The Hidden Cost of Bad Data in AEC

📊 The Hidden Cost of Bad Data in AEC

Poor data quality is not just an inconvenience—it’s a $1.8 trillion problem.

📌 Key Stats:
🔹 30% of project data is inaccurate or incomplete → Leading to costly mistakes.
🔹 48% of all rework is caused by miscommunication and bad data.
🔹 The global construction industry loses $1.8 trillion annually due to data silos, rework, and inefficiencies. (Source: https://www.constructiondive.com/news/contractors-lost-18-trillion-globally-in-2020-due-to-bad-data-new-report/606939/)

Why is AEC data so bad?
❌ Disconnected Systems: BIM, ERP, IoT, and schedules don’t talk to each other.
❌ File-Based Workflows: Too many Excel sheets, PDFs, and manual IFC exports.
❌ No Real-Time Validation: Errors are caught too late, leading to rework.

How Do We Fix It?

✅ API-driven data sharing → Stop exporting files, start syncing live data.
✅ Automated data validation → Catch errors before they impact construction.
✅ AI-assisted cleaning → Machine learning models can detect missing values and inconsistencies.

💡 How much time does your team waste fixing bad data?

🚧 Why Is AEC Data So Disorganized?

If finance, healthcare, and manufacturing have solved data integration, why is AEC still struggling?

📌 Three major reasons:

1️⃣ Project-Based, Not Product-Based
🔹 In manufacturing, a car or a phone has a repeatable production process.
🔹 In AEC, every building is unique, making data standardization difficult.

2️⃣ Too Many Disconnected Tools
🔹 Architects use Revit & Rhino, Engineers use Tekla & Civil 3D, Contractors use Navisworks & Primavera P6—but they don’t talk to each other.
🔹 Finance & Healthcare have API-based systems—why doesn’t AEC?

3️⃣ Still Using File-Based Workflows
🔹 Excel, PDFs, and IFC file transfers create delays, errors, and duplication.
🔹 Most AEC firms still send spreadsheets by email instead of using APIs for live data.

How to Fix AEC Data?
✅ Industry-wide standardization (IFC, ISO 19650, COBie).
✅ API-first integrations (Speckle, Autodesk Forge, GraphQL APIs).
✅ Automated data validation & real-time updates.

🚀 What AEC Can Learn from Other Industries?

AEC isn’t the first industry to struggle with bad data. But other industries have already solved it—so why haven’t we learned from them?

📌 What Finance, Healthcare & Manufacturing Did Right:

✅ Finance → API-Driven Transactions
🔹 Banking uses APIs for real-time payments (Plaid, SWIFT, FIX Protocol).
🔹 AEC still relies on manual Excel & IFC file exports instead of APIs.

✅ Healthcare → Standardized Patient Data
🔹 Every hospital uses FHIR & HL7 to ensure seamless patient record transfers.
🔹 AEC still lacks standardized, universally enforced IFC adoption.

✅ Manufacturing → Digital Twins & Predictive Analytics
🔹 Companies like Tesla & Siemens use digital twins for real-time monitoring & automation.
🔹 AEC still struggles to connect BIM with real-time site conditions.

💡 What lessons should AEC borrow from these industries?

🔗 What Does “API-Driven” Actually Mean in AEC?

An API (Application Programming Interface) allows different software systems to communicate automatically, enabling real-time data exchange instead of manual exports, outdated spreadsheets, and disconnected systems.

🚧 The Problem with Current Workflows:
❌ Manually exporting & importing IFC files.
❌ Teams working in silos—BIM, ERP, and scheduling tools don’t sync.
❌ Errors aren’t caught until late in the process → Leading to rework.

🚀 What APIs Enable:
✅ Live data sync across tools → A material change in Revit automatically updates procurement schedules.
✅ Automated validation & error detection → AI flags missing parameters before issues arise.
✅ Elimination of manual file transfers → No more sending Excel schedules by email.

💡 Are we finally ready for API-first AEC workflows?