Bowmer + Kirkland – Digital construction team
Bowmer + Kirkland’s (B+K) four-person digital construction team was first established in 2016, but as the business expanded, it struggled to support more than 85 projects. The team was expanded from four to 12, with improved regional representation, project support and collaboration.
B+K delivered more than 2,000 hours of targeted training and established dedicated knowledge-sharing channels to provide ongoing, consistent support across the team in areas such as information management, the Viewpoint for Projects CDE, COBie and Morta.
A key piece of training was the buildingSMART foundation course, with certification achieved in October 2025. Working with its supply chain to improve overall project delivery, the B+K team ran in-person sessions with more than 100 attendees to better understand challenges and opportunities. The team worked to foster closer communication with technical advisers, including Mace, AtkinsRéalis and Arcadis.
An overarching aim was to streamline project reporting and compliance and reduce the time taken to produce reports by half. To help achieve this, the team developed the B+K DigitALL Compliance Tool, an in-house project information management tool. This is a free tool created in Solibri for supply chain partners to help them better understand project requirements and use accurate model data to track performance and carry out analytics.
The team piloted the tool across 10 projects and then refined it using feedback before the final version was rolled out across 42 projects, covering RIBA Stages 3 to 6. Addressing inconsistent data standards, the team produced a one-page guide and training video for supply chain partners.
Key outcomes included:
- a collaborative environment, promoting honest and open feedback, and positive mental health and wellbeing for the team and supply chain.
- reduced project reviews from an average of 15 per stage to two or three, resulting in faster sign-off and improved efficiency and outcomes;
- information management review time was cut from 16 to one hour per building report, almost a 94% improvement, far exceeding the initial target of 50%;
- improved relationships with technical advisers and clients;
- precise monitoring of supply chain progress and technician performance;
- standardised methodologies across regions and supply chains; and
- a collaborative environment, promoting honest and open feedback, and positive mental health and wellbeing for the team and supply chain.
[This case study is reproduced with kind permission of the Digital Construction Awards, and is for a 2026 finalist shortlisted for Digital Team of the Year – a category sponsored by nima.Read all the shortlisted profiles on Digital Construction Plus. The winner will be revealed at the Awards dinner on 18 March at the London Marriott Grosvenor Square.]
