ll discover emerging trends and technologies, plus gain new ideas that’ll help you stay competitive in the coming months and years.
AU 2026 will help you see what’s coming next, so you can capitalize on the right opportunities and stay ahead of the competition.
Autodesk prides itself on having a rich ecosystem of partners and developers who continuously enhance the software. The AU 2026 Expo will enable you to connect with these trusted partners.
Meet the teams behind the tech and discover solutions and workflows created by both Autodesk and members of our ecosystem.
Head to the official AU 2026 site to grab your tickets!
We can’t wait to see you in person at AU 2026! This year’s event is shaping up to be our most exciting one yet.
Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) is now part of Autodesk Forma, and we know construction teams have questions about what that means.
The most important answer is simple: the workflows, tools, and project data you already rely on aren’t going away. Autodesk Forma builds on the foundation of ACC by connecting planning, design, construction, and operations workflows more closely together, while keeping familiar products and day-to-day processes intact.
We recently hosted a webinar to walk through what Autodesk Forma means for construction teams, including connected workflow examples, product walkthroughs, and a closer look at the Autodesk Assistant in action.
You can catch the full webinar on demand below. We’ve also put together a detailed recap that breaks down what construction teams should know moving forward. Check it out!
For most construction teams, Autodesk Forma will feel familiar, but with stronger connections between project phases, teams, and the information behind every decision.
For existing ACC customers, most of the tools and workflows construction teams already rely on remain the same. Products like Build, Takeoff, and Docs may have updated names or sit within a broader Forma environment, but the day-to-day workflows themselves are still familiar.
Your existing projects, files, users, permissions, and project data all stay in place, too. There’s no need to start over, migrate everything manually, or rebuild your processes from scratch.
What’s changed is the level of connectivity around those workflows.
With Autodesk Forma, construction workflows are now more closely connected to earlier project phases, such as planning and design. Instead of information getting passed from team to team as disconnected files or snapshots in time, project data can carry forward with more context attached to it.
That means construction teams can gain earlier visibility into project decisions, design intent, coordination history, and downstream impacts before issues become expensive field problems.
Construction teams have more digital tools, more project data, and more ways to collaborate than ever before. But when you look at how projects actually run day to day, information is still heavily disconnected across systems, teams, and phases. Instead of using project data to move faster and make better decisions, teams often spend a huge amount of time searching for information, validating whether it’s current, and filling in missing gaps.
And the issue usually isn’t a lack of data. It’s a lack of context.
Project stakeholders already have the drawings, models, RFIs, issues, and files they need. The challenge is that the reasoning behind decisions, tradeoffs, approvals, and changes often gets lost as work moves from one phase or stakeholder to the next. Over time, that missing context creates disconnects.
Not only that, but projects are getting more complex. Teams are dealing with tighter schedules, labor shortages, growing sustainability requirements, and increasing pressure to deliver faster. As complexity increases, disconnected workflows and fragmented information create even more project risk.
Autodesk Forma is designed to help solve this by creating a more connected environment where project information, decisions, and context can carry forward across the entire project lifecycle.
Autodesk Forma is Autodesk’s industry cloud for AECO that connects project data, teams, and workflows across planning, design, construction, and operations.
Autodesk has been moving toward connected construction workflows for years. First came the digitization of individual workflows like design coordination, document management, field execution, and project controls. Then ACC helped connect construction teams, project data, and workflows within the construction phase itself.
Autodesk Forma is the next evolution of that vision.
Rather than acting as a standalone construction platform, Forma is designed as an industry cloud—i.e., a cloud environment designed around how a specific industry works. For AECO, that means Forma brings together products, project data, and workflows across planning, design, construction, and operations into one connected environment.
Autodesk Forma is built around four connected principles designed to help construction teams work with greater visibility, stronger context, and fewer disconnected workflows.
Autodesk Forma connects planning, design, construction, and operations in one environment. It doesn’t treat each phase like a separate handoff, so every phase can build on the decisions, context, and information that came before it.
Project information is no longer limited to static files or one-time transfers between teams. Drawings, models, issues, reviews, field updates, and project records can stay connected and usable across different tools, workflows, and project phases.
Despite the somewhat futuristic name, hyper collaboration is really about making teamwork easier. Instead of relying on disconnected meetings, screenshots, emails, and chat threads, teams can coordinate around shared project data in a live environment.
Autodesk Forma also brings AI directly into the workflows teams already use every day. AI can surface insights and automate repetitive tasks so teams can unlock faster decision-making. But importantly, construction teams still stay in control of the final decisions.
One of the biggest benefits of Autodesk Forma is that it helps construction teams stay connected to project information much earlier and throughout the entire project lifecycle, not just once construction starts.
Traditionally, planning and design can feel like separate phases with a reset happening in between. Information gets handed off, teams reinterpret decisions, and important context can get lost along the way.
Takeoff, estimating, bidding, and qualification decisions are most valuable when they do not disappear after award. Connected preconstruction workflows help teams reduce manual handoffs, avoid missed scope, and start projects with better cost and risk context.
With Autodesk Forma, that connected approach changes things. Site constraints, early analysis, preconstruction, and planning decisions stay tied to the project as teams move from design into construction. Instead of starting over, design and planning become a continuation of the work that already happened.
Why does that matter for construction teams? Because decisions made early on usually shape everything downstream. With earlier visibility into constructability concerns, phasing challenges, cost impacts, and schedule risks, teams can spot issues before they turn into change orders or expensive surprises later.
The transition from design to construction is where project gaps often first appear. Design intent gets reduced to PDFs, screenshots, and static deliverables, while coordination history and project context get separated from the actual model.
Construction teams need models that are not just design artifacts, but usable sources of project truth. Forma helps connect model coordination, clash resolution, issue tracking, and mobile access so teams can identify problems earlier and reduce rework.
With Autodesk Forma, project information continues flowing from design into construction right from the same shared environment. Teams have easier access to coordination history, design intent, and the reasoning behind earlier decisions, which helps reduce assumptions and catch changes sooner.
Once construction begins, accurate, up-to-date information becomes everything. Small disconnects can quickly turn into delays and added costs in the field.
Thanks to Autodesk Forma, field and office teams stay connected through shared project data. Drawings, updates, photos, issues, and observations are all captured and accessible as work happens, creating a more current view of the project for everyone involved.
Instead of managing RFIs, issues, quality items, changes, and closeout documentation as separate workflows, Forma helps connect construction execution data so teams can see how field activity affects schedule, cost, quality, and risk.
That means less time chasing updates or figuring out which information is correct, and more time focused on actually getting work done.
Autodesk Forma is more than a vision for connected construction. It also includes practical capabilities that construction teams can start using today. Check them out below:
Forma Data Management introduces datasets, which help teams move beyond static files and work with more connected project data. Information doesn’t need to be trapped inside spreadsheets or individual applications; datasets allow structured project data to stay accessible across workflows and tools within Forma.
For example, VDC teams can attach model properties like cost data directly to coordinated models, making that information easier to use downstream without relying on manual exports or disconnected files.
Forma Data Management Essentials helps teams start projects in a cloud-connected environment from day one. Included with products like AutoCAD, Revit, and Civil 3D, it allows teams to open, save, organize, version, and review files directly inside a shared project workspace.
Forma Board is designed to make project collaboration more connected and contextual. Teams can review proposals, compare options, capture feedback, and add markups directly against live project data instead of relying on disconnected screenshots, emails, or chat threads.
For construction teams, this can help make collaboration more transparent and easier to follow, especially when multiple stakeholders need to review information and align around decisions.
Forma Estimate extends connected workflows into preconstruction by linking 2D and 3D takeoffs to labor, material, and cost calculations. This helps estimators create more accurate estimates and stronger proposals.
Forma also includes a bidding capability in open beta that brings bid management and qualification workflows directly into the same project environment used for takeoffs and estimating.
There are currently two main products within the Forma family: Forma Build Essentials and Forma Build.
Forma Build Essentials focuses on core field execution workflows and everyday jobsite needs. It’s designed for teams that want a streamlined approach to field operations and onsite coordination.
Forma Build includes everything in Build Essentials, while expanding into broader project management, cost management, and advanced construction management capabilities.
Model Analytics Essentials gives BIM and VDC teams better visibility into Revit model health and performance. Teams can review warnings, model history, and performance issues to identify potential slowdowns before they impact coordination or project delivery.
AI is becoming a bigger part of construction. Projects are getting more complex, margins are tighter, and experienced workers are retiring. Teams need faster ways to surface insights, reduce risk, and automate repetitive work without adding more disconnected tools to the process.
That’s where Autodesk Forma’s AI approach comes in.
Instead of sitting outside the platform, AI is built directly into Autodesk Forma workflows. This matters because AI is only as powerful as the data and context behind it. When project information lives in a connected environment, AI can generate far more meaningful insights and support real operational workflows. It uses project data and Autodesk’s construction-specific knowledge graph, data model, and ontology to help teams find answers faster, surface insights, and automate certain tasks inside the tools they already use.
Just as importantly, Autodesk keeps humans at the center of decision-making. AI can help teams work faster and smarter, but people still make the final calls.
One of the most powerful AI capabilities inside Autodesk Forma today is Autodesk Assistant, built directly into Forma and embedded across construction workflows.
Construction teams spend too much time searching across fragmented project data: specifications, RFIs, schedules, issues, drawings, and meeting records spread across systems and teams. Assistant helps turn that manual coordination into guided execution by allowing teams to ask questions in natural language and get fast, context-aware answers directly inside their workflow.
With Assistant, teams can:
But Assistant goes beyond simple search. Because it understands the project context users are actively working in — whether that’s an issue, meeting, RFI, or drawing — teams can ask questions tied directly to the work already in front of them, without needing to re-explain context to an external AI tool.
And as with all Autodesk AI experiences, trust remains foundational. Assistant follows a “trust but verify” approach by providing citations back to the original project documents, allowing teams to validate answers quickly and maintain confidence in project decisions.
The result is faster access to critical project information, reduced manual coordination, and fewer workflow interruptions, helping teams move from searching for information to moving work forward.
Autodesk’s AI strategy inside Forma goes beyond conversational assistance. AI is also being embedded directly into operational workflows to help teams reduce manual effort, accelerate coordination, and keep projects moving forward.
In construction, many of the most time-consuming tasks are repetitive operational processes: documenting issues, creating RFIs, organizing project information, and maintaining consistent data across teams. Forma uses AI to help automate those workflows directly inside the platform — reducing friction without disrupting how teams already work.
Field teams can document issues faster directly from mobile devices using Quick Issue Create powered by Autodesk AI. Instead of manually filling out detailed issue forms, users can capture photos, respond to a simple prompt, and AI automatically generates a context-rich issue with relevant details already populated.
The result is faster issue capture, more complete project records, and less administrative work for teams in the field. Importantly, teams remain in control. Users can review and edit before submission, allowing AI to handle repetitive operational tasks while humans make the final decisions.
Similarly, Forma also uses AI to streamline the RFI creation process by helping teams generate more complete and consistent RFIs from simple prompts.
As AI becomes more embedded into construction workflows, Autodesk has also put a big focus on trust, transparency, and responsible AI adoption inside Autodesk Forma.
Autodesk created an entire Trust Center focused on AI governance and ethical use. One of the more practical tools is the AI transparency cards, which work almost like nutrition labels for AI features.
These cards explain how specific AI capabilities work, what data is being used, whether models are trained on customer data, what safeguards are in place, and whether humans remain involved in the workflow. Autodesk also shares information around encryption, security practices, and even which LLMs may be powering certain experiences behind the scenes.
At Autodesk, we firmly believe that humans should stay at the center of decision-making. While AI can help surface information, automate repetitive work, and support faster decisions, construction professionals still make the final calls.
That “human-in-the-loop” approach is a big part of how Autodesk positions AI inside Forma today.
Autodesk Forma is not about replacing the construction workflows teams already trust. It is about connecting them more deeply across the project lifecycle.
For construction teams, that means familiar tools with a broader foundation for connected data, earlier coordination, stronger field-to-office visibility, and AI-assisted workflows that help teams find and verify information faster.
Forma is designed to help teams reduce risk, surface insights faster, and spend less time chasing information so they can focus more on delivering projects successfully.
