Timber projects depend on accurate models, reliable information, and clearer handovers between design, fabrication, and assembly. Explore how Tekla Structures supports modern timber workflows.
Many engineering and construction teams are already exploring the potential of timber.
Demand for lower-carbon materials is growing, while projects using CLT, glulam, LVL, hybrid systems and off-site manufacturing are becoming more visible across the construction industry. For many teams, this is creating new opportunities and a need to understand how timber affects the way projects are designed, coordinated and delivered.
Turning that interest into a reliable project workflow requires a different level of preparation. Timber projects often move towards prefabrication and manufacturing earlier, which means design information needs to be accurate, coordinated and ready for the people who will use it downstream.
Some of the practical questions arise very quickly:
• What needs to be fabricated?
• Where are the openings?
• Which elements repeat?
• Which connections are standard, and which are project-specific?
• Where do timber, steel, concrete, façades and services meet?
• What information does the factory need?
• What information will the site team need when the elements arrive?
Answering these questions early helps teams establish a more controlled path from design through fabrication to assembly. A model-based workflow provides a shared environment for developing and coordinating that information, and Tekla Structures can support teams as they build the processes needed to deliver timber projects consistently.
Many timber projects combine several materials and systems. A typical hybrid structure may include CLT floors, glulam beams, steel connectors, concrete cores, façade systems and MEP services.
Each system may be well understood individually. The complexity often appears at the interfaces between them.
A steel plate may need to fit within a glulam connection zone. A service opening may pass through a CLT panel. A façade bracket may depend on the exact position of the timber structure. Concrete tolerances may also affect how prefabricated timber elements connect on site.
These interfaces require accurate geometry and clear coordination between disciplines. Small inconsistencies can affect several parts of the project, particularly when elements are already being prepared for fabrication.
Tekla Structures supports multi-material modelling within the same project environment, helping teams coordinate timber alongside steel and concrete and identify potential clashes between systems.
For hybrid timber projects, a coordinated model gives teams a clearer view of how different systems come together before the information moves further into fabrication and construction.
Developing a timber workflow is usually a gradual process. The tools, information and level of integration required will depend on the projects a company delivers and how closely design is connected to fabrication.
Early stage
Teams may begin with accurate 3D modelling, coordinated drawings, quantities and basic data exchange. At this stage, the model provides a reliable foundation for design and coordination.
Developing stage
As timber becomes a more regular part of the project portfolio, teams can introduce standardised components, reusable connection logic, templates and more structured fabrication information. Repetition becomes easier to manage and established workflows can be carried from one project to the next.
Advanced stage
More mature workflows may connect detailed modelling directly with fabrication and production systems. CNC data, automated outputs and highly standardised processes can support industrialised production at scale.
The right level of maturity depends on the business. A specialist timber fabricator will have different requirements from an engineering company delivering occasional timber projects. What matters is building a workflow that matches the work being delivered today and can evolve as timber becomes a larger part of the business.
Moving forward with timber affects each project stakeholder differently. The workflow may be shared, but the priorities change depending on where each team sits in the delivery process.
For structural engineers: timber requires detailed control over geometry, connections, openings and interfaces with other materials. A model-based workflow helps engineers coordinate these elements and develop information that can continue into detailing and fabrication.
For BIM managers: timber places greater emphasis on information consistency. Naming conventions, object properties, model structure, exchange formats and revision control all influence how effectively information can move between disciplines and downstream processes.
For contractors: prefabricated timber changes the way construction is planned on site. Accurate quantities, coordinated models and clear installation information can support procurement, logistics, sequencing and assembly.
For fabricators: the model can provide structured information for drawings, reports and machine-ready outputs. Standardised components and repeatable workflows also help fabricators manage production efficiently across projects.
Together, these roles create the information chain behind a timber project. Clear responsibilities and reliable model information help each team use what it receives and prepare what the next stage needs.
Interest in timber is growing, but developing the capability to deliver timber projects consistently takes time. Teams build that capability through experience, reliable workflows and a clear understanding of how project information will be used from design through production and construction.
Tekla Structures provides a digital environment for developing and coordinating that information, while Construsoft adds timber-specific expertise, tools and solutions that can support companies as their workflows evolve.
There is no single route to timber capability. An engineering company exploring its first timber projects will have different priorities from a fabricator working with automated production. The right workflow should reflect the projects, processes and ambitions of each business.
For teams looking to explore these topics further, Timber Talks: From Trend to Reality in Timber Construction brings together practical guidance on engineered timber, project challenges, DfMA, digital workflows and the decisions shaping modern timber construction.
Sources & Further reading
[1] Trimble User Assistance. Timber objects.
Timber objects – Trimble User Assistance
[2] Trimble User Assistance. IFC export.
IFC export – Trimble User Assistance
[3] Trimble User Assistance. Timber NC – BTL.
Timber NC – BTL
[4] Construsoft. Timber Bundle.
Timber Bundle – Construsoft
[5] Trimble User Assistance. Trimble Connector / Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect.
Trimble Connector – Trimble User Assistance
[6] Construsoft. Fast, Sustainable and Smart Construction Earns Barli a BIM Award.
Barli case study – Construsoft
[7] Construsoft. How Metadecor Engineered a Complex 1,400 m² Timber Façade.
Metadecor case study – Construsoft