A challenge back on the industry agenda
On 13 October, AECI announced a discussion on connecting BIM design, manufacturing and assembly for its forum on 28 October 2026. At the date of this guide, the event has not yet taken place. The operating problem is already familiar: one team may use a design revision while purchasing or assembly uses another. Integration should make it clear which information is approved for each activity.
Define which data governs each stage
The model describes the design; the ERP organises operations and resources according to the company’s configuration. Agree which system holds the approved revision, which document authorises manufacturing and who confirms an element is ready for assembly. There is no need to copy every model attribute into the ERP. Select those affecting decisions: element identifier, location, revision, quantity, required date and approval status.
Link elements, batches and orders
A designed element may be manufactured in batches and delivered across several shipments. Prepare a mapping between the design identifier, manufacturing batch, work order and destination on site. Preserve these relationships when the supplier changes or a delivery is split. The delivery note should identify what has arrived and the activity it belongs to, without relying solely on a free-text description or a filename.
Separate received, checked and ready to assemble
Physical delivery alone does not prove that material has been accepted or the assembly area is available. Define separate states and people responsible for validating them. A quality issue, missing component or pending revision should remain linked to the affected batch. The planning team needs to see the reason for a hold and the next action, not just an overall completion percentage.
Fictional example: a change before assembly
Twenty panels are planned for a floor and the design changes two of them. Before releasing new orders, the responsible person identifies the affected panels, checks whether they have been manufactured or shipped and records the decision. The other eighteen retain their workflow if the technical review allows it. Integration shows which order uses each revision and avoids marking the entire batch as pending. These figures illustrate the process; they are not results from a real project.
Start with a verifiable work package
Choose a small package and follow it from design approval to assembly acceptance. Check for unmapped records, inconsistent revisions and issues without an owner. Measure these problems before expanding the connection; do not set a savings claim without a baseline. CADT can review the workflow between BIM, ERP and site and define which data to exchange, which checks to retain and which integration your team needs.