What changes when compliance moves into the model
A compliance check that used to take hours of manual review now takes seconds. More importantly, it happens earlier. Instead of discovering issues at plan check, teams surface them during design development — when they are still easy to fix.
This shift — from checking after drawings are complete to evaluating compliance continuously — is part of a broader move toward model-based building code compliance in BIM.
How this compares to traditional workflows
Most compliance workflows still rely on:
- manual interpretation of code
- PDF-based plan review
- late-stage QA/QC
These approaches catch issues — but only after design decisions are locked. Today, teams are starting to move toward tools that check compliance directly in the model.
Why this matters
When compliance runs during design:
- issues surface earlier
- rework is reduced
- permitting timelines become more predictable
Instead of reacting to plan check comments, teams design with compliance in mind from the start. That changes how risk is managed across the project.
Where this is going
BIM became the system of record for design over the last two decades. Compliance is the last major workflow that hasn't fully followed it into the model.
The tools — and the underlying code data, built on licensed sources including International Code Council (ICC) data — now exist to make that shift possible.
Kestrel is part of a new category of model-side tools reshaping how compliance gets handled, and has already been recognized in programs like the Trimble 0–60 Challenge.
Kestrel is building that compliance layer — translating building code into structured logic that runs directly inside the Revit model.
If you want to see how this works in your own model: Schedule a demo →