Digital engineering beyond the model: what it looks like in practice

Dan’s path into information management started far from digital strategy documents. He trained as an engineering geologist in the United Kingdom and moved to Christchurch, New Zealand following the 2011 earthquakes, where he supported post‑event investigations for insurers.

The work involved managing large volumes of reports, photos, emails and assessments. It also highlighted a recurring challenge: when information is spread across multiple locations without a shared structure, decisions slow down and teams repeat work.

This experience shaped how Dan thinks about digital engineering today. Tools have value, but only when people can use the information behind them. In his work, Dan returns to practical questions. What does the client need at the end of the project? Who creates it? How is it labelled? Where is it stored? How will someone else find it later?

Alongside his earthquake recovery work, Dan completed a master’s degree focused on earthquake engineering and the integration of BIM, GIS and data standards. This built a foundation across both engineering and digital practice, with an emphasis on how information supports the decisions during design, construction and operations.

Dan later worked as a research associate at the University of Canterbury, where he focused on digital engineering, information management and the practical application of standards such as ISO 19650 – a shared approach to managing information during the life of a built asset. ISO 19650 helps teams agree on what information is needed, and how it is named, stored and exchanged so the right people can use it at the right time.

This combination of technical depth and practical application carries through Dan’s work at GHD, applying engineering discipline to information. We define the requirement, set the process, then shape it so it works for the people using it. 

Dan joined GHD five years ago and supports projects across multiple, including transport and water projects. He works closely with clients and delivery teams to strengthen how information is defined, managed and handed over. His role spans the full project lifecycle.

In the early stages, Dan helps clients and teams clarify their information needs before a project goes to market. This goes beyond articulating what information is required. He also helps develop the supporting documentation that sets out how that information should be structured, formatted and delivered. This includes establishing clear standards for data, drawings and models, as well as file formats and content expectations. These frameworks are aligned with how an organisation plans to operate and maintain assets, rather than focusing only on design delivery.

During delivery, Dan works alongside design teams to support consistent information production. Consistency is not about paperwork. It reduces uncertainty and rework – when everyone uses the same naming conventions, templates and responsibilities, teams spend less time translating information and more time using it.

As projects move through construction and into handover, Dan supports teams to prepare information that can transition into operational systems. For many asset owners, handover is the point where information either becomes a living resource or sits as a static archive. Dan’s focus stays on keeping it usable.

One project Dan reflects on with pride is his work with Tauranga City Council in New Zealand, supporting their journey to strengthen operational resilience through better information management. The project has since been recognised at the Āpōpō Asset Management Excellence Awards, where GHD and Tauranga City Council received both the Innovation Award and Kōmata o Te Rangi, the Supreme Asset Management Excellence Award, highlighting its impact on advancing asset management practices.

The challenge was not a lack of data, but how it was organised, accessed and used. Information about infrastructure, projects and operations sat across different systems and formats, making it difficult for teams to find what they needed or use it confidently in decision‑making.

Working with the council, the team introduced a structured approach to digital engineering, guided by ISO 19650 standards and a people‑centred design mindset. This included developing clearer processes for how information is captured, named, stored and shared, with a focus on making data consistent and usable across projects and into operations.

The approach was applied through pilot projects, allowing teams to test and refine how information flows from delivery into asset management systems. This helped create a more connected environment where information can move more seamlessly across departments and lifecycle stages.

For clients, the takeaway is clear. When information requirements are defined early and teams follow a shared approach, it becomes easier to track decisions, confirm scope and pass reliable information into operations.  

Dan often sees digital engineering misunderstood as being limited to 3D models or reserved for large, complex projects. He takes a broader view. Information management applies whether a team is delivering a multidisciplinary design or a single report. The scale changes, but the need for clarity does not.

Dan also brings a balanced perspective to emerging technologies such as AI. He sees strong potential, but he is focused on the fundamentals. AI relies on structured, standardised data. Without clear foundations, teams spend more time cleaning information than using insights.

Across many environments, we see organisations seeking faster reporting, clearer traceability and better decisions, but their information sits across multiple systems, formats and naming conventions. Dan’s work helps teams move from data exists to data works.

Dan’s approach stays grounded in how people work. Processes that add friction are avoided. Information requirements that feel abstract become a tick‑box exercise. Dan focuses on making digital practices approachable, with clear reasons behind each step and shared understanding of how information will be used.

Outside work, Dan applies the same mindset to large LEGO builds, often tackling sets with thousands of pieces. What stands out to him is how each brick is standardised, designed to fit seamlessly with pieces from any set, while the instruction manuals provide a clear, step-by-step process for bringing everything together. He sees information in much the same way: when it is created to consistent standards and structured clearly, it becomes interchangeable and easier to reuse across different systems. This allows information to be combined, repurposed and applied in different contexts with minimal ambiguity, much like assembling LEGO bricks into a cohesive, well-built result.

Digital engineering delivers value when information remains clear, consistent and usable across the lifecycle. The benefit is not more data. It is information people can find, trust and use to move decisions forward.