Building CATALYST was created to help solve two massive problems that plague the construction industry - fragmentation and lack of knowledge. Solving these will usher in an era that replaces extraordinary waste in time and cost with intelligent automation systems. It all starts in the earliest planning stages - by informing the biggest decisions and problems that need to be solved.
Building CATALYST is grounded in the management philosophy of W. Edwards Deming, whose work transformed manufacturing by showing that improving the system, not increasing effort, is what improves results. Deming taught that poor outcomes are rarely the fault of individuals, but of systems that fail to create usable knowledge. His statement, “Lack of knowledge, that is the problem,” defines the challenge facing the construction industry today. That problem starts in the earliest planning stages. So that’s why CATALYST exists - to solve the knowledge problem from the very inception of a building need.
To produce better buildings more effectively and efficiently, CATALYST introduces an intelligent automation system to the industry — one designed to generate objective, decision ready knowledge early enough to steer toward more certain and optimal results.
Today, that knowledge is scattered across disconnected tools, teams, and processes. Costs live in one place, scope in another, historical insight somewhere else. Because this information is fragmented (siloed), it cannot come together in time to inform decisions or solve problems - or help guide the design. CATALYST replaces that fragmentation with a system where connecting function,scope, constraints and cost into a coherent whole can allow teams to predict outcomes, test decisions, and understand risk when change is still affordable.
It's a Proven Path.
This kind of transformation has happened before. In the decades following World War II, Toyota helped revolutionize the automotive industry by applying Deming’s system of knowledge to production and quality. Their rise showed how dramatically performance improves when the system improves.
As part of applying those principles, Toyota introduced the term Autonomation, often described as automation with a human touch, or what we now call Intelligent Automation (IAS).
The Construction industry is ready for a similar shift. CATALYST is the first implementation of this approach, beginning with facility planning and cost management.
CATALYST operates before estimating — and ultimately beyond it.
By dynamically connecting function, scope, constraints, and cost into a coherent system, CATALYST moves beyond real time cost modeling alone. It produces structured, data driven program, scope, and cost models that allow teams to predict outcomes, test decisions, and understand risk while change is still affordable.
By shifting the center of gravity from static estimates to living, contextual models, CATALYST gives owners, advisors, architects, and builders a shared, real time source of truth. As scope or assumptions change, the model responds instantly, revealing cost and risk implications immediately instead of weeks later. Iteration becomes deliberate, fast, and informed rather than slow and reactive.
An Intelligent Automation vision beyond planning and construction cost
CATALYST has a broader vision for IAS driven advancements, including:
This article further describes this vision: The Power of Intelligent Automation to Reinvent Construction
That’s what we’re building.
