How One MEP Contractor Saved $75,000 Using Autodesk Build

If your MEP firm is working with outdated data management processes, there is a cloud-based solution you might want to consider for standardizing those processes to increase collaboration and accountability.

Autodesk has published a customer story on Midwest-based Atomatic and the company’s use of Autodesk Build in Autodesk Construction Cloud™.

Atomatic did not originally use document and data management standards. However, leadership felt the company could increase its repeat business if the problem of data mismanagement could be corrected. The aim was to get everyone working together and collaborating to achieve this goal.

The company wanted project reporting to be more consistent for accountability purposes and to enable better collaboration on projects across the board. The company used the following criteria to evaluate potential solutions:

• Promotes collaboration
• Easy to use
• Creates accountability
• Tracks patterns in data for continual improvement

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Learn about the promise of connected construction in the latest free Applied Software eBook, “The Importance of a Common Data Environment.”

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Atomatic chose Autodesk Build within Autodesk Construction Cloud as its connected construction management solution.

One goal was to collect information on successful projects and figure out what made them successful. Once that was determined, a master project template was created in Autodesk Build so the process could be repeated on subsequent jobs. Leadership explained that it takes structured data to determine what is working well and what needs to be improved. 

Data from different sources and functions can be combined into the central place that is Autodesk Build. The company can seamlessly move information along from bidding through subsequent project phases. The resulting collaboration is easier for information reviews and for getting answers to questions about the scope of work. The results of using Autodesk Build included time and money savings and an increase in quality.

A good example was the story Atomatic shared about saving $75,000 thanks to using Autodesk Build. The firm was contracted to provide 38 roof exhaust fans on a large project, but during installation the insulation on the curbs started to fall out. The issue was reported to the supplier, which maintained that Atomatic was at fault for letting the curbs get wet. The cost to repair the damage was $75,000. But employees were on their toes and pulled up timesheet records in Autodesk Build, which documented that it was raining on the day the roof fans were delivered to the jobsite. In addition, the field team had captured and saved photos of the fans being delivered on an open bed truck. Supplied with that proof, the vendor agreed to cover the repair cost. Using Autodesk Build to document this issue eliminated any more wasted time placing blame.

Atomatic now uses the company’s master project template in Autodesk Build for every new project, promoting project success. Project kickoff is simplified, and Atomatic is able to gather rich data on efficiency so the company can continue to optimize its processes. Atomatic can identify instances of positives and negatives on jobs, allowing fine-tuning for all future projects.

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What is connected construction? Find out in the latest free Applied Software eBook download, “The Importance of a Common Data Environment.”