Janssen de Jong (JAJO)

From searching email attachments to one CDE the whole group runs on.

How JAJO standardized project coordination across 33 companies on one open CDE, and turned BIM from an engineering phase into a way of working across the building lifecycle.

Aerial view of an active Dutch construction site with a tower crane and concrete frames.

The project in one panel.

The facts a peer in your shoes scans first: who they are, what they build, and which parts of Catenda they put to work.

Company: Janssen de Jong (JAJO)
Sector: Construction group
Region: Netherlands
Size: 33 companies · 1,000+ employees · top 15 in NL
Project: Group-wide CDE; 100+ projects over 3 years across 33 companies
Products used: Catenda Hub
Open IFC/BCF
Catenda Duo

Before Catenda, the latest file lived in someone's inbox.

All JAJO projects are now prepared in BIM and coordinated during execution, which calls for a group-wide way to centrally manage every project's information and communication. The company wanted to get rid of emails: a single place where models and documents are accessible to all parties by their own rights, instead of hunting for the latest versions buried in attachments.

After talking to BIM experts and end users, JAJO chose Brink and Catenda Hub's open CDE.

“Everyone can then find the information they need whenever they want according to their own rights, instead of searching for the latest versions of files in the attachments of numerous emails.”

Daan Arts, Manager Innovation and Digitalisation, JAJO

What they did with Catenda.

JAJO coordinates projects on Catenda Hub for two main reasons: user-friendliness and OpenBIM support. The embedded viewer lets clients and stakeholders look into a BIM without buying or installing software, useful for guiding buyers in housing projects, while open standards make it easy to integrate with Autodesk Revit and Solibri Office and exchange information with other commercial systems.

BIM models now span the whole lifecycle, from design and build through maintenance, renovation and demolition. A proof of concept with Catenda Duo is already exploring the operational and maintenance phase.

What changed once the project had one source of truth.

Everyone involved in a project now gets a shared overview, and the benefits show up commercially: when JAJO sells a maintenance contract, the team no longer wades through drawings and documents, they check the BIM list and know exactly what to do, cutting transfer time considerably.

Just as importantly, non-engineers actually enjoy using it, which is what makes the platform stick across the group.

My favorite feature is the fact that anyone can use it. No matter what company the customers are from, they can click a button and show/see what their future building will look like.