Summer 2026 - Flipbook - Page 22
INNOVATION
THE GC’S DIGITAL
DELIVERY SYSTEM
Connecting Information, Teams and Construction Execution
By EMILIO BARBERO, BID, MBA, Founder, Revit Hero Inc.
a
None of these issues are unusual. They
happen on projects every day.
A strong digital delivery process helps
teams identify these problems earlier and
gives project managers, coordinators, superintendents and trades a clearer picture
of what is happening.
One Reliable Place for Project Information
A connected project environment should
give the team one reliable place to access
current information.
This may include:
Drawings and speci昀椀cations
Models and coordination 昀椀les
RFIs and submittals
Site photos and reports
Issues and de昀椀ciencies
Meeting records and decisions
Commissioning and handover
documents
F
OR DECADES, a general contractor’s tool-
box was easy to recognize: hard hats,
laser levels, clipboards and rolls of
drawings.
Those tools are still essential, but
today’s toolbox also includes laptops,
tablets, cloud platforms, coordination models and project dashboards.
The challenge is that having more technology does not always make a project easier
to manage.
Many contractors already use software for
estimating, scheduling, document management, 昀椀eld reporting and model coordination. Yet drawings may still be stored in
one place, RFIs tracked somewhere else, site
photos kept on individual phones and important decisions buried in email threads.
THIS IS WHERE DIGITAL DELIVERY BECOMES IMPORTANT.
Digital delivery is not about adding more
software. It is about making project information easier to 昀椀nd, understand and act on.
For general contractors, that means con-
22 the generals • SUMMER 2026
necting information from preconstruction
through coordination, procurement, construction and handover. The goal is simple:
reduce uncertainty and make project delivery more predictable.
Why General Contractors Are at the Centre
General contractors sit at the centre of the
project.
They receive information from owners
and consultants, coordinate trades, manage procurement, control the schedule,
document site conditions and deliver the
completed building.
When information is incomplete or
disconnected, the GC often carries the
consequences.
A missing detail can delay procurement.
An outdated drawing can cause rework. An
unresolved clash can become a 昀椀eld problem. A decision made during a meeting
can create confusion if it is not properly
recorded.
SIMPLY UPLOADING EVERYTHING TO THE CLOUD IS NOT
ENOUGH.
The team still needs to know where
information belongs, which version is
current, who is responsible for reviewing it
and how changes will be communicated.
Without that structure, a digital
platform can become just another folder
system that people struggle to navigate.
Starting Before Construction
Digital delivery should begin during
preconstruction, not after problems appear
on site.
Reviewing models, drawings, speci昀椀cations and schedules together can help
identify missing information, installation
con昀氀icts, equipment clearances, sequencing concerns and long-lead items.
THIS ALSO HELPS CONNECT ESTIMATING AND CONSTRUCTION
TEAMS.
The people pricing the work and the
people delivering it should have a shared
understanding of how the project will be
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