ISO 19650–Aligned CDE

SharePoint Isn’t the Problem.
The Setup Is.

A governed Common Data Environment built on top of SharePoint – structured for ISO 19650 compliance, designed for small engineering and architecture practices, without the enterprise overhead.

 
 
 
cde.constructdigitally.com / projects / CEN-024
CEN-024 – Civic Centre Extension
In Progress
ISO Aligned
All Structural M&E Architecture Rev P3+
Title
Status
Rev
Reviewer
CEN-024-STR-GA-001 Ground Floor Plan
Approved
P3
JR J. Reid
CEN-024-STR-SD-014 Beam Schedule
In Review
P2
AK A. Khan
CEN-024-MEP-HV-007 HVAC Coordination
Submitted
P1
LP L. Park
CEN-024-ARC-EL-022 West Elevation
Approved
P4
JR J. Reid

You didn’t create this mess.
But it’s yours now.

Nobody planned for chaos. It just accumulated – one workaround at a time.

Document Control

SharePoint gets used like a dumping ground. Teams Sites multiply. Permissions break silently.

Libraries hit 5,000 items and views stop working. Nobody notices until it’s critical.

No one meant for it to become chaos. It just did – one folder at a time.

Versioning

AutoCAD deletes and recreates files on save, breaking version history entirely.

Revit models get duplicated through sync conflicts. Nobody trusts the built-in history.

So you get “v3-FINAL-FINAL2-USE-THIS” – and storage that never stops growing.

BIM & CAD

XREFs fail because paths changed. Usernames get embedded in file paths.

Large models choke in the browser. OneDrive sync corrupts work mid-session.

The BIM Manager becomes full-time IT support.

QA/QC

Manual routing. Email approvals. No visibility on what’s stuck or why.

Review status tracked in a shared Excel file nobody updates consistently.

No real single source of truth. Bottlenecks stay invisible until a deadline.

You don’t have a SharePoint problem.
You have a structure problem.

You’re not trying to manage files.

You’re trying to deliver projects cleanly, at scale, without things breaking.

01
A Controlled but Agile CDE

Governance that doesn’t slow teams down. Structure that exists from day one, not as an afterthought.

02
True Single Source of Truth

Nobody builds from the wrong drawing. Everyone knows exactly which revision is live.

03
Reliable CAD Collaboration

Paths stay consistent. XREFs stay intact. Large models open without fear.

04
Automated Design Reviews

Sequential review flows that run without manual chasing or fragile custom builds.

Five pillars. One coherent system.

Every component is designed to solve a specific failure pattern – not to add complexity.

Select a pillar to explore
Pillar 01
Structured Deployment
Pillar 02
Version Governance
Pillar 03
CAD Architecture
Pillar 04
QA/QC Workflows
Pillar 05
Metadata Architecture

Structured SharePoint Deployment

Every project starts from a governed, ISO 19650–aligned template. Not a blank SharePoint site. Not a copy of last project’s folder structure. A clean, controlled environment – every time.

  • ISO-aligned folder and metadata schema applied automatically at project creation
  • Controlled site provisioning – no ad-hoc Teams Site sprawl
  • Consistent permissions model from day one, not retrofitted after problems appear
  • Library sizes managed to stay below the 5,000-item performance threshold

Version Governance That Actually Works

CAD tools were never designed with SharePoint versioning in mind. AutoCAD, Revit and similar applications behave in ways that break standard version history. This pillar handles that reality.

  • Enforced naming conventions – revision codes, not “FINAL2”
  • File locking policies for non-Office formats that SharePoint can’t natively protect
  • CAD-aware storage strategy that accounts for delete-and-recreate save behaviour
  • Clear revision trails without relying on broken built-in version history

CAD-Optimised Architecture

Designed specifically for the way engineering and architecture teams actually work – Revit, AutoCAD, large linked models, and the file path dependencies that break everything else.

