Rivian’s Playbook: 4 Ways Owners Can De-Risk Preconstruction

For owners like Rivian, real-time visibility into bids, coverage, costs, and risk signals is non-negotiable. That's why centralizing data, workflows, and partners in one platform was a top priority when selecting a construction platform. That requirement for a single source of truth was what ultimately led Rivian to adopt Autodesk. 

"The number one priority for us was central visibility. It allowed us to clarify and see risk signals, like underscoped packages, trade coverage, pricing anomalies, etc.," shared Mac 

When it came to working with contractors, Rivian moved away from fragmented systems like spreadsheets, emails, disconnected bid tools and adopted BuildingConnected Pro to centralize bid management and vendor qualification. 

"Disconnected systems created delays and blind spots. BuildingConnected gave us centralized visibility into who's bidding, what's covered, and where gaps exist." 

According to Mac, this shift allowed Rivian's lean team to manage hundreds of projects with greater speed and accuracy, while reducing manual effort. 

"We needed a true systemized approach. BuildingConnected helped us eliminate scope gaps and reactive coverage issues," he added. 

Takeaway 3: Collaboration must be internal and external 

Rivian works with numerous team members—many of whom are operating outside of the company. As you can imagine, getting everyone on the same page can be challenging given the number of functions involved. 

The company solves this by bringing every stakeholder—internal and external—into a single platform: ACC. At the time of the webinar, Rivian had 9,500 ACC users, the bulk of whom are external. 

Having everyone in ACC meant that information is centralized, changes are visible, and handoffs are clearer. As such, teams can work together in real time without losing context. 

"Everyone's working at different times and on different pieces. We need to make sure that we're sharing information internally and externally, while collaborating as seamlessly as possible," said Mac.  

He continued, "We've used Autodesk to create a central data and project management environment, then we've looped in all of the other groups internally and externally to collaborate in real-time." 

It's also worth noting that Rivian's collaborative approach extends beyond preconstruction—it connects the entire lifecycle from design through construction to handover and operations: 

"Not only do we have our general contractors in ACC, but we also have architects, subcontractors, and other vendors. We work with anyone and everyone who has to get a building done in the same ecosystem from the start through the end."  

Mac added, "That was always the goal: get everyone in the system so they all have access to what they need at any given moment during the project lifecycle. All this information we're creating from day one continues through the lifecycle of us owning the building. Our operations teams take over these projects at the end of the day, and they're tracking them using Autodesk tools." 

Takeaway 4: Standardization enables scale 

In addition to centralizing data and teams in one platform, Mac also credited standardization as a key enabler of scale. Rivian built repeatable processes and templates to manage bids, qualify vendors, and track performance across a growing portfolio. 

"You need to have very standardized systems and workflows in a central location. That's how we're able to scale." 

To that end, ACC features like custom bid forms and checklists have enabled Rivian to run a rinse-and-repeat bidding process.  

"Building up the custom bid forms was huge for us because we need to do things at a scale that are very repeatable," said Mac.  

Beyond bid forms, Rivian has also systematized vendor qualification and preferred content, allowing teams to move faster with more confidence. According to Mac, "We've built a preferred content list and qualification tracking that lets us run faster and smarter with fewer people." 

Rivian's standardized processes also apply to other stages of the project, including construction and handover.  

"When you're moving from preconstruction bidding to design and construction, there are clear handoffs and requirements of what we need internally and externally. It's about ensuring we've collected and tracked everything before we hand it off. We started using Autodesk's form functions heavily because that allowed us to track closeout punch list processes inside the same system." 

Rivian's blueprint for owners 

Rivian's journey proves that owners can and should lead the charge in preconstruction. By centralizing tools, improving collaboration, and standardizing workflows, Rivian has built a scalable, risk-aware construction program that supports its rapid growth. 

Want to learn more? Check out the full webinar and explore how Autodesk Construction Cloud can help your team simplify preconstruction