By Humeyra Borekci*
The AEC industry is increasingly focused on the “Digital Twin,” but are we overlooking the “Information” in BIM?
The “Digital Twin” has become a primary objective across the built environment. Across global conferences and technology whitepapers, the term represents a future of frictionless operations: real-time data streams, predictive maintenance, and autonomous assets. However, as the industry rushes toward these advanced integrations, a fundamental question remains: Are our models actually robust enough to support the weight of these promises?
From the perspective of BIM/VDC coordination, the hurdles facing future digital workflows do not begin at the operational stage. They start months, or even years, earlier, in the daily decisions teams make regarding structure, information, and consistency. Even on projects that are not formally delivered as Digital Twins, the foundation for future digital capability is shaped by these early choices.
The disconnect: advanced tools, fragile foundations
When Digital Twins are discussed, the conversation almost instinctively gravitates toward the “frontend”: IoT sensors, cloud integrations, and immersive dashboards. While these are the engines of a twin, they are fueled entirely by the quality of the information fed into them.
In daily BIM/VDC production, countless micro-decisions dictate future usability, how models are partitioned, how parameters are mapped across disciplines, and how shared reference systems are maintained. In large-scale infrastructure projects, a simple discrepancy in alignment parameters or material classification codes can render a model useless for downstream automation. If this foundation is flawed, any future digital workflow will inherit built-in limitations.
Beyond the clash detection mindset
There is a persistent industry myth that coordination is merely a “clash-and-fix” exercise. This is a dangerous oversimplification that ignores the logical structure of a model. True coordination is the process of establishing logical alignment. A model might be visually perfect, with every structural pier and abutment precisely placed in 3D space. However, if the underlying data, such as structural concrete grades, reinforcement schedules, or coordinate stationing, is entered as inconsistent free-text rather than standardized parameters, the model’s value ends at the design phase.
In one railway tunnel project, lining thickness was not defined as a structured parameter but was instead embedded directly into the geometry. The model looked complete and visually accurate. However, when the project team attempted to extract quantities for cost estimation or feed the model into an asset management system, the value simply wasn’t there. It existed as shape, not as data. Retrieving it required manual measurement and re-entry, introducing both delay and the risk of human error. One early modeling decision quietly eliminated an entire downstream workflow.
When coordination is treated as a milestone to be checked off rather than a continuous quality assurance process, “technical debt” accumulates. This debt manifests as:
• Data Silos: information that cannot be queried
• Identity Crisis: duplicated or missing elements
• Manual Labor Trap: time spent cleaning data
Technology can process data at an incredible scale, but it cannot fix unreliable data at scale. A visually coordinated bridge or building is only an empty shell if information integrity is not built in from day one.
Model integrity as a quiet foundation
Model integrity is rarely the star of a project showcase because it isn’t visually impressive. There is no flashy dashboard for a clean, machine-readable parameter set. Yet, it is the most critical quality a model can possess.
Returning to the basics of coordination means focusing on the essential details that allow a model to function as a reliable data source:
Rigorous Reference Systems: Ensuring levels, grids, and shared coordinates remain constant across all trade models.
Data-First Structuring: Modelling for how a machine will read the data, not necessarily how a human will see it.
Relational Consistency: Establishing clear, logical links between geometry and its associated metadata.
The evolving responsibility of BIM/VDC professionals
As digital workflows evolve, the role of BIM/VDC professionals is also expanding. We are no longer only responsible for producing coordinated 3D models; we are increasingly responsible for ensuring that the information within those models remains consistent, usable, and reliable over time.
This shift changes the focus from “How fast can we model?” to “How responsibly can we structure information?” It requires thinking beyond immediate deliverables and considering how decisions made during coordination will affect future workflows. Even when a project is not defined as a Digital Twin initiative, disciplined model structuring is what enables long-term digital value.
Trust is the ultimate asset
The AEC industry will always keep innovating. New tools will come and go, but they will all depend on one thing: the quality of the information they are fed.
We must also be realistic: we can’t expect AI to just “fix” our messy data for us later. While AI is great at spotting patterns, it can’t magically create integrity where there is none. Expecting technology to interpret or repair poorly structured models later in the process is simply not a reliable strategy.
Before we chase the next big thing, we need to build models we can actually trust. The digital future isn’t something you buy at the end of a project; it’s something you build, piece by piece, through unshakeable model integrity.
*Humeyra Borekci is a BIM/VDC Manager and civil & structural engineer with experience across large-scale international infrastructure, railway, bridge, and high-rise projects in Europe, the Middle East, and the US. She specialises in digital delivery, multidisciplinary coordination, and information management, with a focus on building reliable, data-driven models that support decision-making beyond the design stage. Alongside her professional practice, Humeyra contributes to industry knowledge sharing through university education, mentoring, and her role as Regional Lead at Women in BIM.
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