The majority of architectural bureaus in the Netherlands are not lacking in assignments because of poor designs. Instead, the architectenbureaus are deprived of these assignments because of the transparency of the competing firm's digital paperwork that made it through to the shortlist, popped up in the search three months earlier, and showed the client a portal link instead of a PDF. And exactly this competitive advantage can be overcome through digital transformation, and exactly the product created for it – AtheosTech.
The Dutch AEC Market Has Already Set the Bar - Has Your Firm Cleared It?
It appears that the Netherlands is not taking any baby steps towards implementing the digital standards in the construction industry. It would rather appear that the nation has already gone beyond the stage of discussion. The 58% BIM implementation rate by all construction firms in the Netherlands is the highest in all of Europe, whereas digital workflows' maturity is regarded as the basis for tendering through gemeente and national tenders. The Omgevingswet has altered the approval processes. The Wet kwaliteitsborging voor het bouwen (Wkb) has shifted the accountability for quality management from the municipalities' initial examination to the independent kwaliteitsborgers. However, prefabricated construction, which has been experiencing growth at a CAGR of 5.5%, estimated to achieve EUR 3.90 billion by 2029, needs a common digital model accessible to everyone.
What hasn’t been developed correspondingly is the level of connectivity. As of 2023, only 19% of construction firms in the Netherlands have adopted cloud-based project management tools. The modeling technology was BIM; however, the tool was detached from any kind of interaction with the customer, reporting, and searchability online. This is where digital transformation begins – not through the restructuring of the process itself but rather through connecting it to everything that is visible to the customer, contractor, and kwaliteitsborger.
However, these issues arising in the digital transformation journey of Dutch enterprises are somewhat predictable:
All of these challenges can be overcome during the process of digital transformation. Here, the correct definition of digital transformation is one that entails transitioning from manual processes to connected processes with less friction across the whole customer journey.
The use of BIM in the Dutch market has gone beyond being merely a visualizing aid for 3D objects for a long time now. The current scenario suggests that BIM is an infrastructure procurement process. Those businesses that possess the BIM 3.0 technology can be considered eligible to bid for certain categories of projects that the BIM 1.0 companies cannot even access.
An effective digital transformation approach for a small- to medium-sized enterprise would not be the creation of the whole in-house BIM team. The right strategy would be to create the integration layer that will connect the BIM workflow to whatever comes next downstream – the client portal receiving the latest version of the model approved, the compliance dashboard showcasing the deficiencies of the BENG-2 in the design phase rather than during the permit review phase, and the API connecting the BIM software with the project management/billing software to avoid re-entry of the same data twice. The company working at the BIM 1.0 level internally can impress with the BIM 3.0 level externally.
Two distinct types of omgevingsvergunningen exist under the Omgevingswet, and which depends on whether the project requires the technical building activity or environment plan activity. Under the Wkb, buildings classified as gevolgklasse 1 have to appoint an independent kwaliteitsborger who will conduct a risk assessment prior to the construction being done. This is a very discouraging process for clients managing it in the absence of centralized control.
A properly designed client portal handles this matter in the most straightforward way possible. The real-time updates regarding the progress of the project through the Omgevingsloket, the version-controlled drawings database with timestamped approvals, the change order management system, which uses digital approval as well, as well as the role-based access to the portal by contractors, structural designers, and facilities management personnel – all integrated in one solution, which is also compliant with AVG and GDPR from the design stage onwards.
The sequential and rigorous nature of adherence to sustainability laws is some of the features of how the sustainable regulations are adhered to in Dutch architecture using a reactive approach. BENG-1 restricts the maximum amount of energy consumed per year by the building per square meter.
BENG-2 focuses on how efficiently fossil fuels are used. The third regulation is regarding the use of renewable energy sources in a minimum capacity. All three are mandatory in the case of new constructions from 1 January 2021, according to the Building Act 2012 and European EPBD law, based on NTA 8800. Residential and office buildings of more than 100 m² must adhere to the requirements of MPG. In 2026, the requirements of BACS will become mandatory for bigger utility buildings.
The point is not the calculations themselves, since there are professional programs like Uniec, Vabi, and programs similar to DGMR utilized in AEC for the calculations. The problem is in the manual submission of those calculations, which were made with the assistance of those programs. It means that in case any problems arise with BENG-2 in the permit check stage, the redesign of the project needs to take place, but it needs to be designed three stages earlier. The integration of BENG, MPG, and Wkb files into one compliance dashboard, which will be connected with BIM and the client’s portal, will make the whole process a quality system.
The digital transformation of the financial industry proves that customers are always going to gravitate toward those organizations that provide clarity, structure, and self-service for information regarding their projects. This is also being followed in architecture, and the organizations that find themselves on the list are the ones discovered by the developer before the RFP.
The Internet marketing plan for an architecture agency from the Netherlands needs to take many forms. Search engine optimization (SEO) based on the searches by Dutch users who are looking for architects such as “architectenbureau Amsterdam”, “duurzaam bouwen Rotterdam”, “BENG advices", “omgevingsvergunning aanvragen” will bring investors and real estate developers to the site during the stage of research.
Case studies of the projects that have achieved milestones in meeting the BENG requirements, MPG rating, and Wkb endorsements are particularly sought by the clients who have hired them in partner selection. Indicators of the firm's authority in terms of being part of the members of BNA (Branchevereniging Nederlandse Architectenbureaus), backlinks from RVO (Rijksdienst voor Ondernemend Nederland) and NEN (Nederlands Normalisatie-instituut) and publishing case studies in digital transformation make it a specialist and not a generalist.
None of the above can be achieved without inquiry tracking through CRM. Sales cycles in B2B design-build sales can be quite long and fail if an inquiry stops receiving structured follow-ups. A CRM that allows you to track the relationship stage, schedule your follow-ups, and track content performance in terms of conversion rates is not infrastructure; it’s the difference between traffic and revenue.
Digital transformation consulting that doesn’t take into consideration where the business currently stands is not digital transformation consulting. Early-stage businesses going through digital transformation must first establish the infrastructure required for the process to occur, which can range from establishing an online portal or a visible website using SEO to integrating BIM with the reports that will be viewed by customers. With the establishment of such infrastructure, a retained engagement would multiply its benefits through SEO, content marketing, and iterative features development.
Organizations that have multiple projects ongoing simultaneously in different cities in the Netherlands, like Amsterdam, Rotterdam, Eindhoven, etc., opt for the Team approach right away. The ideal digital transformation approach would be the one that fits the existing complexity of the organization and not the one that needs to be adopted in the future.
In Europe, where BIM has matured, there are already existing Dutch architectural and engineering firms working. The issue of quality is not a problem either. The legislation is progressing in a way that promotes structured digitization. The prefabricated construction market is growing so quickly that organizations which lack openBIM technology are going to be structurally excluded from growing numbers of projects. Furthermore, customers requesting major residential, commercial and public projects carry out online research prior to tendering.
AtheosTech’s partnership with several architectural and design firms in The Netherlands includes the development of an IT system to make sure that everything mentioned is captured into an agreement form: BIM integration, back-end client portal solutions, Dutch SEO, and case studies on the front-end, along with the infrastructure for making BENG, MPG, and Wkb documents accessible at all stages of the process. Are you ready to embrace a digital transformation that allows you to move past referrals and be competitive in terms of discovery and documentation?
