Case Study: Asset Data Enablement for Construction Traceability
Photo by Shubham Dhage on Unsplash
This post explores earlier work carried out within a SaaS blockchain traceability platform focused on delivering asset traceability for complex supply chains in the AEC sector. The industry insights shared here are drawn from that experience, and they continue to shape how Exelsiv approaches innovation today.
The Problem
Asset traceability in building delivery becomes difficult when delivery shifts to Modern Methods of Construction (MMC), where prefabricated modules are manufactured (often offshore), transported, staged, and installed through multi-party supply chains.
Because many prefabricated elements are enclosed, sealed, or finished before they arrive on site, you often can’t “open them up” later to visually confirm what was installed without rework and damage, so confidence must be established through documentation and evidence captured as the work is performed
For this reason, project teams need verifiable proof (certificates, declarations, QA artefacts, and handover documentation) that a module and its component parts meet compliance expectations before they arrive on site or are accepted into the next stage of delivery.
The Approach
The approach was to implement an asset data ontology via a SaaS Blockchain Traceability Platform that could track prefabricated modules and components across the product–project lifecycle, capturing product/material data, location, history, and key transformation events
Transformation events are particularly important: they are the recorded moments where an asset changes state because multiple inputs are assembled into a new output, or because a component becomes part of a higher-level assembly.
In construction or MMC traceability, a transformation event could be:
Multiple components being assembled into a prefabricated module (inputs → module output).
A module being combined with other modules/systems to form part of the overall building scope (inputs → installed/assembled output).
By capturing transformation events, the platform creates an auditable link between what went in and what came out, supporting a reliable product history across the full delivery lifecycle.
With this foundation in place, evidence was linked to lifecycle stages so that certificates and compliance documents could be associated to specific components and modules, creating an auditable chain of custody rather than a loose collection of files.
One-Stop Compliance Platform
A key design principle was consolidating traceability and compliance needs into a single platform, instead of scattering assurance artefacts across disconnected tools and inboxes. This “one-stop” approach supports repeatable governance because teams can standardise what gets collected, when it gets collected, and how it is reviewed.
Connected Ecosystem Model
The methodology assumed traceability only works at scale when many participant solutions can connect into a broader ecosystem, enabling controlled information sharing across organisations.
In building construction terms, that means aligning data handovers across suppliers/manufacturers, contractors, consultants, builders, certifiers, and owner-side governance functions, without forcing everyone onto the same internal system
Chain of Custody + Assurance Logic
Traceability was operationalised as chain-of-custody reporting—tracking movements, transformations, and ownership/handovers—so downstream parties could verify what happened to a building asset and when.
Where relevant, stronger assurance patterns (e.g., segregated batch tracking and reconciliation) could also be used to strengthen confidence that “inputs” and “outputs” matched across procurement, installation, and handover.
Government, Audit, and Risk Signals
Governance was embedded through structured evidence capture, similar to a “who / what / how” framing—participants, materials, and certificates/documents—so assurance can be reviewed consistently rather than informally.
This approach supports risk thinking at a building-system level, recognising that evidence gathered for one construction system can influence confidence across multiple building elements because building elements and systems are interdependent.
The Outcome
The outcome was improved product and process visibility: stakeholders could follow module journeys end-to-end while ensuring relevant certificates and compliance documentation were attached to the right assets at the right stage. Repeatable certificate templates and standardised collection points helped make governance scalable across projects, rather than bespoke each time.
So What?
In MMC, robust traceability becomes a governance control: it reduces uncertainty by making compliance evidence discoverable, attributable, and audit-ready across organisational boundaries.
As assurance expectations increase, ecosystems that can generate consistent chain-of-custody records and automated compliance reporting will be better positioned to reduce delivery risk and protect market access.
Exelsiv Insight
The lessons from this work continue to inform how Exelsiv helps organisations today. We apply the same principles: single-source compliance data, ecosystem connectivity, evidence-led auditability, and proactive risk detection.
The result is the same ambition: to make complex delivery chains more transparent, verifiable, and scalable, without slowing down project execution
Expect more of this in the future as MMC adoption grows and digital compliance expectations rise, driving demand for connected traceability platforms with built-in intelligence and reporting.
If your organisation is exploring how to make Asset Data Enablement part of its future, Exelsiv can help chart the path forward. Get in touch with us today.