  • Persistent, predictable file paths that don’t change when users change
  • Reduced reliance on unstable sync – designed around OneDrive’s failure modes
  • Controlled active library sizes – large models handled strategically
  • XREF and linked file handling that doesn’t break across machines

Built-In QA/QC Workflows

Sequential review flows – without building fragile Power Automate workflows from scratch on every project. Pre-built, tested, and ready to go.

  • Submitted → Under Review → Approved status model with automatic routing
  • Status dashboards that make bottlenecks visible in seconds
  • Mobile submission for site teams – no laptop required
  • No Excel trackers, no email chains, no manual follow-ups

Metadata-First Information Architecture

Deep folder hierarchies are the root cause of most SharePoint performance and usability problems. This system uses shallow structure and rich metadata instead.

  • Max 2–3 folder levels – everything else handled by filters
  • Document Sets group related content intelligently
  • Cross-project search across your entire portfolio
  • Filter by discipline, vendor, revision, status – without opening a single folder

What it looks like in practice.

Two views. Each one replacing a process you currently manage manually.

Document Review Flow

In Review

Submitted
Under Review
Approved
CEN-024-STR-SD-014_P2_Beam-Schedule.pdf
AK A. Khan – Structural Lead
Submitted: 28 Feb 2026 · Due: 4 Mar 2026
“Section 4 – cantilever connection details need to reference the updated specification. Please revise and resubmit.”
ApproveRequest ChangesAdd Comment
Admin Template Setup

Project Template

Metadata Schema
Discipline
 
Revision Code
 
Review Status
 
Vendor
 
Permission Tree
Site Admin Owner
Project Lead Edit
Reviewer Edit
Contributor View
Folder Template Preview
xx_Discipline_name
00_Project-Information, 01_Incoming, 02_WIP, 03_Shared, 04_Published, 05_Archive

What changes for your team.

The same five roles. Radically different days.

BM
BIM Manager
Before

You’re fixing sync failures, path errors, and overwritten models. Large files corrupt. Engineers blame SharePoint. You manually clean up duplicates every week.

After

Paths stay consistent. Locking prevents overwrite conflicts. Libraries stay within performance thresholds. You focus on BIM strategy – not damage control.

ENG
Engineer
Before

You wait for a 1GB file to sync. You rename drawings manually because you don’t trust version history. You discover too late you were on the wrong revision.

After

You open what you need immediately. Revisions are tracked automatically. You always know you’re working from the live source.

DC
Document Controller
Before

Views break. Filters fail. Permissions are fragile. Every change needs IT. Finding documents across projects means digging through inconsistent folder structures.

After

Templates apply correct metadata automatically. Permissions are structured from day one. Cross-project search works without manual maintenance.

PM
Project Manager
Before

You chase RFI updates via email. You don’t know which review is stuck or who’s holding it. Approvals are scattered across inboxes.

After

Dashboards show bottlenecks instantly. Reviews move sequentially. You see what’s overdue without asking anyone.

BO
Business Owner
Before

Storage costs creep up. IT complexity grows with every project. Rework eats margin. SharePoint feels like a liability you can’t quite control.

After

Governance is baked in. Every new project follows the same model. Growth doesn’t multiply chaos – it multiplies consistency.

You keep everything that makes SharePoint worth using.

This isn’t a migration away from Microsoft. It’s SharePoint working the way it was always supposed to – with the governance layer it was always missing.

Every file, every project, every document stays inside your own Microsoft 365 tenant. Not on our servers. Not in a third-party cloud. Yours – exactly as it is now, just structured properly.

That means every integration, every collaboration tool, every Microsoft licence you’re already paying for continues to work – without any rewiring.