Want a deeper understanding of Autodesk Forma for construction and what it means for your teams? Watch the on‑demand webinar to hear directly from Autodesk experts about connected data, lifecycle workflows, and AI‑native construction.
For decades, construction estimating has revolved around one number, which typically comes in the form of total project cost, GMP, or estimated cost per square foot.
That single total is meant to bring certainty, confidence, and commitment—which it did, for a while.
But the industry has changed. Projects are more complex and conditions fluctuate daily.
Today, one number no longer tells the full story. And in many cases, it even hides risk instead of explaining it.
There are several reasons the “single number” estimate no longer reflects the reality of modern construction projects.
For starters, project conditions are less predictable than ever. With material cost volatility, ongoing labor shortages, and supply chain disruptions, estimators are being asked to make high-stakes projections in constantly changing conditions.
Early estimates are often produced with partial information, but market conditions shift between estimate creation and buyout.
With that in mind, producing one definitive number doesn’t make sense, especially when so many variables are still evolving, and project teams need visibility into risk, assumptions, and potential cost movement.
The danger with having a single number is that it creates false precision and confidence. People think the estimate is fixed and reliable, but when the project or market inevitably shifts, teams are left explaining why the number changed. Here are some of the blind spots you’ll run into if you rely too much on a single number estimate.
Pricing can change dramatically between design milestones, especially on longer projects. Material costs, subcontractor availability, tariffs, and procurement delays all impact pricing in ways that are difficult to lock in early. A single number rarely shows how sensitive the estimate is to those moving pieces, which can create problems later when procurement or buyout costs come in higher than expected.
Many estimates are created before the design is fully resolved. At early stages, teams may still be working through scope gaps, coordination questions, or evolving owner requirements. Even experienced estimators are making assumptions to keep projects moving. The challenge is that a single number often makes those assumptions invisible to everyone else reviewing the estimate.
One number tends to flatten complexity. Instead of showing where uncertainty exists, it hides it behind a total cost. That makes it harder for teams to communicate exposure, contingency strategy, or areas that may still change. Stakeholders see the final number, but not the level of confidence behind different parts of the estimate.
When stakeholders see one definitive total, they often interpret it as a precise commitment rather than a point-in-time projection. That can create friction later if scope evolves, pricing changes, or design decisions impact cost.
When teams treat an early estimate as a fixed certainty instead of a working projection, problems tend to surface later in the project. Budgets drift as assumptions get revisited and scope becomes more defined. Teams often end up forced into defensive value engineering conversations that feel reactive instead of strategic. Owners may feel blindsided by cost changes, even when those changes were driven by evolving project conditions rather than bad estimating.
At the same time, estimators are put in a difficult position. Instead of being viewed as professionals responding to new information, they’re seen as being “wrong” because the original number changed. Over time, that dynamic can erode trust between project teams, owners, and trade partners, even when the estimate was reasonable based on the information available at the time.
While teams that rely on a single value estimate struggle to adapt when projects change, mature teams build flexibility and transparency into their processes and unlock benefits such as better decision-making and fewer surprises downstream. Here’s what they’re doing differently:
Strong preconstruction teams don’t pretend every number is fixed on day one. They openly discuss unknowns, assumptions, and areas where pricing may shift as the project develops.
Instead of simply presenting a total cost, they use estimates to evaluate options, compare tradeoffs, and shape project direction. For example, if a design choice pushes the project over budget, the team can quickly model alternatives and show how different materials, systems, or phasing strategies impact cost and schedule before decisions are finalized.
The best preconstruction teams stay engaged throughout the project. They don’t just drop off after delivering a number; they help owners understand cost drivers, explain market conditions, and prepare for potential changes along the way.
Instead of treating estimates as static snapshots, mature teams continuously refine them as new information becomes available. If steel pricing shifts mid-design or scope changes after coordination meetings, the estimate evolves alongside the project.
Experienced teams spend less time defending one final number and more time explaining what influences cost. They discuss pricing ranges, escalation exposure, procurement risks, and scope decisions to help stakeholders make informed choices.
Not every part of an estimate carries the same level of certainty, and mature teams make that clear. They communicate which numbers are highly validated and which are still based on assumptions or early design inputs.
The goal of modern estimating isn’t to predict one perfect number of that’ll dictate the project's cost. Rather, it’s to help teams understand possible outcomes and make smarter decisions as projects evolve.
Forward-thinking estimators are moving away from presenting a single “final” number and toward giving teams a clearer view of possible outcomes. Instead of creating false confidence through precision, mature preconstruction teams provide ranges, explain cost drivers, and model different scenarios based on changing project conditions.
That approach helps stakeholders understand not just what the project may cost, but why those numbers can change over time.
Beyond improving estimate accuracy, estimates built around informed ranges pave the way for smarter decision making. Consider the following:
When owners understand pricing ranges and risk drivers early, they can make proactive decisions before problems surface downstream. Let’s say a project team identifies potential escalation risk on electrical materials early in design. In this instance, the owner may choose to procure certain packages sooner rather than deal with surprise cost increases months later.
Strong estimating teams use cost information to guide conversations, not defend a final number after the fact. The estimate becomes a working tool that helps teams evaluate direction, timing, scope, and priorities throughout preconstruction instead of something that only gets judged at buyout.
When estimates evolve alongside design, teams can compare options with a clearer understanding of budget impact. For instance, a project team may evaluate two façade systems side by side and quickly see how each option affects not only cost but also schedule, procurement risk, and long-term constructability.
Better estimates create space for earlier conversations about priorities and constraints. If an owner wants to accelerate the schedule while maintaining a fixed budget, teams can openly discuss what tradeoffs may be required, whether that means adjusting scope, changing materials, or resequencing phases.
When uncertainty, assumptions, and risks are communicated early, teams spend less time defending why numbers changed later. Stakeholders already understand the factors influencing cost, so conversations stay focused on solutions and decision-making instead of blame or surprise.
Moving away from the single number estimate changes the relationship owners and project teams have with the estimate itself.
Instead of treating it as a fixed promise, teams begin using it as a shared planning tool that evolves alongside the project. In the process, owners gain a clearer understanding of where risks exist, what assumptions are driving cost, and which variables may still change as design progresses.
That added transparency helps teams align earlier on realistic outcomes. Conversations also become more collaborative because stakeholders already understand the “why” behind potential cost movement. Rather than debating whether an estimate was right or wrong, teams can focus on evaluating options, managing tradeoffs, and making informed decisions together.
All of that leads to greater trust over time, as owners feel better prepared because expectations are set earlier and reinforced throughout the process. Project teams spend less energy defending numbers and more energy helping stakeholders navigate complexity. The estimate stops being a scorecard and becomes a reference point everyone can use to guide the project forward.
A single number may feel simple, but simplicity doesn’t always equal accuracy. Construction projects are influenced by evolving designs, changing market conditions, and countless moving parts. Presenting one fixed number can create the illusion of certainty when uncertainty still exists.
On the flip side, ranges, scenarios, and transparent conversations may feel more complex, but they give teams a more realistic way to plan and make decisions. Mature preconstruction teams understand that clarity builds stronger outcomes than false precision ever could.
When owners understand risks, assumptions, and tradeoffs early, projects run with fewer surprises and more alignment.
That transparency also strengthens long-term relationships because owners are more likely to trust and partner again with teams that communicate honestly and help them navigate complexity.
If you’re ready to create more transparent, collaborative, and realistic preconstruction workflows, here are some action steps to move beyond the single number today:
While accurate numbers are essential, the future of estimating is more about helping owners and teams make smarter decisions with better context and realistic expectations.
The “single number” estimate may have worked in a more predictable era, but today’s construction environment demands more flexibility and transparency. Mature preconstruction teams understand that trust is built through insight, not the illusion of certainty.
In a world where projects, pricing, and priorities can shift quickly, the teams that communicate openly about risk, assumptions, and tradeoffs will be the ones best positioned to lead projects successfully from preconstruction through closeout.
Ready to modernize your preconstruction workflows? Check out the preconstruction bundle to see how connected tools can help teams estimate with more clarity, collaboration, and confidence.
Staying on top of construction resource management is an absolute must. With today’s increasingly complex projects and tighter-than-ever timelines you simply can’t afford to misallocate the resources you have at your disposal.
There’s also the issue of labor shortages in construction. Research by the Associated General Contractors of America and Autodesk revealed that 80% of contractors are having difficulties finding qualified workers. As the industry continues to grapple with workforce challenges, you need to be smart about how you handle and assign labor resources.
This article will cover all that and more.
We’ll dive into the ins and outs of construction resource management, plus discuss best practices and tools that can help you ensure that all your resources are allocated effectively and are put to good use.
Let’s get started.
What we cover:
Construction resource management is the practice of planning and managing the use of construction resources, to ensure that projects are delivered on time and within budget.
Typically done by construction managers or project managers, construction resource management involves many tasks, including the following.
The goal of construction resource management is to maximize the utilization of resources and reduce waste, ultimately meeting the project’s objectives in the most efficient and cost-effective way possible.
Construction resources come in many forms. Some of the most common resources include:
Workforce planning — which is a key component of construction resource management — involves monitoring and allocating team members across projects.
Effective workforce planning entails monitoring schedules, team bandwidth, and jobsite capacities. Managers need to balance all these components to ensure that each project is well-staffed and that team members aren't over- or under-allocated. It also involves reviewing the company's workforce resources and forecasting workforce needs, so the firm can recruit accordingly.
Workforce planning is critical, particularly amidst issues like labor shortages. When you have limited workforce available, it’s even more important to keep a tight handle on your workforce.
Now that you know the fundamentals of construction resource management, let’s discuss the benefits that you’ll gain from the practice.
When you don’t have a handle on how much resources you need for your projects, you may end up allocating either too much or little to certain activities. This leads to double-work, wasted time, and delays — all of which add more costs to the project. For instance, the mismanagement of equipment or materials can result in excess spend that can be better used elsewhere.
Proper construction resource management can prevent such issues from happening. When you’re closely tracking the use of resources and reallocating them based on the project’s needs, you can ensure that time and money are always well-spent.
By implementing construction resource management, you can see to it that team members are assigned to the right place and they have what they need (i.e., equipment, materials, and supplies) to do their jobs well.
As such, teams are able to be more productive. There’s less downtime or waiting around, plus they can do their best work because they have the necessary resources at the right time.
Construction resource management gives you better visibility into your resources. The practice involves closely monitoring resource utilization, so you always know what you have at any given time.
This, in turn, helps you make well-informed decisions on how to use and allocate construction resources.
It’s not uncommon for projects to run into sudden changes. If you’re not prepared, you may end up with inadequate resources to cover unexpected needs.
You can avoid these situations by implementing proper construction resource management. When you constantly stay on top of how your budget, workforce, equipment, and materials are used, it’s much easier to re-evaluate and reallocate resources to cope with unforeseen project changes.
One of the first steps to effective construction resource management is mapping out a plan for how resources will be allocated and used. While the specifics of this process will vary depending on your teams and projects, here are the steps to create your construction resource management plan.
Iron out all the necessary details involved in the project. Itemize the tasks and activities that need to be completed and specify the deadlines for each milestone.
Use the information from the previous step to figure out the right resource allocations for the project. At this stage, you’ll need to calculate the amount of resources required, assign them to the appropriate activities and project phases, and indicate when you’ll need them.
One thing you could do at this stage is to tap into your experience as well industry standards and previous project data to figure out the best allocations.
The next step is to get approval for the resources that you're planning to use. Coordinate with the necessary parties and decision makers and ensure that you have the authorization to use the resources at the appropriate time. Be sure to complete this step before the project kicks off.
Your construction resource plan shouldn’t be set in stone. Keep an eye on it, even when the project is underway and don’t be afraid to pivot or launch a plan B if unforeseen issues arise.
Construction resource management shouldn’t be done manually. Equip yourself and your team with construction technologies that streamline the process of planning and allocating resources.
Consider the following.
Forma Build (formerly named Autodesk Build) offers robust capabilities for all your project management needs. Track project progress, accelerate commissioning, and improve turnover with robust asset tracking capabilities.
