Work preparation in timber frame construction: the 2026 workflow

What work preparation in timber frame construction involves

Work preparation in timber frame construction starts long before the crew arrives on site. It starts with an IFC model or a drawing file that comes through the door. The work-preparation specialist extracts quantities from it: how many timber pieces, what dimensions, what connections, what materials go to production versus to site. From those raw quantities, they build lists according to the company's rules: order lists for suppliers, part lists for production, cutting lists for the saw, scheduling tables for transport. Every list is a different view of the same underlying data, but every project demands the same structure and accuracy.

At larger shops, engineering decisions follow: how do we split this into production batches? Which elements can move through the saw simultaneously? Does this order split across weeks, or can we run it in one pass? Those questions aren't answered by software, they're answered by workshop experience and feedback from production. But the source material, the base lists, must be right. Every time. Complete.

Where it fails: one forgotten line item, one halt

To say that work preparation is critical is underselling it. One forgotten line on the order list, one row that didn't make it into the cutting list, one dimension copied wrong from the model: that doesn't just cost time to fix. It costs you a back-order. Back-order means an element doesn't ship with the batch, or parts have to be sent separately later. The crew stops. The crane stops. Sometimes elements have to be retrofitted on site, which costs more than factory assembly. The cost of a forgotten item isn't linear. It explodes.

Manual work amplifies this risk at every step. If one work-preparation specialist copies quantities from IFC models or drawings into Excel, then manually builds cutting lists, then pushes changes through multiple iterations, your control breaks down. Changes don't propagate everywhere. Knowledge lives in one person's head. And when that person gets overloaded, they work faster, which compounds the error rate.

The second pressure: labor shortage in construction

Here's another reality squeezing your work-preparation function: you can't just hire another specialist to handle the load. The labor shortage in construction, especially in prefab and timber frame, is structural. The job posting has been open for months. So you have no option to add headcount. The work-preparation specialists you have must handle more projects. That happens in one of two ways: either they rush and make more mistakes, or you make their work less manual.

What can actually be automated

This is where you need to be honest. Work preparation isn't a black box where you dump an IFC file and flawless cutting lists pop out the other side.

What is automatable: extracting quantities from the model, building lists according to your fixed business rules (standard dimensions, connection types, material families), and exporting them to your own formats and spreadsheets. Configure once, then it runs automatically on every project. Every model revision, every new drawing version, you don't hand-rebuild everything. The lists regenerate using the same rules. That saves hours per project and removes the risk of inconsistent change propagation.

What is not automatable and remains human work: engineering calls on batch planning, reality checks (does this dimension actually fit our saw capacity?), coordination with suppliers and production, and the final sign-off that everything adds up. A cutting list isn't a replacement for craft. It just removes the manual transcription work that doesn't require craft.

It's about certainty, not speed

When you streamline work preparation, you win on two fronts. First: your specialists can handle more projects without working faster or making more mistakes. Throughput rises because the manual overhead shrinks. Second: you lose back-orders. A forgotten line becomes rare because lists are built consistently from the same rules, not dependent on someone's attention that day. Your costs for back-order handling, site standstill, and idle crew time drop. That's not an efficiency argument. That's a certainty argument.

That is how Koto works: lists built from the model by your rules, configured once. It runs live at prefab shops and timber frame builders across the Benelux, facing the same pressures you do: fewer hands, more projects, no room for forgotten line items.

Frequently asked questions about work preparation

What does a work planner in timber frame construction do?

A work planner translates the design into production and site work: order lists for suppliers, part lists and cut lists for the factory, and scheduling for transport and assembly. It is the link between engineering and execution.

What software does a work planner use?

Usually a combination: a CAD or BIM package such as Revit, Archicad or Vertex BD, Excel for the lists, and an ERP for the orders. Increasingly there is a layer on top that builds the lists from the model automatically.

Can work preparation be fully automated?

No. Extracting quantities and building lists by fixed rules can run automatically. Engineering decisions, checks and coordination with production remain human work.

How to start

The first step isn't a big bet. You map your current workflows: which lists do you need, what rules do you follow to build them, what are your standard formats? Then you configure those rules once. After that you test on a few active projects. Grow from there.

Want to see how this works on your own models? You can get started with a free trial and test your first project. You can also read about order lists from BIM to see what's possible, or dive into generating cutting lists from the same source. If you have questions about how this fits your operation, reach out to request a demo.