This is how digitalization really disrupts the construction chain

An architect who read my columns appended me: "Pim, where is the disruption? We love the stories in which the world suddenly tilts: Kodak missing the digital camera. Whaling that dries up in short order. Inner cities that suddenly seem relieved of horse manure. It feels like a button: yesterday normal, tomorrow over. The question is: does abruptly stopping traditional work exist-and how?

Those moments exist. Only: they are rarely magic. Something dull, tough and invisible for years precedes them. Technology that matures. Standards shifting. Legislation finally getting teeth. Prices tilting. And then, just occasionally, a few courageous decisions that open the floodgates. Then it seems like the world changes in a single weekend.

Take Kodak. Technically, they really weren't behind. Being right turned out to be totally inadequate. You don't change an organization that earned decades on rolls and prints with an internal memo. Distribution, bonuses, KPIs-if you don't bend the reward system along, it strangles innovation. The technology was there; the logic in which to land that technology was not.

Whaling tells a different kind of story. A market doesn't collapse because one minister shouts something. It's the cocktail: regulations with consequences, an affordable alternative ánd a society that loves Ah, that's how we do it to this can no longer be tilt. If that trinity clicks, things move fast. Until then, everything seems eternal.

And the horse problem in the city? Everyone knows the pictures of carts, manure, stink and traffic jams avant la lettre. The car didn't solve that just by existing. There came infrastructure, funding, skills: gas stations, garages, driving lessons (and haggling over right of way, we got those for free). A system only lands when the whole chainwork moves with it. Otherwise it remains a show model in the showroom.

Why am I telling this? Because we in construction and real estate rarely have a disruption button-no matter how loudly marketers shout. We are a chain with many stakeholders, varying incentives and, let's face it, a good portion that feels no pain from delay. That's why I don't believe in one tool or agency that will "blow up the industry." Parametric design is not a nuclear revolution you turn on; it is an evolutionary path. It changes roles, rhythm, risk allocation and data quality. That's exactly why it works-and exactly why it rarely feels like tomorrow everything will be different.

What can be done quickly: clicking things that already work together with a minimal set of agreements to which the key players give yes. This is the basis for parametric thinking! In my head it looks like this. You first tightly agree on the smallest data set that everyone can work with-not the whole buffet. You couple rhythm to it: fixed testable schedule and clear who takes their turn when. You shift incentives: not only reward on delivery, but also on data-completeness, correctness, digital checkpoints (BIMsentrys) and fewer revision loops. You stay away from supplier handcuffs: open standards, a neat exit in your contract, freedom as an accelerator. And you start with one proven case that really saves time or money-no gospel, one case. Do this consistently, and you'll show noticeable gains in a year to a year and a half. Not a revolution, but momentum. (And yes: sometimes even applause, very sometimes.)

"But Pim, we are a democracy." Exactly. Democracy is not an excuse, it's the game board. You win by building coalitions and making every step measurable. Outsiders will say later that it went suddenly. You know better: twenty boring, consistent steps preceded it. Evolution with turbo.

For the young pim who want to start the polonaise right now: your job is not disruptive do. Your job is to connect. From model to decision. From data to incentive. From intention to rhythm. If the Ministry of Housing and Spatial Planning makes MiniBIM a requirement for municipalities tomorrow, there won't be a law until 2028 at the earliest. When you make those links, change feels abrupt to others-as if you got up this morning and the world was different. You will have long since practiced the walkways, gotten the gates open and set the meters that matter.

There is one trap I like to fall into myself: confusing pace with theater. Demoing a new tool is great for the heartbeat, but you only win if that tool fits into the decision rhythm and is demonstrably faster, better or cheaper. That meeting is boring and LONG. There, right there, the old way of working quietly dies out. Not because someone called it, but because no one needs it anymore. (And yes, that's less sexy than a keynote but more efficient. But I'll just keep doing that too

 The filleting moment

Abrupt change comes from one genius tool or one brave leader.
No. Abrupt change is end result, not a starting shot: years of quiet maturation, clear gates, hard incentives and a testable process that forces small choices. Anyone who calls it "sudden" has missed the rhythm.

About Pim's digital maze
In this column, Pim takes you through the sometimes wondrous, tangled but rapidly changing world of digitization. He draws on his experiences as director of digitalization at VORM. Pim is outspoken, critical, but above all wants to help you. Are you stuck in the digital maze? Pim helps you find the way out.... Do you have a question for Pim or are you looking to get in touch with him? Follow Pim on LinkedIN.