Rhumbix is a cloud-based field reporting platform designed to simplify timekeeping, T&M, production tracking, and field reporting for construction teams. Built for frontline leaders, it enables crews to capture accurate field data in real time, which flows directly into back-office systems for payroll, cost management, and analytics.
Construction and infrastructure projects lose 13–20% of their budget to data errors, compliance failures, and undetected mismatches. Bimmatch reduces this loss with a real-time AI compliance engine that automatically links digital twins to technical specifications, regulatory codes, and inspection records - flagging every violation, mismatch, and risk directly in the 3D model, Bill of Materials, and project schedule before construction begins.
Bridgit is the leading AI workforce planning solution for construction pros. An excellent tool for assembling teams and forecasting labor, Bridgit makes it easy to optimize staffing decisions. Bridgit AI delivers a conversational planning assistant and detailed reports covering workforce utilization, project pipelines, and the metrics that matter most to your business.
ConstructivIQ focuses on connecting material procurement and supply chain workflows with construction schedules. For projects with complex procurement requirements and dependencies across workflows, this alignment helps prevent material delays that could disrupt the schedule.
Eptura is an intelligent worktech platform that connects people, places, and assets to help organizations manage facilities and operations at scale. With centralized visibility into assets, maintenance, and work orders, Eptura enables teams to streamline facility management, automate preventive and reactive maintenance, and maintain regulatory compliance. By integrating BIM data and advanced analytics into a single system, Eptura helps organizations improve operational efficiency and optimize asset performance.
Matrak is a construction supply chain orchestration platform that connects and coordinates every stage of project delivery, from AI-powered takeoff and estimation to procurement, manufacturing, logistics, and installation. By bringing all stakeholders into a single, real-time system, Matrak creates a clear source of truth across the supply chain, helping teams track materials, manage quality, and align deliveries to project schedules.
ONE-KEY™ by Milwaukee Tool is a jobsite management app that connects teams, tools, and equipment through a centralized digital platform. With built-in Bluetooth tracking and smart tool integration, ONE-KEY provides real-time visibility into inventory, usage, and performance across jobsites.
ORIS is a materials intelligence and sustainability platform designed for infrastructure teams to measure, compare, and reduce carbon, cost, and resource use across projects. Integrated directly into tools like AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and Revit, ORIS enables real-time lifecycle assessments and connects design data with material and supplier insights. This helps civil engineers make faster, more informed decisions, optimize designs early, and deliver more sustainable infrastructure with greater efficiency and confidence.
Outbuild is an AI-enabled, collaborative scheduling platform. It provides tools for creating and managing master schedules while enabling field teams to participate in planning workflows. Further, Outbuild's Pro Tier includes an Executive level dashboard that gives leaders real-time visibility into every active project and an AI-assistant that can answer many valuable questions related to schedule-risk without having to dig through multiple reports.
Qflow is a construction app and data platform that gives teams real-time visibility into materials, waste, and carbon directly from the jobsite. By capturing and digitizing delivery and waste data as it happens, Qflow creates a reliable record of what’s arriving and removed, and who’s responsible for it. This helps reduce errors, rework, and compliance risks while providing a clear, verified source of truth for project teams.
Raken is a leading field-first construction management platform designed to simplify and streamline critical jobsite workflows. With an intuitive mobile app, Raken makes it easy to manage daily reports, time and production tracking, scheduling, safety, RFIs, Submittals, and more. Trusted by over 85,000 users, Raken helps contractors save time, cut costs, reduce risk, and keep every project moving forward while seamlessly connecting with tools like Forma Build.
Tangible is an AI-powered construction platform that transforms static project documents into structured, actionable materials data. By extracting information from Revit models, drawings, and specifications, Tangible automates quantity takeoffs, aligns materials with design intent, and links every insight back to its source. This gives teams a reliable, transparent view of their data so they can answer critical project questions faster and reduce manual effort.
UpKeep is a CMMS and asset operations management platform that helps maintenance and reliability teams manage equipment, work orders, and operational data, using built-in AI tools customized to each company's needs. By integrating with Autodesk solutions, UpKeep connects design and construction data with maintenance workflows, automatically syncing issues, asset updates, and documents across systems.
You can’t complete projects without the right workers, equipment, and facilities, which is why it’s critical to plan and allocate your resources effectively. So, take the time to understand each project’s needs then figure out the right resource allocation. To make things easier, use technology to automate various tasks and generate the necessary reports.
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Construction teams manage constant coordination across the site and office. RFIs, schedules, meetings, costs, safety issues, and project risks all move at the same time and often across disconnected tools and workflows.
As projects become larger and more complex, teams can lose valuable time searching for information instead of acting on it.
Autodesk Assistant helps reduce that friction.
Available in Autodesk Forma, Autodesk Assistant is the AI interface for the Design and Make platform. It helps teams move from questions to action by connecting project data, workflows, and tools inside the environments they already use.
Unlike generic bolted-on AI tools that sit outside project workflows, Assistant is context-aware. It understands project data, construction workflow context, and the task in front of you, helping teams surface insights, identify risks, and complete work faster without leaving their workflow.
Curious about what you can actually do with Assistant? Below are seven construction workflows that show how Assistant can help teams move faster and stay focused.
Learn More About Autodesk Assistant
RFIs need to move fast to keep work moving and avoid costly rework. But finding the right supporting details can slow teams down. It often means digging through folders, PDFs, and document sets just to confirm the exact requirement tied to the question.
Assistant helps make that easier.
For example, when reviewing an RFI in Forma, teams can open Assistant and ask it to find related specifications connected to the RFI. Instead of manually searching through files, Assistant quickly surfaces the most relevant spec details right inside the workflow.
Need more context? Teams can click into the source information, review the original documents, and keep the conversation going without leaving their workflow.
See it in action:
Project risk doesn’t always show up with obvious warning signs. It often builds gradually through overdue tasks, slipping milestones, or unresolved issues, affecting the critical path.
The challenge is identifying what matters most before small problems turn into costly delays.
Assistant helps teams quickly assess project risk. Teams can ask simple, high-level questions about project risk and instantly get a breakdown of overdue work, upcoming milestones, and high-impact activities without digging through dashboards or manually pulling data.
Instead of spending time gathering data, teams can make it part of their routine to ask Assistant for a quick project risk update and then focus on prioritizing action.
See it in action:
Meeting minutes can get long fast, especially on complex projects with multiple teams, discussions, and follow-ups happening at once. Finding the information you actually need, whether it’s a decision, action item, schedule update, or safety concern, can take more time than the meeting itself.
Assistant helps simplify that process by quickly summarizing meetings and surfacing the most important takeaways.
Instead of digging through endless notes or trying to remember which meeting covered a certain topic, teams can use Autodesk Assistant to quickly find meeting minutes related to specific topics or generate fast recaps that highlight discussions around RFIs, submittals, safety concerns, schedules, and next steps.
Whether it’s an OAC meeting or a quick coordination call, you get a clear snapshot you can review, share, and act on right away. That means fewer missed follow-ups and less time spent chasing down information later.
See it in action:
Safety conversations happen across all kinds of meetings, from toolbox talks to coordination calls and daily check-ins. But important details often remain buried in meeting notes, making it difficult to identify recurring issues or trends.
Assistant helps teams quickly identify which meetings included safety discussions and pull up summaries tied to the original conversation context. That way, you can search for specific safety topics, review what was discussed, and connect issues back to the source without manually sorting through meeting records.
For safety managers and field leaders, that makes it easier to stay proactive, follow up faster, and keep important concerns from slipping through the cracks.
See it in action:
Project schedules contain a huge amount of information, but spotting issues early usually takes time. It involves going through schedules and reports just to figure out what’s slipping and what could affect the critical path.
Assistant helps simplify schedule reviews by giving users a quick snapshot of overall schedule health.
Teams can review activity status, completion rates, upcoming risks, and critical path concerns without manually building reports or filtering through layers of schedule data. That makes it easier for project managers and schedulers to focus on the activities that need attention before delays start impacting the broader project timeline.
See it in action:
What do you do to get a high-level understanding of project health? If you’re dealing with manual or disconnected systems, it usually means you’re pulling information from multiple places and trying to piece together the full story. RFIs, issues, schedules, submittals, and change orders all affect project performance, but reviewing them one by one takes time.
Assistant helps you get a quick consolidated view by answering high-level questions about overall project health in seconds. You and your team can surface RFIs, unresolved issues, schedule risks, pending submittals, and change order activity in one response, along with suggested next steps based on the connected project data.
For executives, project managers, and owners, that means faster visibility into what’s happening across the project without chasing updates across different tools and reports.
See it in action:
Cost impacts rarely happen in isolation. RFQs and scope changes can gradually affect budgets across the lifecycle of a project, especially when teams are managing multiple pricing requests simultaneously.
The challenge is understanding which RFQs are driving financial impact before costs escalate further.
Assistant helps teams connect RFQs to project cost changes so they can quickly identify budget impacts, review related project context, and spot trends earlier. For commercial and cost management teams, that means faster analysis and better visibility into cost drivers.
See it in action:
The most effective AI experience doesn’t add more complexity to your workflows; it helps reduce friction inside the work teams are already doing every day.
That’s what makes Autodesk Assistant in Autodesk Forma different. It’s built directly into the workflows teams are already using in Autodesk Forma. It helps teams move faster, reduce manual coordination, and make better decisions across the project lifecycle.
Whether teams are reviewing schedules, tracking risk, summarizing meetings, or managing project costs, Autodesk Assistant helps connect information, workflows, and actions inside the tools construction teams already use.
* Access to Autodesk Assistant is based on license type and user permissions.
Learn More About Autodesk Assistant
At Autodesk, we’re all about connected construction, where data, teams, and processes stay connected across every phase of the project lifecycle. The Bid tool in Preconstruction currently in beta for certain subscription types enables just that by bringing bid management and prequalification workflows from BuildingConnected into Autodesk Forma so teams can work in a more connected preconstruction workflow.
In this article, we cover how to turn this capability on, which IDs and accounts must be linked, and the setup issues that most commonly block access.
The Bid tool in Preconstruction brings proven bid management and prequalification workflows from BuildingConnected directly into the Preconstruction experience in Autodesk Forma. It centralizes bidding alongside takeoff, estimating, and qualification, so teams can reduce handoffs, avoid duplicate data entry, and keep preconstruction workflows more connected.
As for who this affects, nothing changes from the subcontractor's and bidder's perspectives. Bid invites, bid boards, and bid submissions work the same way they do today, and bidders do not need a Forma account.
Bidding in Preconstruction is currently in public beta and available on projects using the US data storage region.
To access the feature, you need a Forma Takeoff or a Forma for Preconstruction bundle. A BuildingConnected Pro subscription is also required.
For the tool to work correctly, BuildingConnected account, with BuildingConnected Pro access, must be connected to your Autodesk ID.
Try Autodesk Forma for Preconstruction
Before you create your first RFP, it’s worth taking a few minutes to confirm your setup. Most access issues stem from missing subscriptions, incorrect regions, or identity mismatches.
Getting access starts with making sure the right accounts are connected. The Bid tool in Preconstruction relies on both Autodesk and BuildingConnected identities working together behind the scenes.
As such, you need the following to use the tool:
Bidding workflows in Preconstruction requires these two identities to be connected so data and workflows can flow between BuildingConnected and Forma without duplication.
Once your subscriptions, project region, and identity linking are set up correctly, the Bid tool will be accessible directly inside the Preconstruction experience in Autodesk Forma. From there, teams can access BuildingConnected bidding workflows alongside takeoff, estimating, and qualification workflows in one connected experience.
It’s also important to know that this is BuildingConnected surfaced inside Forma with additional enhancements. You don’t need to migrate projects or move bidding data into a separate system to get started.
Once you’re up and running with the Bid tool, you can manage bidding workflows directly inside Autodesk Forma while staying connected to BuildingConnected data and processes.
Here’s what you’ll be able to do:
Teams can create RFPs directly inside Forma and manage multiple RFPs within the same project environment. This makes it easier to support different stages of preconstruction, phased bidding efforts, or progressive buyouts without jumping between disconnected systems. Instead of tracking bid activity across separate tools, you can keep bidding workflows tied to the same project context used for takeoff and estimating.