📄
Live Office Collaboration
Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents open and co-edit in real time – reports, specs, tender packages – exactly as your team already works.
💬
Teams Integration
Files surface directly inside Microsoft Teams channels. Project conversations stay connected to the documents they’re about – no context switching.
Planner & Task Management
Microsoft Planner connects naturally alongside the CDE structure. Tasks, actions and deliverables sit inside the same Microsoft ecosystem your team already uses.
Power Platform Ready
Power Apps, Power Automate and Power BI all connect natively. Custom forms, reporting dashboards and automation flows can extend the platform without leaving Microsoft.
🔑
Your Existing Licences
If your team has Microsoft 365, the foundation is already there.
🔍
Microsoft Search
Content is indexed and searchable through Microsoft Search – across email, Teams, SharePoint and beyond. Your project data integrates with the rest of your organisation’s knowledge.
🛡️
Enterprise-Grade Security
Microsoft’s compliance framework, data residency controls, conditional access policies and MFA all apply – because your data never leaves their infrastructure.
📱
Mobile Access
The SharePoint and Teams mobile apps give your site teams access to live documents, approvals and RFI submissions from any device – no bespoke app required.
Your data. Your tenant. Your call.
Because everything lives inside your Microsoft 365 environment, you are never locked into this platform. If you decide to take a different direction, your files, your structure, your permissions – all of it stays exactly where it is. No data hostage situations. No migration fees to leave. We govern your SharePoint. We don’t own it.
100%
Your Tenant

Questions worth addressing directly.

“Why not just set up SharePoint properly ourselves?”
Because governance doesn’t configure itself. Permissions don’t structure themselves. ISO 19650 alignment doesn’t happen automatically.

This product does the heavy architectural thinking once – so every project doesn’t reinvent the wheel, and so the gaps that appear in month six don’t appear at all.
“Why not use Procore, Autodesk Construction Cloud, or Bentley ProjectWise?”
Procore, ACC, and ProjectWise are powerful. They’re also expensive, enterprise-weight, and built for organisations with dedicated implementation teams and procurement budgets to match.

If you’re a 10–50 person practice, the overhead of those platforms can slow you down more than it helps. You don’t need a tank to cross a bicycle path.
“What about Egnyte or Zee Drive?”
Tools like Egnyte and Zee Drive are genuinely useful – they improve file access and reduce some sync headaches.

But access isn’t the problem. They don’t solve governance, ISO alignment, QA/QC workflows, or metadata architecture. Improving how you reach files doesn’t help if the files are in the wrong place to begin with.

Five steps. No big-bang migrations.

Designed to avoid the mistakes most migrations make – copying mess, breaking links, duplicating permissions chaos.

01
Audit
Review your existing SharePoint environment or file server. Understand what’s actually being used – and what’s just accumulation.
02
Design
Define an ISO 19650–aligned structure fitted to your practice. Metadata schema, folder depth, permissions model – before a single file moves.
03
Deploy
Roll out governed project templates. Every new project starts from a clean, consistent baseline – not a copied folder from last time.
04
Migrate
Move content intelligently – not lift-and-shift. Active projects only. No legacy permission mess. No dragging 20 years of folder chaos into the cloud.
05
Train
Practical, role-specific onboarding. Not a generic SharePoint walkthrough – training specific to how your team works.
Migration note: Large-scale migrations require care. We avoid copying legacy permission structures, stay well under SharePoint’s 50,000 security principal limit, and prioritise active projects first. Archived content moves on a managed schedule – or stays where it is.

Built for firms that can’t afford information leaks.

Governance baked in from the first project – not retrofitted after a problem occurs.

🔒
Controlled Permissions
No broken inheritance chains. Permissions are structured at setup and maintained centrally – not handed to whoever asks.
🧱
Centralised Administration
One admin layer across all project sites. Changes propagate cleanly. No rogue Teams Sites operating outside governance.
📦
Lifecycle Archiving
Closed projects move to cold storage automatically. Active library sizes stay lean. Storage costs stay predictable.
🔍
Audit-Ready Trails
Every review action, approval, and permission change is logged. If you’re ever asked who approved what – you’ll know.
⚙️
No Bloated Tenants
Designed to stay well within SharePoint’s operational limits – 50,000 security principal ceiling respected by design, not discovered by accident.
🏗️
ISO 19650 Alignment
Information management requirements built into the structure – not a checklist applied after deployment.

If you’re small enough to move fast – but big enough to know chaos is risky.

This is built for practices with 5 to 100 people who want governance without the enterprise overhead. Join the waitlist and we’ll be in touch when access opens.