In the AECO, information is the foundation of every project. From RFIs and submittals to documents, photos, and forms, project teams handle a constant flow of data that must move seamlessly across stakeholders, platforms, and phases of work. Yet too often, this process remains stuck in manual mode—time-consuming, error-prone, and costly.
The return on investment (ROI) for automation in AECO isn’t just about saving hours—it’s about transforming the way work gets done.
The Hidden Costs of Manual Information Management
At first glance, re-entering data from one system to another or re-uploading files might not feel like a major drain on resources. But across the lifecycle of a project—and multiplied across an entire portfolio—these small inefficiencies add up quickly.
- Lost productivity: Every hour spent duplicating work is an hour that can’t be spent on problem-solving, collaboration, or client service. Multiply this across dozens of team members and hundreds of workflows, and the opportunity cost becomes enormous.
- Greater risk exposure: Manual processes don’t just increase the chance of “fat-finger” errors—they also delay the flow of critical information. When updates lag behind reality, teams make decisions based on outdated data, driving risk just as much as human error does. In complex projects, the timing of information is often as important as its accuracy.
- Fragmented visibility: When information lives in multiple systems without synchronization, no one has the full picture at the same time. That fragmentation undermines trust and slows response times. A single source of truth ensures that everyone—from the field to the boardroom—is working from the same set of facts, enabling faster, more confident decisions.
These issues don’t just create frustration for project teams—they ripple outward. Owners lose confidence in delivery timelines, clients question the reliability of updates, and teams end up working harder just to stay aligned. Manual management creates a cycle of inefficiency that slows the time to value of information, erodes trust, and ultimately limits growth while increasing the risk of disputes and delays.
The Added Burden of Learning Multiple Systems
Another hidden cost you hear often in the industry: when owners, primes, or partners mandate the use of their own Common Data Environment (CDE)—whether Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud, or another platform—project teams suddenly face a steep learning curve.
Instead of mastering just one system, teams are forced to juggle two or three, each with its own interface, workflows, and rules. That creates:
- Training overhead: Hours (and dollars) spent getting teams up to speed on systems they’ll only use for a single project.
- User frustration: Switching between environments increases the risk of mistakes, slows productivity, and adds stress.
WorkBridge removes this burden. By connecting data between platforms, it allows teams to keep working in the systems they already know, while still meeting owner or partner requirements. The result: alignment without complexity, and connected projects without the constant need to retrain your workforce.
The ROI of Simplified Automation
Automation transforms how information moves through an organization. Instead of chasing updates or reconciling conflicting data, teams get instant access to accurate, connected information that drives faster, smarter decisions.
- Speed: Automating data flow eliminates lag time, so insights reach the right people the moment they’re needed.
- Clarity: A single, synchronized source of truth replaces scattered files and version confusion. Everyone works from the same facts.
- Confidence: Consistent, verified data reduces errors, rework, and disputes—strengthening trust across every stakeholder group.
- Capacity: With manual work removed, teams can focus on innovation and delivery, scaling without adding overhead.
The return on automation isn’t just efficiency—it’s agility. When information moves as fast as your projects, teams unlock new value, strengthen client relationships, and create the foundation for sustainable growth.
Putting ROI into Perspective: An Example
It’s one thing to talk about inefficiencies—it’s another to see how they actually play out. To make the ROI of automation more tangible, let’s look at an example drawn from our ROI Calculator.
Manual Cross-Platform Information Management
Let’s say on an average project, teams handle around 150 RFI and submittal workflows per year. Each of these workflows isn’t a single action—it comes with updates, responses, and revisions that must be tracked across platforms. Multiply that by the number of projects in a portfolio, and suddenly teams are managing thousands of moving pieces.
Manually keeping that data aligned across platforms is a resource-heavy process. If a team member can only reconcile about 25 workflows per day, the hours add up fast. At a resource cost of $50 per hour, the result is staggering: $6,000 per project and nearly $900,000 across a portfolio of 150 projects. And remember, this estimate reflects just 150 workflows per project—covering only RFIs and submittals. Documents, issues, photos, sheets, and forms introduce even more layers of effort.
What this illustrates is that the true cost of manual management isn’t so hidden—it’s sitting right there in the hours drained, the budgets stretched, and the projects slowed.
Simplified Automation with WorkBridge
Now, let’s imagine those same workflows connected automatically with WorkBridge. Instead of chasing updates and re-entering information, data flows seamlessly across platforms. Every transfer, every movement, every sync is captured, creating a clear and transparent record of what moved, when, and where.
The results speak for themselves. By eliminating repetitive re-entry, based on the numbers in the example above, teams save 120 hours per project. Scaled across a portfolio of 150 projects, that’s 18,000 hours saved—time that can be redirected toward higher-value work.
The value of automation isn’t just measured in hours gained. It’s about giving project teams the freedom to focus on what they were hired to do: deliver safe, high-quality, on-time projects. WorkBridge transforms the way AECO organizations work by connecting their systems, reducing risk, and ensuring their data tells a single, trustworthy story.
Measuring Your ROI
Every project and portfolio is different, but the truth is clear: manual information management costs more than you think. With ProjectReady’s ROI Calculator, you can see exactly what simplified automation means for your business—whether that’s hours back in your team’s day, costs saved across your portfolio, or reduced risk in the field.