Establishing a Smarter Digital Foundation. Data-Driven BIM Transformation Strategy

Takenaka Corporation is leading a transformative shift in the construction industry by harnessing the power of BIM (Building Information Modeling) —specifically, the “Information” component—to establish a data-driven foundation that links every stage of the building lifecycle, from planning and design to construction and facility management.

Driving this transformation is the Building Information Modeling Group within the Construction Planning & Productivity Department at Takenaka’s Tokyo Main Office. The team has built a robust common data environment (CDE) and launched a dedicated support team, the Building Information Secretary (BIS), to act as a bridge between design and on-site execution. By consolidating drawings, models, issue tracking, and workflows, the team provides real-time visibility into key project decisions. Takenaka’s dual focus on digital infrastructure and talent development has enabled a new level of front-loading and cross-functional collaboration.

As BIM adoption expands across the construction sector, many companies including Takenaka are implementing it to enhance efficiency and quality. Embracing an "Open BIM" philosophy, Takenaka integrates a range of tools to establish the optimal CDE for each project.

At the heart of these efforts is the BIM Group, consisting of 7 in-house experts and 12 external professionals. Their work includes trial drawing production, model coordination, data organization, and handovers. Their overarching goal is to accelerate front-loading to align design with construction planning from the earliest stages.

Group Manager Hideaki Takimoto describes their role as “a buffer between design and production, ensuring seamless information flow.” BIM’s scope within the company is also expanding to encompass cost visualization and facility management planning.

A key focus of the BIM Group is improving decision visibility, particularly for design approvals and specifications. Delays in drawing reviews or onsite decision-making can significantly affect schedules and budgets. “We’re creating mechanisms to visualize upstream delays early so we can prevent them before they cascade,” says Takimoto.

To address this challenge, the team selected Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) as one of their core CDE tools. ACC offers a broad suite of functions—from model management and issue tracking to workflow automation and API integration with other systems.

Its seamless integration with tools like Autodesk Revit, combined with the ability to link meeting records, comments, and model status in real time, made ACC a natural fit. “ACC has the flexibility and breadth to serve as a foundational platform for end-to-end optimization,” Takimoto explains.

One standout application of ACC has been visualizing drawing progress to manage change risk more effectively.

Traditional tracking with Microsoft Excel provides a high-level view of drawing status but requires manual coordination and stakeholder discussion when changes arise. Especially for elements near the ordering phase, even items marked as “complete” can be impacted by layout or spec revisions—risks that were previously assessed based on expert intuition.

“To resolve this, we linked each drawing item in our tracking spreadsheets with corresponding BIM objects and issue records in ACC,” says Takimoto. “This allowed us to visualize progress directly within the model and share impact scopes clearly with stakeholders, enabling faster issue identification and prioritization.”

By linking progress data with BIM models, the team closes the gap between design and construction timelines, preventing rework early in the process.

ACC has also strengthened Takenaka’s overall digital infrastructure.

The team is modernizing legacy information management systems, which previously mixed analog and digital practices. “Folder structures and file naming conventions used to vary by site, making data transfer between design and production difficult,” Takimoto recalls. “To manage information across departments, you need standardized rules and data structures.”

By centralizing drawings, models, workflows, and communications within ACC, Takenaka created a unified cloud-based CDE that supports the ideals of Open BIM while enabling seamless information sharing across the project team.

While point solutions may offer convenience for narrow tasks, Takimoto notes, “ACC stands out for its comprehensive functionality—from BIM object and parameter handling to issue tracking, meeting management, and asset management. It’s the most complete all-in-one solution available right now.”

Kohei Miyoshi, Associate Chief of BIM Group adds, “Open BIM is about interoperability. ACC’s high compatibility with other tools lets us tailor solutions to each project’s needs.”

In practice, while models and drawings are managed using ACC on-site, subcontractors and craftsmen often use other CDEs in parallel, demonstrating a pragmatic, use-case-driven approach tailored to each stakeholder's needs.

Technology alone isn’t enough to transform the workplace—people are essential. That’s where BIS comes in. Acting as an on-the-ground extension of the BIM Group, BIS connects centralized data with the specific needs of construction sites.

Initially focused on supporting model coordination at construction sites, BIS has expanded into new workflows, digital data organization, and visualization, serving as a vital link between design and construction. Recently, with the increasing use of digital data on job sites, the team has begun utilizing BI (business intelligence) tools to display job site data in a way that helps site managers make more informed decisions.

Success in BIS roles requires both technical skills with Revit and ACC, as well as knowledge of construction operations—a rare combination. Many BIS members begin without any prior construction experience.

To bridge this gap, the BIM Group established a rigorous training program. “We began by compiling unfamiliar terminology and held weekly study sessions led by experienced staff,” says Takimoto. These sessions also covered key concepts like structural coordination and modeling best practices.

BIS member Akira Miyajima notes, “Having immediate access to knowledgeable teammates helped me onboard quickly.” With support from experienced site staff, BIS members can efficiently build new workflows.

Sometimes, having no prior bias offers unexpected benefits. “Our BIS members bring fresh, objective perspectives that enhance our tools and processes,” explains Atsuhiro Shima, Associate Chief, BIM Group.

One such BIS member, Momoe Tsuyumine, used her outsider perspective to foster innovation. Unsure of the actual workload for document controllers, she interviewed stakeholders to understand their challenges. Her findings led to the creation of a dashboard—integrating ACC, Microsoft Power BI, and Excel—that automatically visualizes circulation, revisions, and issue status.

“Roles like BIS aren’t yet standard in our industry,” Takimoto says. “That’s why we believe it’s important to show their value and help establish them more broadly. The future of BIM lies not just in technology, but in people and systems.

”BIS now has five members and is expanding its training and documentation. Takimoto notes that they are exploring partnerships with staffing firms, while Miyoshi adds, “Allowing non-experts to help build digital infrastructure is key to future efficiency.”

The BIS team and ACC have shown tangible results at the “(Tentative) Marunouchi Tokyo Marine Project” now under construction in Chiyoda, Tokyo, and set for completion in 2028.

Shima supported the site’s BIM manager remotely, using ACC’s meeting and model coordination features to streamline collaboration. Document workflows were centralized through ACC, enabling deep remote involvement.

Miyajima joined a year before groundbreaking in summer 2024 and helped define folder structures, permissions, and review processes over three months of weekly meetings. As a result, ACC became deeply embedded in daily site operations. Stakeholders praised BIS’s role in connecting data and fieldwork.

Takenaka’s goal is not just to improve modeling capabilities, but to shift the organizational culture toward truly data-driven workflows. Takimoto summarizes: “Our mission is to use data to uncover issues and guide decision-making. That’s what defines data-driven design and build.”

With improved data integration, management becomes more proactive-issues can be identified early, costs can be tracked more precisely, and subcontractor coordination becomes smoother. Data once fragmented across systems can now be brought together into a cohesive information management process.

CDE is the foundation of this approach. However, if it is managed solely by general contractors, clients and facility managers may struggle to access necessary data after project completion. “The ideal CDE should be tailored to each stakeholder’s needs and linked through industry-standard rules,” says Takimoto. Community knowledge-sharing, including ACC user groups, will be essential.

Takimoto concludes:

“Even if the tools and data formats differ, if they follow common rules, project-wide optimization is possible. In that sense, ACC is the best platform available today. And to unlock BIM’s full value, we need talent like BIS that is dedicated to the ‘Information’ in BIM.”

Takenaka’s bold move—from simply using BIM to fully leveraging it—hinges on the powerful combination of ACC and BIS. Their journey marks the beginning of a broader cultural shift in construction. The future of data-driven building starts here.