The Bid tool allows teams to organize work into scoped bid packages and invite the right subcontractors to the right scopes. Teams can manage scope coverage across bidders, reduce overlap, and keep package organization more structured as projects grow in complexity.
Teams can create structured bid forms at both the RFP and bid package level to collect more consistent information from bidders. This includes pricing, alternates, inclusions, exclusions, clarifications, and other scope-specific details. Standardized bid forms improve completeness and make bids easier to compare side by side, especially when multiple subcontractors are pricing the same scope.
You can communicate with bidders right from the bidding workflow. Answer questions, clarify scope, and keep conversations tied to the appropriate bid package or RFP. This reduces reliance on long email threads and disconnected communication. At the same time, it provides teams with better visibility into bidder interactions and project discussions.
Submitted bids can be reviewed directly within the bidding experience, and you can use structured bid data to compare responses. This makes it easier to see scope gaps and pricing differences, and you’re able to work more efficiently because there’s no need to recreate data in spreadsheets or separate systems.
Teams can continue working in either Autodesk Forma or BuildingConnected, depending on their preferred workflow. Data remains connected across both environments, so there’s no need to worry about maintaining duplicate records or manually syncing information between systems.
While most project-based bidding workflows are now available inside Forma Bid, some actions still require using BuildingConnected, including:
This is expected during the beta period and does not impact data continuity. Changes made in BuildingConnected continue to reflect in Forma Bid where applicable (so you can continue managing your templates in BuildingConnected while using them in Forma).
Bid in Preconstruction is a handyif you set it up properly. Teams can move through bidding workflows with far less friction. To make sure you don’t run into issues, be mindful of the following pitfalls:
Because the Bid tool is currently in public beta, there are a few limitations and rollout considerations to keep in mind before enabling the feature.
Access is currently limited to projects using the US data storage region, and only certain Autodesk Forma subscription types are eligible.
In addition, the experience is still evolving, which means some functionality, workflows, and navigation patterns may continue to change as Autodesk expands and improves the beta experience over time.
You’ll need a project using the US data storage region, a Forma Takeoff or Forma for Preconstruction subscription, BuildingConnected Pro access, and properly linked Autodesk and BuildingConnected IDs.
In most cases, one (or more) of the eligibility requirements has not been met. The most common issues are incorrect subscription assignments, projects outside the US region, or Autodesk and BuildingConnected IDs that are not connected properly.
No. Your existing BuildingConnected data and workflows carry over automatically, so there’s no separate migration process required to get started.
Yes. Teams can continue working in BuildingConnected while also accessing bidding workflows inside Forma. Data flows smoothly across both experiences, so you do not need to recreate RFPs or manually sync information.
In Forma Bid, a BuildingConnected Pro project appears as an RFP rather than a Forma project.
This distinction helps separate bidding workflows from Forma’s broader project and data management capabilities. When a BuildingConnected project is imported as an RFP in Forma, its bid packages, bidders and bid activity can also be imported.
No. From the subcontractor and bidder perspective, the experience stays the same. Bid invites, bid boards, and bid submissions continue working the way they do today through Bid Board. No Forma account is required for bidders, and file access behavior does not change as a result of linking projects to Forma.
Autodesk is actively gathering feedback during the beta period. You can submit input directly through the in-product feedback option available within the beta experience.
Forma Bid is a strong fit today for teams that:
Teams that rely heavily on advanced network or template management may still spend more time in BuildingConnected while parity continues to improve.
Bid in Preconstruction connects proven BuildingConnected workflows directly into Autodesk Forma, reducing duplication and improving visibility across preconstruction. Most setup issues come down to region eligibility, subscription requirements, or unlinked IDs. Once those are resolved, teams can start creating RFPs and bidding workflows with minimal friction.
Want to get started? Follow the steps outlined above to start managing bidding workflows directly inside Autodesk Forma.
Try Autodesk Forma for Preconstruction
What happens when AI stops being a future concept and starts becoming part of everyday project workflows? And more importantly, what does that shift look like for the teams building our world today?
I recently attended Autodesk DevCon 2026 in Amsterdam, and one thing was crystal clear: the conversation around AI in construction is no longer theoretical. As an industry, we've moved past asking "if" AI will change the way we build and into figuring out how fast teams can adapt.
DevCon also gave me the opportunity to sit down once again with Ben Cochran, Vice President of Engineering at Autodesk. In our conversation, we unpack the reason attendees continue returning to Devcon every year, the biggest themes emerging from the event, and we explore the growing developer ecosystem shaping the future of design and construction workflows.
We discuss:
Autodesk DevCon started more than a decade ago as a way to bring developers together around Autodesk’s growing cloud-based APIs. Today, it has evolved into one of the company’s biggest gatherings for builders, technologists, and innovators working across design and make industries.
According to Ben, the event began when Autodesk started its ecosystem years ago. “We kicked off a bunch of cloud-based APIs that were really built to extend what we could do with the desktop tools.”
This year’s event in Amsterdam brought together roughly 1,200 attendees focused on learning “what it means to build on Autodesk Platform Services (APS), how to extend that for building out new solutions for our customers.”
For Ben, the biggest draw of DevCon isn’t just the technology announcements. It’s the people in the room.
“One of the reasons why this event is so great and why I love it so much is the community of people who are here,” he shares. Many attendees are developers and technology partners who understand the real-world gaps customers face every day. They use Autodesk Platform Services to build integrations, workflows, and tools that solve highly specific business challenges.
He also notes that Autodesk often learns from the community itself. “When you're building a platform and enabling technology, you have ideas about how that technology can be used, but you don’t know all the opportunities.”
“But developers—they're the ones who understand what that customer needs, and they're the ones who see that business opportunity.”
Ben adds that the feedback loop between Autodesk and the developer community continues to shape how the platform grows and where it goes next.
“Folks get excited about coming back to us and telling us what they do with the platform. I just love that. Every year they come back, and they tell me new things about what they've done. It's great.”
The conversations at DevCon shifted beyond incremental platform updates. A major focus was on how agentic AI will reshape how teams interact with software, data, and workflows across design and construction.
As Ben puts it, “Usually we come, and we talk about the addition to an API or something that can feel incremental sometimes. But with the change in the ecosystem and the change in technology, especially driven by Agentic AI, we’ve been pushing the boundaries of what we can do and what others can do.”
Autodesk Assistant gets smarter with MCP integrations
One of the biggest announcements centered around how industry professionals using Autodesk Assistant will be able to discover and connect to third-party Model Context Protocols (MCPs) in the future, bringing the right tool to the problem they are looking to solve right within their workflow.
According to Ben, developers can now build MCPs that connect Autodesk Assistant to external data sources, systems, and workflows.
“The contributors and builders here who are building MCPs and building technology that connects to other data sources and systems and skills can then bring that into the Autodesk Assistant,” he says.
DevCon also featured announcements around MCPs built on top of Revit and Fusion, expanding how developers can connect Autodesk products with external applications and services.
The Design and Make Marketplace enters the agentic AI era
Another major focus at DevCon 2026 was the Autodesk Design and Make Marketplace - a new destination for AI solutions, integrations, and apps across architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, and media and entertainment.
Ben describes the marketplace as a critical piece of the broader AI ecosystem. “This is an opportunity for third parties to put their MCPs in place so the Autodesk Assistant can find those MCPs and understand how to orchestrate and put workflows together.”
A few things make the marketplace especially important moving forward:
That last point is especially interesting. In the future, teams may not need to manually search for the right integration or app. Instead, Autodesk Assistant could surface and invoke the appropriate tool automatically within a workflow.
As Ben explained, “What makes AI in the design and make space really powerful is its connections to system, services, and applications. MCPs provide that.”
If there was one consistent theme across DevCon 2026, it was speed. Not just faster software, but faster decision-making, faster experimentation, and faster paths to better outcomes.
AI is accelerating experimentation
A major shift happening right now is the ability for teams to test more ideas in less time.
Instead of spending weeks validating a workflow, exploring a design option, or troubleshooting a process, teams can iterate much faster. Ben points out that AI is helping people “run more experiments” and “get to better answers faster.”
That speed compounds quickly across projects. “If you have a process with four weeks and you turn it into a few moments and you compound that over an entire project, you’re taking things that took years and you’re doing them in weeks,” he explained.
The industry mindset is changing
Another major takeaway from DevCon was the noticeable shift in how people are approaching AI adoption.
Last year, many companies were still hesitant. Teams questioned whether now was the right time to invest or experiment. This year felt different.
“I’m seeing very, very clearly here that yes, the time is now,” Ben remarks. “We don’t have all the answers, and we’re seeing that exposure, that lean in, that experimentation.”
That willingness to experiment may become one of the biggest differentiators over the next few years. The companies leaning in today are actively figuring out how these tools fit into real workflows, rather than waiting for the technology to feel perfect.
Navigating challenges around change
Innovation introduces major changes, and with any change comes uncertainty or anxiety. This is something that Ben readily acknowledges.
“Change is hard, and the pace of this change is happening very, very fast. “It’s right that it induces some feeling of anxiety or concern because of the pace.”
Part of the challenge is that nobody has all the answers yet. The technology is evolving quickly, and many companies are still figuring out how AI changes workflows, decisions, and even the order of operations across projects.
Ben believes the answer is to “lean into that and to explore and to experiment and also to have the ability to make mistakes in the change itself.”
That mindset showed up throughout DevCon. Attendees weren’t just sharing success stories. They were sharing lessons learned, failed experiments, and the process changes they’re actively navigating together.
Digital Builder is hosted by me, Eric Thomas. Remember, new episodes of Digital Builder go live every week. Listen to the Digital Builder Podcast on:
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On jobsites, work moves fast. One mishap or delay could throw off the schedule or impact other trades.
The reality is: many teams struggle with keeping field information organized and accessible. Not because of a lack of effort, but because they lack the solutions they need to store, share, and take action on all of the drawings, sheets, back-and-forth revisions, observations, forms, and photos... all the project data. Information ends up in silos: living across text, emails, paper notes, and disconnected tools.
Enter Forma Build Essentials, a solution that brings core field workflows into one mobile-friendly environment.
Designed for everyday jobsite execution, Forma Build Essentials captures work as it happens and keeps projects moving without added complexity.
Forma Build Essentials centers on field execution and provides crews with tools to support everyday on-site work at a lower cost. That’s why it’s a great fit for:
Want to know what field workflows you can manage right from the jobsite? Here’s an overview of how Forma Build Essentials can support teams.
How efficiently a team resolves issues is directly linked to how fast issues are logged and acted on.
Having project data captured and assigned makes it clear who owns what and keeps everyone on the same page.
With Forma Build Essentials, you can ensure that daily reporting is simple, consistent, and easy to do while work is happening.
Forma Build Essentials standardizes how daily data is captured and shared, so teams have a reliable daily record. All of that improves accountability and supports smoother handoffs.
Forma Build Essentials helps keep your team working from the same set of drawings and models, without second-guessing whether they have the latest version.
These workflows minimize rework, miscommunication, and delays because you’re no longer held back by outdated plans or missing information.
Field work is highly dynamic, so teams need the mobility to access and log information wherever work is happening. With that in mind, Forma Build Essentials enables crews to:
Forma Build Essentials keeps work moving even as connectivity changes because its feature set aligns with real jobsite conditions.
Field crews don’t have the time to deal with complicated setups or figure out new systems on the fly. They need something they can start using right away. Good thing Forma Build Essentials has teams covered when it comes to project setup.
Forma Build Essentials has a low barrier to adoption, which means teams actually use the system instead of working around it.
Forma Build Essentials is an offering of Forma Build. While they are both part of the same connected Forma platform, they serve different needs. Here’s what to keep in mind.
Forma Build Essentials is designed for field execution, so teams can focus on capturing and managing work as it happens on site. It enables teams to keep the job humming by supporting everyday workflows like:
Even better, it’s delivered in a mobile-forward experience with minimal setup, so teams can get started without slowing down the jobsite. All in all, Forma Build Essentials was intentionally designed to help teams standardize field capture and keep work moving without added administrative overhead. It’s a no-frills solution built for speed and day-to-day execution.
Forma Build has all the field capabilities of Forma Build Essentials, but goes further by extending workflows into a full construction management platform. So, you’re not only getting field tools for capturing and tracking work, you’re also connecting that work to high-level project management.
