René Wolf is the CEO of RIB Software and a former sales executive at Siemens. On the first day of AVEVA World 2025, he joined me to discuss RIB’s role within the Schneider Electric umbrella of companies and how the software development company is reshaping the engineering and construction industry. René impressed me with his energy, enthusiasm, and passion for RIB as a catalyst for enhancing efficiency and sustainability in these sectors.
Construction firms are grappling with inefficient workflows in an industry with stagnant productivity for over two decades. RIB aims to change this by utilizing its suite of software solutions to capture entire building lifecycles digitally, from planning to construction, thereby improving project efficiency and sustainability.
To start our conversation, René explained how RIB’s software is used during the initial project stage—planning. After the architect creates a 3D model, RIB’s software can process it by adding details such as materials, time, and labor, ultimately generating a precise cost estimate. This includes everything, from standard paint on windows to luxurious golden door handles, ensuring that every detail is accounted for.
Once the initial estimates are produced using 3D modeling, RIB’s software can effectively track and manage the end-to-end workflows of projects. This encompasses project safety, cost control, and the number of subcontractors involved. RIB’s software suite eliminates guesswork and minimizes human error. It delivers real-time digital twins based on quality data inputs, resulting in high-quality outputs and improved efficiency throughout the project’s lifecycle, giving clients comprehensive control over their cash flows and costs.
Digital tools for managing complex end-to-end processes are more crucial than ever in the construction and engineering sectors; however, these tools are not widely adopted. René pointed out that “80% of all non-residential construction projects experience cost and time overruns of up to 40%.” He emphasized the urgent need for solutions like those provided by RIB, stating, “Most projects are never completed on schedule or within budget, which presents a significant problem.”
The construction industry faces challenges due to its outdated practices, particularly the reliance on paper-based processes, which hinder efficiency. RIB offers tools that help digitize these paper trails, enabling construction stakeholders to manage their end-to-end workflows in real-time effectively. Artificial intelligence (AI) is a valuable tool that can enhance the effectiveness of these processes. However, it is essential to identify the business use case before integrating it, as René firmly pointed out:
“You can’t just apply AI and hope for the best — it’s about identifying specific, repeatable use cases that solve real business problems, save time, and scale across customers. That’s where the value is, and that’s what makes it a product, not a science project.”
In the construction sector, AI offers the potential to deliver significant value. However, to realize this potential, high-quality structured data sets must be established to create digital twins. Currently, the construction industry lacks these data sets compared to other sectors, such as automotive, which have already built them. Therefore, RIB and its partners must start from scratch to develop quality data sets that can provide meaningful insights through digital twins and AI.
“In construction, we don’t have the luxury of decades of clean, structured data like the automotive sector — so before AI can deliver value, we need to digitize, build accurate data sets, and create digital twins that show what was planned versus what was built. That’s how we get from guesswork to automation,” explained René.
To end our discussion, we discussed RIB’s future goals concerning the increasing integration of AI. He emphasized the development of a true cloud-native Software as a Service (SaaS) platform that is user-centric and easy to adopt. Designed for the future of construction, not the past, RIB aims to create a SaaS platform designed to make the construction and engineering sectors more digital, efficient, and sustainable.
In what felt like a brief five-minute conversation—though it lasted over 45 minutes—we sadly had to bring our discussion to a close. René’s knowledge and passion for RIB created an insightful discussion that broadened my awareness of how construction could benefit from digital transformation and allowed me to gain a new industry friend during our short time together.
