dRofus
Steering Construction Technology into the Future

As construction slingshots into a digital-first world, companies look toward innovative technology to streamline practices, power building processes, minimize project delays, and measure project performance. However, this breakneck pace of innovation often leaves the constructors with an impediment to managerial control. Addressing the industry’s concerns, dRofus, with its rich expertise and in-depth knowledge of complexities in the building processes, has been catering software solutions in the construction marketplace since 1996. The company today offers a unique cloud-based software solution for planning; design & engineering support; data management; reporting; asset management; and FM handover that modernizes existing workflows. Based on their knowledge of building projects, dRofus allows engineers, architects, owners, construction companies and even project consultants to effortlessly manage and control everything in a building project with an enthralling, customizable interface.

With its roots in hospital facility planning in Scandinavia, dRofus’ software solutions have continuously supported the construction industry as the focus has shifted from simple CAD drawings to Building Information Modeling (BIM), smart 3-D modeling tools that can hold information on every object in the project.

dRofus is an external database which handles the complexities of multiple objects across multiple modeling tools while being compliant with the design requirements—forming the backbone of construction design. This provides constructors with a complete overview of the building project. “In 2005, we made it possible to connect those owner requirements to the modeling tools, enabling constructors to compare the two data sources, identify the deviation and consolidate the requirements against the solutions,” adds Rolf Jerving, CEO, dRofus. The real power of dRofus lies in the synchronization of virtual information between the external database and modeling tools with the design requirements.

To enhance synchronization efficiency, dRofus’ performs data management across construction and operational models. Additionally, dRofus databases can follow Construction Operation Building and information exchange (COBie) standards to collect data from the models and planned assets in a building. The data from the construction phase can serve as an asset database in the operational phase, synchronizing with FM tools for the building. This enables dRofus to support all phases from the early stages of planning and data management throughout the architectural and engineering phases into construction and finally in operation. “Starting from the planning and design phase to the construction and operational phase, dRofus can seamlessly bind asset management to the lifecycle of a building project. It’s the perfect scope for dRofus,” explains Jerving.

On procuring significant exposure in the construction space under the Nemetschek group, dRofus is committed to solving the challenges in the building industry based on open data standards. “The blend with the Nemetschek group was an important milestone. It allowed dRofus to be part of something bigger and fulfill a vision for the future,” recalls Jerving. Over the years, dRofus has been successfully used in many of the largest and most complex building projects worldwide. The largest single project to date was an airport of around 8 million sq ft gross building area. Acting as a client-server database, dRofus enables engineers, architects, and consultants to simultaneously access the database, which holds all project data across all design models and compares the owner requirements with the designed models in an efficient manner.

Looking forward, dRofus is set to enter the owner segment in the US and provide all stakeholders with automated workflow support and access to building information throughout the building lifecycle. Despite automation of the software tools, complexities still linger during the integration of different tools and operating them in combination. dRofus aims to eliminate these complexities by leveraging automated workflows and machine learning to introduce a higher degree of automation. “Our labs are already working on automating these solutions, making it more user-friendly, efficient and free of human error,” concludes Jerving.