Here’s what’s included:
Forma Build brings everything together so teams can manage projects from early coordination through closeout in one place.
What’s great about the Forma Build family is that both solutions function within the same Forma project environment. This makes it simple to expand and scale. Let’s say you start off with Build Essentials and decide to expand to Forma Build. You can build on the same project data and workflows, without needing to start over or migrate information.
When Forma Build Essentials is Enough and When to Expand
Forma Build Essentials is a good choice if your priority is fast setup, consistent field documentation, and on‑site execution. It serves as a strong foundation for teams that want structure in the field without office‑heavy workflows.
That said, if your needs evolve to the point where you require project-wide coordination, cost tracking, and more advanced reporting across teams, then you’ll want to consider Forma Build. That’s because it connects field activity to project management workflows, giving you more control, visibility, and insight as projects grow more complex.
Ready to uplevel your jobsite workflows?
Explore Forma Build Essentials and see how field workflows can run faster with less friction. Start with the tools your crews need today and scale when you’re ready.
As projects grow in size and complexity, it’s more important than ever for field and office teams to stay in sync. Information, decisions, and accountability need to flow smoothly between the jobsite and the office, so that nothing falls through the cracks.
This is where Forma Build really shines.
Forma Build connects field execution with project, cost, and data management, enabling teams to collaborate and manage projects efficiently.
At its core, Forma Build works well for construction teams that need tighter coordination between field execution and project oversight. These include:
Forma Build can power a variety of workflows, including day-to-day field tasks as well as high-level project oversight. Consider the following:
With Forma Build, you can keep RFIs and submittals centralized and connected to reduce miscommunication and inefficiencies.
These processes help teams avoid missed responses, reduce delays, and keep decisions documented and accessible. When everything is logged in one place, it’s easier to track history and avoid back-and-forth later on.
Forma Build reduces issues stemming from scattered tools and disconnected conversations. Here’s how.
These tight and organized communication workflows promote alignment across teams and reduce confusion about who is responsible for what and when.
Forma Build gives teams a clear, real-time view of project costs so they can stay in control and avoid surprises.
With these capabilities, you’re able to stay ahead of risk, protect margins, and make informed financial decisions earlier.
Bring order to drawings, specs, and files so teams spend less time searching and more time building.
This reduces risk by ensuring teams always work from approved, up-to-date documents.
The decisions you make are only as good as the quality of your data. Having a system like Forma Build means you not only have access to the right data, but that the information is presented in a way that’s intuitive and actionable.
Such reports, dashboards, and insights empower teams to identify risks earlier and make faster, more confident decisions.
With the help of AI in construction, you can have your data do more of the heavy lifting. That way, you and your team can do less data-digging and analysis, and do more high-level tasks.
The best part? Forma Build is designed to scale as data volume and project complexity increase.
When it comes to project management, Forma Build and Forma Build Essentials serve different roles across the same project. Depending on your needs, you can start simple or go deeper into full project management workflows. Here’s a snapshot of what each solution brings to the table.
Forma Build Essentials is built for field execution first, with a focus on capturing and managing work directly from the jobsite. It covers these core jobsite workflows:
It’s designed to befield-focused with minimal setup, making it easier to standardize field capture without adding administrative overhead.
Forma Build offers everything in Forma Build Essentials, and extends field workflows into full project and construction management. So, beyond those core jobsite workflows, it includes capabilities for
Forma Build brings field and office workflows together in one system, and it’s meant to support more complex projects that require coordination between field and office teams.
The beauty of Forma Build and Forma Build Essentials is that they both operate in the same project environment. That means teams can share the same project data, with access determined by license type.
This setup makes it easy to scale and add more structure and control as your projects become more complex.
You can, for instance, start Forma Build Essentials for field work, and then expand to Forma Build later on as your coordination, reporting, and control needs grow.
Wondering whether to start with Forma Build Essentials or go straight to Forma Build? The latter may be a better choice for you if:
Explore Forma Build and see how connected project management can bring your field and office teams onto the same page.
Start with what you have, build on your field workflows, and add the tools you need to manage complexity as your projects grow.
Let's be honest: Revit has become indispensable. Maybe a little too indispensable. Over the decades, it has evolved from a CAD tool for cranking out permit sets into a BIM multi-tool for massing, coordination, collaboration, work packaging, and more.
But there's a familiar tension on every project. Double-clicking into a 370 MB .rvt just to tweak a property value or add a supplier part number isn't something most team members should have to do, and it isn't something most team members can do.
When that file belongs to another firm? The instinct is to detach a copy and work from that. And just like that, data duplication begins, even when BIM execution plans are airtight.
For team members who don't have Revit at all, the picture is even more fragmented. Installation plans move into spreadsheets. Fabrication tracking lives in a separate system. Field decisions are buried in correspondence logs. The "information" in BIM starts to drift from the model it's supposed to describe.
But what if non-authoring team members could append their own data to the model without opening Revit, in a tightly standardized environment?
That's exactly what Extended Properties are designed to do.
Learn More About Forma for Model Management
There's a point in every project where the model is technically correct, but logistically incomplete.
As a contractor, how do I use the model to plan for construction? Historically, there have been two options:
Extended Properties introduce a third option: append that data directly to the model without opening it in Revit.
From within Forma Model Coordination, teams can define properties like Install Batch, Install Sequence, QA Status, or Fab ID and apply them to tracked model objects.
No file download. No local edits. No risk of stepping on someone else's work.
In Forma’s Model Coordination tool, project admins can append properties from from the Parameters Library located in Account Admin
At this point, access to the information model is no longer locked behind a desktop authoring tool. It's accessible to Forma Design Collaboration users and API developers alike.
The next step usually happens in Excel. However, with Extended Properties, it doesn't have to.
Once properties are appended to the model, VDC Coordinators and PEs can populate their data straight from Forma Model Coordination, right alongside the 3D context where that data matters most.
The viewer keeps things focused: editable properties are elevated to the top of the panel, and a VDC expert can pre-configure a saved, filtered view for a subcontractor to work from. Model curation at its finest.
Coloring by install batch and pivoting the Object Table turns what would have been rows in a spreadsheet into something tangible and immediate. Simple, yet powerful BIM visualization.
And yes, you can still use Excel to import data via the Object Table. The difference now is that the data stays connected to the model objects it belongs to.
Assign property values straight from the comfort of your Forma viewer.
Instead of relying on data exports, derivatives, and file exchanges, teams make changes directly in context, using tools they already feel confident in. That's democratization in practice.
The object table acts as a live data visualization helper, with instantaneous feedback during data entry.
With the curtain wall contractor working in their model conditioning experience in Forma, the designer eventually wants to check in on the proposed installation plan.
The workflow is familiar. The designer links the Extended Properties data set into their Revit file, just like any other linked reference, and sees their BEP-standard parameter names populated with data and associated with the same Revit elements they authored.
No context switching or file swapping. Just linked, live data flowing back into the authoring environment.
In Revit, Insert > Extended Properties, and browse to the Extended Properties data set that was automatically created in Data Management by Model Coordination.
That's it. If you've linked models into Revit before, this will feel second nature. The difference is that this time, it's granular, element-associated data.
Once linked, the Extended Properties appear in Revit's Properties panel under a dedicated section. For many users, simply seeing the values there is enough.
More likely, though, the next step is building a schedule with the linked properties — cleverly disguised as native parameters — to check in on completeness, track progress, or validate scope.
No context switching needed.
Current limitation: Extended Properties cannot yet be used in annotations or filters. This capability is coming soon.
Most BIM workflows don't break because teams can't add valuable information.
They break because the same data gets recreated over and over again, in slightly different places, by slightly different people.
Extended Properties don't magically solve every workflow challenge, and they may require a shift in how teams think about model ownership. But they do remove one of the biggest sources of friction: they let people contribute to the model on their own terms.
Which means:
This post focused on the workflow: how teams can democratize BIM data by working in the tools they already use.
But Extended Properties are backed by the Data Extensibility APIs, which open the door to programmatic integrations. These days, building an integration can be as simple as a prompt and a pointer to the documentation:
"Build me a dashboard that tracks the progress of my project using Data Extensibility APIs."
"Integrate with my ERP system to assign part numbers as they are generated."
If you're interested in what this enables from a development and integration perspective, we'll be sharing a deeper dive into the APIs and how teams are starting to build on top of them.
👉 From Files to Data: Unlocking Data-Driven AEC Workflows with the AEC Data Model API
Learn More About Forma for Model Management
Importing vendor data at scale without manual re-entry can be challenging, especially during vendor onboarding. The good news is that most import issues stem from formatting, validation rules, or country-specific requirements, not from system failures.
TradeTapp has robust vendor import capabilities that support everything from simple, lightweight vendor lists to full BuildingConnected (BC) Quals exports.
In this guide, we’ll walk through the core template requirements, supported data types, international vendor considerations, and the fastest ways to troubleshoot common import errors.
Note: This guide is intended for TradeTapp admin users at general contractor organizations. Vendors themselves do not run imports and will not have access to the import tool. If you are a vendor looking to submit qualification information, you’ll need to complete that directly through a TradeTapp invitation.
TradeTapp’s vendor import helps GCs bring vendor data into the platform faster, especially when onboarding large vendor lists or migrating from other systems. Imports work best when the source data closely follows the platform’s structure and validation rules.
You know that a vendor import is successful when you see everything in the Vendor Grid. Here, GCs can:
While the vendor import process helps streamline onboarding, TradeTapp’s vendor import features are intentionally structured to protect data quality and prevent conflicts. Specifically:
TradeTapp uses tax identifiers and existing vendor accounts to prevent duplicate vendor records. These safeguards help ensure data integrity and avoid fragmented vendor profiles.
TradeTapp has an XLS-based import template with predefined columns and tabs, in which one logical vendor record is represented across multiple tabs using a shared Company ID.
As with most structured import systems, the template depends on standardized formatting to map data correctly, and so column names, formats, and tab structure must remain unchanged.
Certain basic fields in the template, including the company name and contact email, are required to create a vendor record. That said, there are also optional fields, which help create more complete vendor profiles and support stronger benchmarking, analysis, and qualification workflows later on.
Also, some fields become conditionally required based on the country or data type.
The specific data groups included in the import template include:
Important: not all tabs or fields behave the same for international vendors.
This section covers the vendor data fields most commonly included in imports. It also sheds light on common failure reasons for each category. If you encounter these errors, double-check the information you’ve entered to make sure it matches TradeTapp’s supported formatting and validation rules.
If you’re importing international vendors into TradeTapp, there are a few important limitations and country-specific rules to keep in mind.
TradeTapp supports importing and managing international vendor data, including financial information and multi-currency workflows, as long as the data meets the required validation standards.
Some restrictions are intentional. TradeTapp applies country-specific safeguards to maintain clean qualification workflows and reduce incomplete or invalid vendor submissions.
Qualification workflows depend on country-specific validation logic tied to things like tax IDs, postal codes, and regional address structures.
Restricting qualification invites for unsupported international workflows helps TradeTapp prevent vendors from getting stuck in incomplete applications. This also preserves consistent benchmarking and review standards for GCs.
This is a high-level overview of the TradeTapp vendor import process, from preparing your file to resolving validation issues after upload.
Start with the latest TradeTapp vendor import template and enter vendor data beginning on row 4, since the first few rows contain instructions and examples. Keep the same Company ID across tabs so TradeTapp can associate related vendor data correctly.
If you’re working from a BuildingConnected export, make sure any required supporting tabs, such as Custom Questions, are included before upload.
Before uploading, review the file carefully for formatting issues. Confirm required fields are populated and verify that state or province values, postal codes, tax IDs, phone numbers, and currency fields match supported formats.
It’s also a good idea to review international vendors separately, since validation rules can differ significantly from US and Canadian vendors.
To upload the file, log in to TradeTapp as an admin user and navigate to Settings → Vendor Import. From there, upload the completed file and start the import process.
While the file is processing, TradeTapp will display that the import is in progress. Once complete, the platform will show whether the import succeeded or failed. If issues are detected, error messages will point to the affected records or fields so you can troubleshoot.
