Ever since I started my journey as a structural engineer, efficiency has been my driving force. As a young engineer working on small extensions and dormers in the Netherlands, repetitive tasks quickly became frustrating.
My solution? Automate everything possible.
The results were remarkable. I could produce accurate calculations and detailed drawings almost instantly. It wasn’t laziness; it was a desire never to repeat unnecessary work.
Later, working for some of the largest EPC companies globally, I faced a similar issue but on a much larger scale. Across the industry, projects constantly struggled with clarity. No one could easily see what needed to be done or the real status of their work. Project engineers, including myself, were drowning in Excel sheets, trying to track progress manually. Valuable hours were lost in meetings, reporting, chasing data, and redoing work—activities that don’t directly add value to a project.
Driven by my belief that engineers should focus on engineering, not endless administration, I began exploring ways to simplify and automate project management using technology. My fascination grew when I discovered tools like Power Query and Power BI. Suddenly, data from multiple sources could come together seamlessly, presenting clear, live dashboards that immediately showed the status and next steps. When implemented, we saw immediate results: reduced rework, improved communication, and significant time savings.
Yet, one major hurdle remained:
Data quality and consistency. EPC organizations were fragmented, using multiple disconnected systems with no single source of truth. Each project relied heavily on manual processes, spreadsheets, and isolated databases, leading inevitably to chaos and inefficiencies. I realized that unless we solved the data fragmentation problem, true efficiency would remain out of reach.
This realization led to the birth of Brumata
An EPC platform specifically designed to address these challenges. Brumata isn’t just another software tool; it’s a comprehensive execution platform built on Microsoft’s powerful yet user-friendly technology stack. Using Dataverse, we created a centralized, cloud-based database ensuring everyone sees the same accurate data. With model-driven apps, project activities and decisions became streamlined and automated, vastly reducing errors and manual efforts.
We took this further, embedding advanced standards like CFIHOS for data consistency and structured workflows based on Levels of Development (LOD). Every step, from engineering to procurement and construction, became clearer and interconnected. Automated reports, live dashboards, and transparent workflows ensured project teams could always see what was ready, blocked, or urgent. We even integrated graph and semantic technologies, enabling powerful insights and complex relationships previously impossible to manage effectively.
Brumata is now much more than a digital tool:
It’s a shift towards data-driven, efficient, and transparent project execution. My goal is to empower EPC companies to leapfrog outdated methods and achieve unprecedented clarity and productivity. As we continue developing Brumata, we remain deeply committed to partnering closely with our users, ensuring every feature genuinely solves their real-world challenges.
Together, let’s redefine EPC project execution. Welcome to Brumata – Building with Data.