McLaren’s digital construction strategy: design compliance to de-risk construction

McLaren chose Solibri to support a more consistent, IFC-first approach to digital construction. The company needed a solution that could improve design compliance before projects reached the construction stage, where late changes become more expensive and disruptive. The goal was not simply to detect clashes. McLaren wanted to validate whether designs were compliant, coordinated, and ready for delivery. The decision was driven by a clear business need: reduce delays before “spades in the ground” and give clients confidence that projects could move forward on time and on budget. In early design phases, McLaren’s external consultants were using different tools and methodologies, which created inconsistent project data and limited the company’s ability to compare information across projects. Standardizing around IFC helped create a common data baseline, while Solibri provided the checking capability needed to validate that information. Solibri was selected because it works strongly with IFC and offers model checking capabilities beyond conventional clash detection. McLaren uses Solibri to run automated design compliance checks, review regulatory requirements, and interrogate model information before it becomes a site issue. The solution also fits into McLaren’s wider digital ecosystem, supporting coordination before project information moves into field tools such as Dalux. For McLaren, the main value of Solibri is confidence. The more compliance checks the team can automate early, the faster it can understand risk, improve design readiness, and move projects toward construction with fewer unknowns.

- Inconsistent design methodologies across external consultants. - Cross-platform data compatibility issues. - Incomparable project data after handover. - Delays before construction teams could mobilize on site. - Limited ability to interrogate project information across the portfolio. - Risk of late compliance issues and costly rework. - Need for stronger regulatory and design compliance checking. - Need to standardize around IFC across project teams and supply chain partners. - Need to give clients greater confidence in asset information models.

Before this standardized workflow, project teams and external consultants used varying digital construction methodologies across different projects. This created inconsistent data, limited comparison between projects, and made design compliance harder to assess at portfolio level. Design coordination relied more heavily on fragmented model reviews, platform-specific workflows, and manual interpretation. McLaren needed a more structured way to validate design compliance across projects, regions, and sectors.

Solibri helped McLaren improve project readiness by shifting compliance checking earlier in the construction lifecycle. By using automated rulesets and IFC-based coordination, McLaren can identify design and regulatory risks before they become site issues. This reduces the likelihood of costly rework, strengthens design confidence, and supports faster mobilization. The implementation also created greater consistency across McLaren’s projects. With IFC as the coordination baseline and Solibri as the compliance checking solution, project teams can work from a more standardized process. This improves data accuracy, reduces variation in project workflows, and allows McLaren to compare project information more effectively across regions and sectors. Solibri has also strengthened McLaren’s client-facing value. The company now uses Solibri from tender stage or project commencement to demonstrate that quality assurance is built into the project workflow. For clients in sectors such as commercial development and data centers, reliable asset information is critical. Solibri supports this by validating model information and improving confidence in the data that will be handed over. The broader business impact is lower delivery risk. McLaren can use Solibri to validate designs, check compliance, reduce manual effort, and build reusable templates that improve future project delivery. This creates a repeatable digital construction framework that supports speed, quality, and confidence across the business.

“The more automated design compliance checks you can run, the greater our confidence level, allowing us to move to site more swiftly.” Thomas Flannery, Head of Digital Construction, McLaren Construction Group

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