If the import fails, review the error messages carefully and correct the issues directly in the original source file rather than editing vendors individually after upload. Once the data has been corrected, re-upload the updated file to retry the import.
Most import issues are straightforward to fix once you know where to look. In many cases, these issues are caused by formatting mismatches, missing country context, or unsupported values.
Check that the state or province value matches TradeTapp’s supported list exactly. If the vendor’s country does not use states or provinces, remove the value entirely. Also, confirm that the country field itself is populated correctly, since validation rules often depend on it.
Make sure the postal code format aligns with the vendor’s country requirements. In some cases, spaces or formatting characters may need to be removed. International addresses should always include a valid country value so the system can apply the correct validation rules.
Verify that the tax identifier matches the selected tax ID type and that the identifier itself is supported for the vendor’s country. If a tax ID is optional or unsupported for that vendor type, leaving the field blank may be the correct approach.
International phone numbers should include country codes where required. Remove unsupported formatting elements, such as extensions, extra spaces, or punctuation, that may interfere with validation during import.
Use only currency codes supported within TradeTapp and make sure the selected currency matches up with how the GC plans to enter, review, and benchmark financial data within the platform.
Re-importing makes the most sense when validation or formatting issues affect a large number of vendors across the file. For smaller corrections or isolated updates, editing directly within TradeTapp is usually faster. It’s also important to remember that imported data will not overwrite information submitted directly by vendors through their own accounts.
TradeTapp continues to expand its international support capabilities, including more flexible country-aware validation rules and broader international qualification workflows. Over time, this will help simplify onboarding while maintaining the data consistency and benchmarking standards GCs rely on.
Hopefully, this article gives you the guidance you need to run cleaner, faster vendor imports with fewer headaches along the way.
Remember, vendor imports are powerful, but they’re intentionally strict for a reason. If you run into import failures, they’re usually because of data format, validation rules, or missing country context. You can avoid issues by reviewing your data carefully before upload and making sure it aligns with TradeTapp’s import requirements.
Construction teams move fast, but disconnected systems can slow everything down.
When field operations and finance teams work in separate tools, the result is often duplicate data entry, delayed approvals, payment bottlenecks, and limited visibility into project costs. That disconnect creates friction across every phase of a project.
Today, Autodesk is changing that.
We’re excited to announce a powerful new integration between Autodesk Forma Build and GCPay that creates a more connected, streamlined experience between project teams, subcontractors, and finance operations.
With the introduction of our new “Cost Management in the Middle” integration model, construction teams now have a flexible new way to connect project execution with subcontractor billing and payment workflows.
Build now supports two paths for accounting and ERP integration.
Because Build and GCPay each integrate with different ERP systems—some overlapping, some unique—this new [Cost Management in the Middle] integration model opens the door for more customers to use both platforms together, even if a direct ERP integration isn’t available.
The result?
This is more than just another integration. It’s a bridge between the field and the financial systems that keep projects moving.
Getting started is simple. Teams can enable the integration directly within Build’s Cost Management settings and begin syncing data in just a few clicks.
Here’s the workflow
Contract data flows into GCPay, where subcontractors can submit:
Approved change orders from Cost Management also sync automatically into GCPay.
Once payments are processed in GCPay, actual costs sync back into Cost Management’s budget overview inside Build.
Project teams gain real-time visibility into committed and actual costs—without chasing spreadsheets or manually reconciling systems.
Users can also access direct links to open payments managed in GCPay directly from the Cost tool.
Teams can associate cost payment applications with upstream budget payment applications and supporting documentation for a fully connected audit trail.
Build already delivers a connected, configurable cost management experience within the same platform used for project management and field collaboration.
But while cost management in Build meets the needs of some teams, others require more advanced capabilities around compliance, lien waivers, and electronic payments.
That’s where GCPay delivers significant value.
Construction teams shouldn’t have to choose between operational efficiency and financial control.
This integration gives contractors the flexibility to work within their existing ERP ecosystem while modernizing the workflows that matter most, from the field to the back office. And most importantly, it helps teams spend less time managing disconnected systems and more time delivering successful projects.
Ready to experience the benefits for yourself? Enable the integration today or schedule a 1:1 demo to learn more.
If you work in construction, you’ve likely had several conversations about how AI (artificial intelligence) can transform your workflows. But if those discussions focus on theoretical possibilities—i.e., what AI could do instead of what teams are actually doing—then you’re not really tapping into its potential.
Here’s the good news: AI is already being used in several areas, particularly in preconstruction. Smart teams are leveraging the technology to automate time‑consuming work, surface hidden risks, and support better decisions. From takeoff and estimating to scope review and risk analysis, AI is being used in a lot of interesting ways.
Before we dive in, a quick note: The examples below illustrate how preconstruction professionals are using AI today through a variety tools and approaches. While not all of these capabilities are available within Autodesk solutions, they highlight where teams are already realizing value.
AI is gaining traction not as a replacement for expertise, but as a way to process information at scale. With artificial intelligence, teams can crunch the numbers much faster and surface insights sooner.
This is especially important in preconstruction because the decisions during this phase of the project are made under immense pressure, and often with disconnected data. Not only that, but estimators and precon teams are expected to work faster and navigate increasingly complex requirements.
This is where AI can really add value. AI-powered platforms like Autodesk Forma are beginning to help teams connect the dots so they focus on executing meaningful work.
Here’s a caveat: in order to truly be useful, AI must be workflow-native, not just a chatbot. Professionals want AI embedded in takeoff, estimating, and bidding workflows with human-in-the-loop control. It should support decisions with suggestions, surface insights from historical data, and help organize information without adding extra steps.
With that in mind, here are examples of how preconstruction teams are using—and in some cases experimenting with—AI in their workflows today.
Quantity takeoff is one of the most immediate areas where AI is beginning to deliver value. It can reduce repetitive manual work and improve consistency across estimates by assisting with:
Some preconstruction teams are already applying AI in this way today. Some companies rely on model-based (3D) quantity takeoff where available, while supplementing it with quantity extraction from 2D drawings to ensure completeness, especially when model detail is limited. “I use AI to automate quantity takeoff and risk analysis,” writes Vishal Mistry, Engineer, and a member of The Big Room, an online community for AECO professionals.
Throughout the entire process, teams still review outputs, validate quantities, and apply judgment where it matters most.
All in all, the result is faster estimates, fewer manual errors, and stronger early-stage confidence.
Beyond takeoff, preconstruction professionals are also beginning to apply AI to streamline adjacent workflows like bid management and subcontractor qualification, areas that are often highly manual and document-heavy.
For example, teams using TradeTapp can leverage AI to automatically extract and structure financial data from subcontractor PDF financial statements. Instead of manually entering information into qualification forms, AI helps streamline qualification reviews, improve consistency, and surface key insights faster for more informed decision-making. Where in bid management workflows, subcontractors using BuildingConnected can automatically extract relevant information from bid invitation emails into their Bid Board to manage and aggregate their invites from various general contractors.
Specifications and scopes are dense and complex, and are often interpreted differently across groups, making them a major source of risk. To make this process more manageable, many preconstruction teams are beginning to apply AI to help break down and analyze large specification documents. Instead of manually reviewing hundreds of pages, AI-powered capabilities within Autodesk Forma can be used to split large specification documents into more digestible sections, making it easier to understand working relationships, liability considerations, and design intent.
Some teams are also starting to use AI chatbot interfaces to interact with project information more naturally. Rather than manually searching through specification and scope documents, they can ask questions in plain language, generate summaries, and quickly surface key details needed to make informed decisions. A great example of this is Autodesk Assistant, users gain a more intuitive and flexible ways to access, validate, and summarize the critical information in published project specifications.
“One of the greatest advantages of Autodesk Assistant is its ability to search for a term within the specs, locate it, and reference where it was found. This is crucial for our team in identifying concerns and addressing them promptly. From there we can immediately send an RFI or share information with a trade partner.” - Jason Fuhrmann, Executive Vice President, Project Development, Miron Construction Co., Inc.
Another thing AI is really good at? Analyzing patterns across large volumes of historical project data. This is difficult for project teams because that information is usually scattered across multiple previous projects and time-consuming to pull together manually.
But with AI, teams are starting to experiment with ways to process and analyze that information more efficiently. For example, some organizations are exploring how AI can help identify patterns in historical data, surface inconsistencies, and highlight areas that may require closer review.
Some teams are also investigating how data can be exported or aggregated from preconstruction tools and then leveraged in external AI tools or large language models to generate additional insights. In these workflows, teams may combine data from drawings, specifications, estimate, and past projects to support more advanced analysis or validation outside of their core preconstruction systems.
This can act as an additional checkpoint during preconstruction, helping teams compare current assumptions against past projects or flag concerns that warrant further investigation. In some cases AI may be used to benchmark current estimates against historical costs and outcomes or surface anomalies and potential risk areas earlier in the process.
When used thoughtfully, these approaches can help teams validate assumptions instead of discovering issues after awarding the job. However, many of these workflows are still evolving and often require teams to connect multiple tools and data sources together as they experiment with how best to apply AI to their data.
Image courtesy of Jorge Brizuela, Building Designer
AI adoption in preconstruction is extending into adjacent workflows that shape downstream success.
Some of the ways AI is supporting earlier, more informed planning decisions include:
With AI, teams achieve stronger alignment between preconstruction and execution and fewer late‑stage surprises.
Across every example, one theme is consistent: AI works best with connected, reliable data.
Ask anyone who’s prompted a chatbot before, and they’ll tell you that the output you get from AI is only as good as your input.
In preconstruction, AI delivers the most value when it can access connected data from estimating, takeoffs, documents, schedules, and historical projects.
On the flip side, if your data is fragmented, then your AI outputs will be severely limited. It’s difficult to get accurate and reliable analysis when information is siloed, incomplete, or inconsistent. Historical context, comparable projects, and clear project attributes are also foundational for meaningful AI insights.
Another thing these workflows have in common is that they still require human-in-the-loop review.
As helpful as it is, AI remains just that: helpful.
It can assist and make your life easier around things like takeoffs, spec review, and early risk identification. However, AI doesn’t eliminate the need for experience, judgment, or context. It’s not making final pricing decisions, nor does it take accountability for project outcomes.
At the end of the day, AI is not replacing estimators or preconstruction leaders.
AI is evolving fast, and going forward, preconstruction pros can expect deeper integration, better context, and stronger decision support.
Expect AI to continue to deepen its role in core preconstruction workflows, including takeoff, estimating, scope creation, and bid leveling.
This includes:
AI’s primary value will remain speed and verification. Teams will rely on it to surface inconsistencies, missing scope, and out-of-the-norm conditions faster. That being said, experienced professionals will still have final say.
As AI tools continue to learn and mature, they will be able to draw on past projects to benchmark costs, flag risk patterns, and inform early decisions with greater confidence. Future AI capabilities will rely more heavily on:
Most projects still run on drawings and specs. Models help, but they don’t always tell the full story. AI is getting better at reading across sheets, specs, schedules, and models together, so teams can catch gaps earlier and stay aligned. The real value comes from connecting all of it, not relying on a single source.
When it comes to AI, you don’t need a full transformation to start seeing value.
Take it one piece at a time, and start with workflows that slow teams down the most. That could be takeoff, spec review, scope analysis, or benchmarking. From there, make sure your data is connected so AI can actually surface useful insights.
Just as important, train your team to treat AI as a second set of eyes, not the final answer. The teams getting the most out of it aren’t chasing features. They’re focused on outcomes like faster turnaround, clearer scope, and fewer surprises when the job kicks off.
Before jumping into AI, many teams need to focus on digitizing their workflows, reducing manual effort, and connecting their data across estimating, takeoff, documents, and bidding. Without that foundation, it’s difficult to get the most out of AI, but even taking these core steps alone can significantly reduce manual disconnects and improve efficiency across preconstruction workflows.
From there, AI can begin to play a more impactful role. From takeoff to scope review to early risk identification, teams can use it to move faster, reduce tedious work, and support better-informed decisions.
This article is part of a community spotlight series from The Big Room, where industry professionals share real-world construction workflows. In this installment, Derek Wilfong, Senior VDC Coordinator at Lease Crutcher Lewis, talks about combining 2D section views with 3D model context in Autodesk Forma to improve coordination and visualization.
