Construct-X: Data rooms for the construction site of the future
From paper files to real-time data flow
Early in the morning, the concrete mixer rolls up, the crane operator lifts the first tonne of steel, and the foreman checks the assembly team. On German construction sites, dozens of processes run in parallel—yet often side by side rather than together. Deadlines, deliveries, weather data and documentation are stored in separate systems, sometimes still in paper files. If one wheel gets stuck, a chain reaction ensues: delays, additional costs, damage to reputation. This is exactly where Construct-X comes in—a research project funded by the Federal Ministry of Economics and the EU. It aims to lead the construction industry into the age of federated data rooms and develop cloud edge technologies. The vision: information flows across company boundaries but remains in the possession of those who generate it, and cloud edge technologies enable data to be processed in real time on construction sites.
From laggard to pioneer?
With 2.5 million employees and a construction volume of around 500 billion euros, the construction industry is a heavyweight—and largely left behind in terms of digitalisation. While other industries are becoming more productive, construction is stagnating. One of the reasons for this is fragmented process chains: thousands of small and medium-sized enterprises, changing subcontractors, each project unique. Added to this are isolated IT solutions—from ERP to Excel, which in many places still has to serve as the ‘database of the construction industry’. At the same time, pressure is growing: builders and their financiers are demanding ESG key figures, the EU is introducing digital product passports, and taxonomy requires transparent environmental reports. Every piece of evidence must be provided anew—an enormous effort for an industry that already operates on tight margins. Thirty-four partners from the following areas have joined forces for Construct-X: construction companies, tradespeople, equipment and building material manufacturers, planning offices, software developers, universities and research institutes. Hochtief Engineering is responsible for project management, while Fraunhofer ISST in Dortmund is responsible for coordination. The project is part of the larger Manufacturing X initiative, which aims to connect various industries via data rooms—from Catena X in the automotive industry to Factory X in mechanical engineering.
Data rooms instead of platforms
The approach is as simple as it is radical: data remains with the companies. It is only released when necessary via standardised interfaces known as connectors. ‘You can think of it like a telephone network,’ explains project manager Martina Sandau. ‘Everyone keeps their own device, but communication is made possible via the shared infrastructure.’ Technically, Construct-X relies on open-source architecture. Basic services such as identity management and semantic layers are based on the Tractus-X reference architecture, which originally comes from the automotive industry. The results flow back into the community—a lever for enforcing standards across industries.
First results—Potential for an entire industry
After six months, the first results are in: a test environment is up and running, connectors have been registered, and a digital product passport for asphalt is in the works. But the collaboration is complex. ‘We have to bring together 34 partners with very different backgrounds—from IT developers to civil engineers,’ says Sandau. Added to this is the question of business benefits. Smaller companies in particular want to know: where can time and costs be saved? A uniform data model could drastically reduce addenda on construction sites. Interfaces would avoid media breaks, risks could be identified earlier, and processes could be automated. And in the long term? New business models would be conceivable: apps and services running in the data room could generate additional revenue. For an industry that has so far reinvented every project, this is more than just a digitalisation push—it would be a much-needed cultural change.
Use cases for Construct-X
The research project is testing ten use cases designed to show how federated data rooms are changing everyday construction work:
- Sustainability & ESG: Digital material passports and automated environmental reports simplify verification.
- Planning & execution: Networked data for construction scheduling, calculation and controlling reduce friction losses.
- Resilient logistics: AI-supported scenario analyses help with supplier selection and risk management.
- Edge computing: Progress monitoring, environmental reporting and logistics monitoring even without a stable internet connection—crucial for temporary construction sites.