Digital Delivery

Keep project conversations moving

The situation…

Because of the technical nature of BIM and AI, meetings can quickly get bogged down in insider terminology, technologies, or unproven or irrelevant products and workflows.

Often this leads to information overload, wasted time, or misunderstanding, which in turn:

  • alienates people from contributing
  • breeds skepticism of a project’s direction
  • kills conversations and progress with it

The goal is usually that everyone leaves a meeting with a similar level of understanding, which is more easily done in familiar terms.

“Digital delivery” can act as that familiar framing.

To clarify…

Digital delivery, as it literally suggests, is how a project is delivered digitally. Referring to how the digital serves the project, including the:

  • Tools & Formats – used to generate, analyse, or exchange information
    eg. AutoCAD, Revit, ArchiCAD, Procore, ACC, IFC
  • Processes – including collaboration
    eg. protocol at milestones, design and clash resolution
  • Deliverables – the actual output
    eg. 2D drawings, 3D construction model, text specifications

It also acts as an umbrella term for multiple ways of delivering projects digitally, including:

  • CAD digital delivery
  • BIM digital delivery

So the term does can do a lot of things at once by helping us:

  • Clarify where the tool sits or the methods used, whether it’s CAD or BIM
  • Visualise digital delivery as its own distinct layer across the project
  • Remember that the digital ultimately exists to support physical project delivery
The project – The digital layer, the people layer, and the real-world delivery

For example…

Some scenarios where “digital delivery” can be inserted to help get on the same page quickly:

  1. Client & Architect
    • Client: What will be the method of digital delivery? Can the contractor build from the 3D model?
    • Architect: We will provide CAD digital delivery, so the contractor will receive 2D drawings in DWG and PDF.
    • Client: They say that’s fine, its just the kitchen.
  2. Staff & BIM Manager
    • Staff Member: What is a BEP?
    • BIM Manager: A BIM execution plan outlines a BIM project’s digital delivery, including roles, workflows, and deliverables.
    • Staff Member: OK, BIM hasn’t been commissioned for this project, so I will use our internal digital delivery plan in it’s place.
  3. BIM Manager
    • Question: If I update the door schedule workflow, how will this affect digital delivery?
    • Answer: Staff will need to do an extra step before issuing.
    • Decision: They are still getting their head around the new tools. Too risky right now.
  4. Contractor & Architect
    • Contractor: Was BIM used for the project’s digital delivery? Can you provide model-based quantities?
    • Architect: Our office doesn’t provide BIM digital delivery, but our DWG drawings are suitable for manual take-off.
    • Contractor: I’ll have to do that then.
  5. Project Manager & Architect
    • PM: You’ve mentioned you were going to do AI-generated floor plans, how is this going to speed up digital delivery?
    • Architect: It won’t speed up digital delivery, but it will give us a greater variety of floor plans to select from.
    • PM: The client is happy with this one, we don’t need more options.

To finish…

Digital delivery is a good anchor term and reset button. It provides a simple frame for BIM and AI, and can be chopped up into tools, processes, and deliverables when you need to dig into specifics. So, the next time someone bombards you with BIM or AI acronyms, cut through the buzzwords by bringing it back to digital delivery.