Construction documents have a long history and have traditionally served as a familiar source for visual representation of our work. As projects become more complex, we now have the ability to combine familiar 2D representations with 3D model elements, adding spatial depth that previously had to be imagined.
One feature I learned about not too long ago is the ability to publish 2D section cuts alongside your model so they’re visible when viewing the Revit model in Autodesk Forma.
The following is a workflow we commonly use on projects.
In addition to the 3D model that you publish to Autodesk Forma, you can include both section and plan views that have been placed on sheets in Revit. When publishing, these sheets should be included in the Select Sets under the Publish Settings. (See image above).
Pro tip: Want to improve collaboration? Incorporate linked models into the published section view to enhance visualization and enable you to see multiple trades when overlaying the 2D content on a 3D view. In our team, we usually use a separate coordination model with these linked files set up on our projects for this purpose.
In Autodesk Forma, navigate to the location where the Revit file has been published and select the file to view the model.
Expand the Sheets & Views tab to the left, which displays the 2D and 3D views that have been published from Revit. In a 3D view, you can select the visibility icon next to the 2D sheet to overlay it onto the plane where the section was cut in Revit.
Similar to sections, plans that have been published to a view will be cut at the floor plane where they were created.
Pro tip: In the section overlay, several features are available in the view, such as the ability to crop, filter, and apply color. These changes can be saved as a viewpoint so you can easily return to the view later.
Bridging traditional 2D documentation with advancing digital tools enhances our ability to understand and coordinate our projects. It creates clearer connections and enables teams to visualize, communicate, and resolve the complexity of modern construction.
Workflows like this also help teams preserve the familiarity of traditional documentation while gaining the added context that 3D environments provide. As coordination workflows continue to evolve, combining 2D and 3D views can create a more intuitive and connected project experience for everyone involved.
Reminder: Autodesk Construction Cloud has joined the Autodesk Forma industry cloud and has taken on the Forma brand. As part of this evolution, additional Autodesk Construction Cloud product names have also been updated to align with the Forma brand. You will see these updates reflected throughout this blog.
This month, Autodesk Forma introduces over 55 construction product updates to support more efficient, connected project delivery. These releases strengthen how teams manage access, information, and change across projects.
Dig in by Topics:
Bridge | Archive Entries in the 'Incoming' and 'Outgoing' tabs
Bridge now lets teams archive and unarchive individual entries in the Incoming and Outgoing logs. This gives users more control over which entries remain visible in the main logs, helping make Bridge activity easier to review when testing workflows or correcting sharing errors.
Bridge | Repeat Sharing Across Projects | Files Tool
Repeat sharing is now available in the Files tool, extending the share again workflow previously released in Bridge. After sharing to one project, users can choose to share again and select another target project and folder while keeping the same selected items, title, and message—helping share project information across multiple projects with fewer repeated steps.
Bridge | Improved Automation Management
Bridge now makes folder automations easier to understand and manage. Added context—such as creation date, creator, and source or target location—helps teams see where project information is coming from, where it is being shared, and which files or folders are connected to each automation. Permission-based actions also help reduce confusion by showing users only the actions available to them.
Dashboards | "Assigned to me" card supports project filter and assigned forms
"Assigned to me" card enhancements on My Home help project teams stay organized and proactive.
Data Connector | Addition of Project-related Filters on Account-level Data Connector
Teams can extract more targeted account data with Addition of Project-related filters on Account-level Data Connector. Project members can filter exports by selected projects or project status, such as active projects only.
Issues | Issues Log In-Line Edit
Efficiently edit and modify issue details without needing to enter detail views. Project teams can now edit issue details directly from the issue list.
Issues | Photo Grid
In Issues, Project members can switch from list to a visual issue view with Photo Grid, where each issue is shown using its first attached photo to help teams scan project issues.
Location | Improved QR Code Based Flows
Mobile team members will be able to quickly scan a QR and interact with items at their location.
Mobile App | Joystick in 3D Model Viewer
Project members can navigate 3D models on mobile using on-screen controls with Joystick in 3D model viewer, improving movement and positioning while reviewing models on iOS and Android.
Notification | Daily Digest Due Date Reminders
Daily Digest email notifications will now include a summary of assigned item due dates. Project members can now receive digests that highlight upcoming and overdue items for Issues, Forms, RFIs & Meetings.
Product Experience | Administrative Tools Nav Update
Administrative Tools Nav Update separates core workflow tools from administrative tools like Reports, Members, Bridge, and Settings. Administrative tools now appear in a footer section, reducing scanning in the main navigation.
Product Experience | Favorite Tools on Web
Project members can mark frequently used tools as favorites in Favorite Tools in Left Navigation, adding them to a Favorites section at the top of the left nav. Favorites stay synced across projects and devices and remain visible only when access is available.
Templates | Companies in Project Templates
Company permissions can now be added in Project Templates, helping teams standardize project setup before new projects are created. Companies associated with a Project Template are copied into new projects created from that template, reducing repetitive setup and supporting more consistent company-based permissions across project workflows.
User Administration | Members Inline Editing
Admins can now edit supported member information directly in the Members tool. Fields such as company, role, and access level can be updated from the members list without opening each member profile. Hub Admins can also edit project access directly from the member details page, helping manage users and project access with fewer clicks.
Viewing | Sheets - Snap to Line
Project members can snap measurements to drawing lines on mobile with Sheets - Snap to Line. Teams can now place and align measurements more precisely in Sheets on iOS and Android.
Viewing | First-person Navigation
Project members can move through 3D models using drone-style joystick controls and a minimap overlay with First-person Navigation, supporting spatial review workflows on iOS and Android.
Viewing | Performance Improvement - Occlusion Culling
Project members can navigate interior 3D spaces more smoothly on mobile with Performance Improvement - Occlusion Culling, which reduces rendering for model elements outside the current view.
Viewing | PlaceMe in Mobile (Revit Only)
Project members can place themselves within a 3D model from a published Revit 2D view with PlaceMe in Mobile (Revit Only). This workflow is now available on iOS and Android for mobile model navigation.
Viewing | Enhanced Sectioning in the Viewer
A new sectioning experience is rolling out to the Viewer in Autodesk Forma. Teams can create clearer cross-sectional views of 3D models, work with up to six section planes, and use improved plane and box controls to inspect model geometry. Sections can also be captured in issues and restored in viewpoints, helping teams coordinate and communicate model context more clearly during review.
Workspaces | In-Product Hub Provisioning
Users can now create a hub directly from within Autodesk Forma through My Home, without needing to go to manage.autodesk.com. This allows customers to start using Autodesk Forma as soon as they get access, reducing setup steps and improving the onboarding experience.
API | Enhanced Sheets API Exports
The Sheets API has been improved to let teams export up to 1,000 published sheets from Forma Build as a downloadable PDF. Exports can include standard markups, Issues, Photos, Assets, and related markup links, helping tailor each export to the information they need. Coming to Build
Files | Manage AutoCAD Support Files in Forma Data Management on Web
Project administrators can now manage AutoCAD support settings directly in Forma Data Management on web. They can edit and save the autocad.support.config.json file without opening AutoCAD desktop software or AutoCAD web, helping keep project-level AutoCAD support settings easier to update.Coming to Data Management and Data Management Essentials
Files | Compare Extracted Attributes
Automated Drawing Extraction now lets teams compare newly extracted drawing attributes with values from the previous saved version during review. Differences in information such as sheet number, title, dates, and other extracted attributes are highlighted before saving or publishing, helping teams review revised drawing sets with less manual cross-checking. Coming to Data Management
Mobile App | Mobile File Search Enhancement
The Forma mobile app now includes enhanced search in Files, helping users find project files faster from mobile. Search supports more flexible matching, including partial keyword matches, multiple keywords, phrase search, and more precise searches using search logic such as AND, OR, and NOT. This gives field teams more ways to narrow results when they know part of a file name, description, or supported attribute but do not have the exact text. Coming to Data Management, Data Management Essentials, Build, and Build Essentials
Mobile App | New Mobile File Picker
An updated file picker in the Forma mobile app makes it easier to find the right file. Users can search, choose from recently viewed files, and browse through the project folder structure instead of selecting from a flattened file list. Coming to Data Management, Data Management Essentials, Build, and Build Essentials
Mobile App | Open DWG files with the AutoCAD mobile app
Users can now open DWG files from the Forma mobile app in the AutoCAD mobile app. From the Files tool, users can open a DWG file in AutoCAD mobile to view or edit it and save changes back to Forma Data Management. AutoCAD mobile checks user access before opening the file, helping keep permissions consistent across the workflow. Coming to Data Management, Data Management Essentials, Build, and Build Essentials
Packages | Package Watcher
Packages now lets users be added as watchers so they can keep track of relevant package activity. Project members can add themselves as watchers, and permissioned users can add others to bring attention to a package that needs review or follow-up. A new filter helps users quickly find the packages they are watching. Coming to Data Management
Reviews | Review Detail Reports Include Review Step Candidates
Review Detail reports now include review step candidates for closed steps and closed reviews. In addition to showing users who submitted, reviewed, or approved the report now shows who was eligible to participate in each step, helping project teams review participation and follow up without opening the review in the product. Coming to Data Management
Reviews | Search and Filter Files in a Review
Reviewers can now search and filter files directly from the review detail page. Search by file name and filters such as file type, current version, review status, comments, issues, and markups help users quickly narrow large review packages and find the files they are responsible for reviewing. Coming to Data Management
Reviews | Numeric and Date Type Attributes Supported as Conditions in Review Auto-triggers
Admins can now use numeric and date-type attributes as conditions when creating review auto-triggers. This gives teams more flexibility to define when reviews should start based on file attribute information, helping automate review workflows with more precise criteria. Coming to Data Management
Reviews | The number of Review Auto-triggers Enlarged to 100 per Folder
Admins can now create up to 100 review auto-triggers in a single folder. This gives teams more room to automate review routing for folders that support multiple disciplines, file types, or review requirements. Coming to Data Management
Coordination | Extended Properties
Provide downstream teams with the information they need to execute, such as phase, sign-off status, and safety requirements, by attaching important object data to models in Model Coordination. Object data is linked back to Revit for review, helping teams track fabrication, plan installation sequencing, and review bills of materials while improving continuity from coordination to downstream project work. Coming to Model Coordination
Coordination | Filtering by Search Sets
Model Coordination in Autodesk Forma now supports filtering by Search Sets, giving teams a reusable way to find and select model objects that share common properties. Teams can apply one or more saved Search Sets to filter model content and import Search Sets from other Forma projects to support more consistent coordination workflows. Coming to Model Coordination
Coordination | Civil Tools for IFC 4.3 - Public Beta
Civil Tools in Autodesk Forma now supports IFC 4x3 in beta, making it easier to review civil alignment information from open infrastructure models. Teams can upload IFC4.3 files with IfcAlignment information to Forma Data Management or use them in Model Coordination to support alignment-based review workflows without relying on DWG files. Coming to Build, Design Collaboration, and Model Coordination
Coordination, Viewing | Civil Tools - Critical station review data
Civil Tools in Autodesk Forma now enhances alignment review with critical station labels and improved navigation. When an alignment is selected, labels identify key transition points along the alignment, with prefixes indicating transition types and station values revealed as you zoom in. Teams can show or hide labels, navigate between critical stations using panel controls, and interact with any label to move the station tracker or zoom to that location. The Civil Tools panel also displays vertical geometry information for the current station to support more detailed review. Coming to Data Management, Build, Design Collaboration, and Model Coordination
Cost Management | 3-Point Fee Analysis
Adding 3-Point Fee Analysis to the existing Budget/Revenue Forecast capabilities. This feature combines a new fee analysis chart driven by admin defined budget columns that calculate additional fee opportunities, a new markup calculator in the budget view to recalculate markups based on current forecasted Main Contract amount, and available for comparison in budget snapshots, will provide teams with a clearer view of original plan, current forecast, and fee goal making it easier to project the final contract value and fee with greater confidence. Coming to Build
Cost Management | GCPay Integration [GA]
The GCPay and Forma Build integration is exiting beta which means Build now supports two integration methods:
