The largest digitalization project to date in the real estate and construction industry is building a foundation for standardized, interoperable, and machine-readable data. The goal is to find concrete ways to support work on sites and in offices, and to improve productivity, quality, and customer experience across the entire value chain.
The multi-year Digitalization of the Built Environment (RYD) project, which will start in early 2026, connects the entire construction value chain, from design to production, construction sites and lifecycle maintenance. The Construction Industry Association (RT) coordinates the Digitalization of the Built Environment project together with Rakennustieto Oy and Rakennustietomali Oy.
"The real estate and construction sector has already done long-term work to promote digitalization and implemented many individual digital projects. However, the full potential of digitalization has not yet been utilized. The project that is now being launched is a joint development project for the entire built environment, which creates the foundation for the digitalization of the built environment in Finland. It is also the construction industry's most extensive and ambitious digitalization project to date," says Development Director of the Construction Industry RT. Antti Aaltonen.
“Rakennustieto wants to use this project to accelerate the digitalization of the industry’s supply chains and the change in operating culture. Our product information service package already offers a huge amount of machine-readable information on standard products to meet the needs of our customers in all different phases of the built environment lifecycle. In the RYD project, we focus especially on the flow of information on custom-designed project products. In the current economic situation, this is not just a development project among others, but a prerequisite for renewing our industry and improving productivity,” says Rakennustieto Oy’s CEO. Laura Apilo.
The Digitalization of the Built Environment project addresses the key digitalization challenges in the construction industry: fragmented information systems and structures, manual data transfer, and weak data interoperability.
“The launch of the project is a crucial step in improving the interoperability and productivity of the entire real estate and construction industry. The building information model plays a key role in this development: it standardizes the information basis for design and enables the connection of design information to the construction industry, product industry and property ownership. With the help of the standardization work, digital ordering of construction products, building design information content and the building’s digital handover material will become part of a unified and machine-readable information production”, Chief Operating Officer of Rakennustietomali Oy Tommi Arola says.
Key development areas have included digital supply chain management of construction products, digital and standardized product information management, standardization and efficient utilization of design information, and preparation for EU requirements, such as the digital product passport.
The project develops open standards-based, machine-readable and interoperable information management solutions that enable the smooth, secure and error-free movement of information between different actors and systems.
"The project's impacts extend to the entire supply chain: interoperable and structured information reduces manual work, improves delivery reliability and increases transparency throughout the supply chain. The project creates the conditions for a circular economy and the effective implementation of sustainability reporting and EU regulations," says Antti Aaltonen.
The results and operating models will be usable by the entire industry.
The Digitalisation of the Built Environment project involves a wide range of real estate and construction companies, experts, authorities, universities and other stakeholders. The project is currently funded by: Construction Industry RT, Building Construction Industry, Construction Product Industry RTT, Concrete Industry, INFRA, Construction Information Foundation RTS, Finnish Transport Agency, Senate, SKOL, Construction Masters Foundation, Construction Product Quality Foundation and TT Foundation. It is possible to participate in the project as a funder also as the project progresses.
More information
Antti Aaltonen, Director, Construction Development, Construction Industry Federation of Finland, antti.aaltonen@rt.fi or tel. +358 40 514 3626 Laura Apilo, CEO, Rakennustieto Oy, laura.apilo@rakennustieto.fi or tel. +358 40 551 8216
Tommi Arola, Chief Operating Officer, Rakennustietomali Oy, tommi.arola@rts.fi or tel. +358 40 829 9789