The Cost Management in the Middle option provides a streamlined connection when there is no direct ERP integration with GCPay, but there is with Cost Management, allowing teams to synchronize data across upstream and downstream workflows with ease. This integration enhances visibility, reduces manual effort, and improves collaboration between field and finance teams. Coming to Build
Cost Management | TradeTapp Integration (phase 2)
With this release, project admins can configure compliance conditions to allow or block actions based on supplier TradeTapp risk status, insurance compliance such as missing or expired insurance documents, or pre-qualification status. By embedding supplier risk validation directly into workflows, teams can enforce compliance requirements earlier, reduce manual reviews, and help ensure only qualified suppliers move forward. Coming to Build
Cost Management | Approval Workflows for Collaborator Submissions Enhancement (& RFQs)
For users utilizing the ‘Use Potential Change Order to request quotations’ to facilitate suppliers directly entering change requests we will be adding an approval workflow to route requests through multiple reviewers. This serves a dual purpose as it also enables an approval workflow on regular RFQs if required. Coming to Build
Cost Management | Reviews Status Card – My Home
To help give users a centralized view of in-review items across all cost projects, a Cost Management Reviews status card is now available in My Home. Users can filter reviews by assignee or view all reviews, then click directly into a project to act faster. Coming to Build
Forms | Mobile Forms List Redesign
The mobile Forms experience will be updated with a layout focused on helping field teams quickly find and act on the right forms. The design will dedicate more space to your forms list (replacing the template carousel on that screen) and will add fast, customizable saved filters so you can jump to the views you use most often. When you create a new form, the app will also surface your three most recently used templates to make it easier to start repeat workflows. Coming to Build and Build Essentials
Issues | Quick Create Issues powered by Autodesk AI
Accelerate issue creation and cut down on repetitive data entry through Quick Issue Create powered by Autodesk AI. Project teams on the jobsite can also improve issue detail information within the mobile application. Point, tap, and move forward: the AI will work in the background to help complete the issue detail fields, such as:
Mobile App | Online-enabled Meetings, RFIs, and Submittals
Project members can now access consistent updates without manual syncs in meetings, RFIs, and Submittals. Coming to Build
RFIs | Revision Numbering Improvements
When a revision is made to an RFI and a .1 is added to the RFI number, the original RFI whole number will no longer be used for another RFI. Instead, the whole number will be retired, preventing confusion and helping to maintain a clean RFI register. Coming to Build
RFIs | Support for Additional Default Values
When setting up an RFI type, default values can now be set for co-reviewers and any custom field. When creating an RFI, the predefined values will automatically appear. Coming to Build
RFIs | Assign Everyone Permissions
When assigning permissions in RFI settings, a new "Everyone" option lets admins assign a permission to everyone in the project in one step, instead of individually. Coming to Build
Specifications | Update All Spec Sections on Mobile
Under download options on mobile, users can now enable syncing to update all spec sections at one time, instead of having to perform many one-off updates for individual spec sections. This helps to ensure that users have a full and up to date set of specs when working offline. Coming to Data Management, Build, and Takeoff
Specifications | Improved Submittal Register Sorting
Supports customers in organizing their submittal logs’ displayed attributes while preserving existing search and filters metadata. Coming to Data Management, Build, and Takeoff
Submittals | Calculate Dates by Schedule Work Days
In project settings, admins can control if the Submittals tool will calculate due dates using calendar days or pull the business days from Schedule tool. The Schedule tool’s project calendar integrates with Submittals, using its definitions for workdays, weekends, and holidays. When auto-calculating review step due dates, Submittals tool will take into account the dates setting in the project. Coming to Build
Submittals | Saved Filters
Submittals now supports saving filter views in the items list, helping teams work faster by saving and reusing commonly used filters and search criteria. Instead of repeatedly configuring the same views, users can quickly return to the submittals that they need to see, whether they’re tracking pending actions, reviews, or responsibilities. Coming to Build
Submittals | Create Submittal Item Permission
Submittals now supports permission controls for creating submittal items. Admins can control who can create new submittal items, either allowing all users to create or restricting creation to submittal managers and project admins only. More control over submittal creation helps reduce duplicate entries, improve data integrity. and maintain a clean submittal registers. Coming to Build
Submittals | Custom Fields
Submittals will support custom fields that can be created for tailored data collection specific to a project, as well as shared across projects in the same account for cross-project data analysis. Submittals Custom Fields are created by using the Parameters Service, which serves as a central place to create and manage custom fields. Coming to Build
Workplan | Task Activity Log
Each plan task now includes an activity log, documenting all user actions taken on that task. The activity log gives project teams visibility into who made changes and when, to help maintain a clear audit trail and improve accountability. Coming to Build
Bid Management | Creating Contracts in Cost Management (Beta)
The Bid tool in Forma [Beta] now integrates directly with Cost Management in Forma Build, enabling a seamless transition from preconstruction to execution. Winning bids can be converted into contracts with a single click, simplifying the handoff to the field. Schedule of values (SOV) line items flow from bid submissions into Forma Build, with support for associating contracts to multiple budget codes. Leverage Autodesk AI to assist with budget code mapping to improve efficiency. To use this functionality, you must have a Forma Build subscription with Cost Management activated on the same project used for bidding, along with Full Control permission level for Contracts in Cost Management.
Estimating | Additional Units of Measure
Support for additional currency units of measure including lump sum, allowances, and time‑based units so estimates more accurately reflect cost drivers. This will help reduce reliance on workarounds that can distort reporting and productivity calculations. Coming to Estimate
Estimating | Line Item Flagging
Flag estimate line items that require attention so key review targets stand out in large, complex estimates. Line item flagging makes important items easy to spot at a glance without requiring users to open every row.Coming to Estimate
Estimating | Preconstruction Library Line Items Grouping
Forma Estimate users can organize preconstruction library line items in Hub Admin using classification‑based grouping, aligned with the grouping experience in the project‑level estimate table. Coming to Estimate
Takeoff | Rectangular Count Markers
Users will have a new rectangle shape, allowing users to better align placed items with PDF drawing elements for improved visual accuracy. Coming to Takeoff
Construction innovation doesn’t happen in a vacuum. From company founders who identify pain points and solutions to project teams who test those ideas in the field and decide what actually sticks, there are several parties that shape how the industry evolves.
Another key group? Investors. As the people who fund new ideas and back emerging technologies, investors help determine which solutions get built, scaled, and brought to market. That’s why it’s worth stepping back and understanding how the investment side of the industry thinks.
With that in mind, the latest episode of Digital Builder features Darren Bechtel, Founder and Managing Director of Brick & Mortar Ventures. As someone who sits at the intersection of capital and construction, he has a unique perspective on risk, innovation, and what actually moves the industry forward.
If you want a clearer view of how innovation in construction gets funded, scaled, and challenged, this conversation is a good place to start.
We discuss:
Venture capital plays a behind-the-scenes role in shaping what gets built and what companies make it to market. In the case of Brick & Mortar Ventures, Darren describes the firm as “the construction tech VCs.”
“More accurately, we say that we invest in emerging technology that helps the world improve the way that we design, build, operate, and maintain the built environment,” he explains.
Brick & Mortar Ventures invests early, often at seed or Series A, when companies are still figuring things out. “We typically invest during pre-revenue or negligible revenue. We like getting involved where we can still help refine the initial product and the go-to-market strategy.”
That early stage, of course, comes with risk. But the upside is just as real. As Darren points out, “The hope is that the winners, those that succeed, cover all of the losses and then some. As a rough generalization, to be considered good at what you do, you're trying to take whatever size fund you have as a VC and 3X that or 4X that over a 10-year fund life.”
Historically, the construction industry hasn’t been known for being tech-forward. But that’s been changing in recent years, and there’s plenty to be excited about. Darren, for his part, is energized by just how much ground construction tech actually covers and the kinds of problems it’s starting to solve.
It’s bigger than people think
From the outside, construction tech can look niche. But that’s not how Darren sees it. “It’s close to a sixth of global GDP, and it spans everything from enterprise software to novel materials, to robotics, to new business models.”
In other words, it’s everywhere.
That breadth is what makes it exciting. There’s no single lane. You’ve got digitization on one end and entirely new ways of building on the other.
Real solutions that actually get used
Darren points to early wins like PlanGrid as proof that the industry is ready for innovation. But only if the tech solves a real problem.
“PlanGrid proved construction was ready to change its ways and embrace technology that was purpose-built and helped people out in the field, not just help the bottom line.”
Founders who truly understand the work
Then there’s the people. Specifically, startup teams who spend time in the field, talk to real users, and truly understand their needs.
That’s why Darren’s advice is to lead with curiosity, instead of making assumptions or simply building a solution straightaway.
“Showing respect to all the different stakeholders and real subject matter experts is critical. And I think that's just a good lesson in life too: It’s best to approach things with humility, and ask more questions than talk.”
With LLMs and AI assistants making it easier than ever for non-technical people to create software and websites, some folks might be wondering: Should teams just vibe code their own software?
The short answer, according to Darren, is: it depends.
There’s no denying how exciting this moment is. As Darren puts it, tools like this are “almost energizing and intimidating all at the same time.” People with little to no coding experience can now spin up something that looks “game day ready.”
But just because you can do something, doesn’t mean you should.
“The fact that people who did not possess a skill can do a new type of work is really cool. But it doesn't necessarily mean it's what they should be doing. Nor does it mean that what they're producing will be able to keep up with the rigorous demands for an enterprise-grade client.”
Where vibe coding may make sense
For Darren, some use cases for vibe coding in construction include:
In those moments, having “something that works right now” can deliver immediate ROI.
It’s also worth noting that even if you don’t build production software, learning these tools matters. As Dan points out, these tools help teams “dream a little bit bigger” and better understand what’s possible.
When people think about construction innovation, software usually gets the spotlight. But there are also a lot of innovations that are designed to shape what’s happening at physical construction sites.
Rethinking how things get built
Construction has always been shaped by human limits. As Darren explains, “most of the ways that we have designed and built the built environment are because of the limitations of human workers.”
Think: material sizes, weights, even shapes. Rectangular everything isn’t just a design choice; it’s what people could actually handle and assemble.
But all that is starting to change. With new hardware and fabrication methods, “you can now dream in a different way.”
3D printing is opening new doors
3D printing is a perfect example. What used to be complex, expensive, or flat-out unrealistic is now possible.
Darren points to a portfolio company creating 3D printed exterior wall panels. They’re not just printing shapes, they’re layering in structure, insulation, and finish. The result? Designs that would have been cost-prohibitive before are suddenly within reach.
If you ask Darren, there’s no single trend that defines the future of construction. However, he does see a few themes that are starting to take shape.
AI becomes table stakes
First, AI isn’t going anywhere. “I do believe that AI will become table stakes and just ubiquitous,” he says.
One of the ways we’ll see the biggest impact of AI is in preconstruction and design. For years, the industry has struggled with fragmented and unstructured data. Now, those same messy datasets are becoming an asset.
“What’s really good at working with unstructured data… It’s a very exciting time to see how much value can be unlocked.”
Instead of relying on gut feel, teams can surface insights faster, compare past projects, and make better decisions before breaking ground.
A more connected jobsite
Another big shift: real-time visibility.
“We’re starting to see the full potential of the connected construction site, the connected worker, connected equipment, and connected tools.”
Darren continues, “When project managers have visibility into what is happening now, not what happened two weeks ago, and they have that global view across multiple projects and then down to the individual worker level… that’s when things get really exciting.”
That level of visibility unlocks productivity gains that construction has historically missed compared to manufacturing.
More standardization, less guesswork
There’s also a push toward standardization.
Darren raises a simple question: Do we really need every building to be unique? Or can we take a more product-driven approach?
“We really should be designing and building housing like a consumer product.”
That doesn’t mean eliminating choice. It means creating better systems, repeatable components, and higher-quality outcomes at scale.
Automation isn’t optional anymore
Finally, labor.
The shortage isn’t temporary. “It’s structural, not cyclical,” Darren says.
That’s why robotics, automation, and tools that extend human capability are becoming essential. Not just for productivity, but for safety and accessibility.
Digital Builder is hosted by me, Eric Thomas. Remember, new episodes of Digital Builder go live every week. Listen to the Digital Builder Podcast on:
or wherever you listen to podcasts.
