MEP Technology: 6 Ways It Can Improve Your Business

As a mechanical, electrical or plumbing contractor, you routinely work with a variety of other stakeholders to build complex projects within budget and schedule. With the pressures on the construction industry to increase production, it’s becoming critical to use software technology to assist with this process. Collaboration, streamlined workflows and improved outcomes are more imperative than ever.

Following are some software tools that can help you improve productivity, accessibility and planning. 

1.     Bid Management

Successful bids require you to assess cost and risk while being as accurate and agile as possible. These days, it’s more about quality than quantity. It’s also important that you gather insights from previous projects to help you with future bids. Autodesk Takeoff helps you generate integrated takeoffs and quantities so you can produce accurate estimates and competitive bids in less time. Autodesk Fabrication ESTmep is cost estimation software that helps produce more accurate cost estimates for MEP building systems projects from detailing to fabrication and installation.

2.     Supply Chain

When you have an accurate view of your resource needs, you can use supply chain and resource planning tools to rein in budgets and meet your commitments. These tools can help you measure and communicate project progress, from a high-level overview to detailed procurement numbers. Using the Autodesk Construction Cloud Cost Management module, you can reduce the redundancy of data, make quicker decisions and minimize risk. You can bi-directionally link vendors/companies, budgets, contracts, purchase orders, commitments, owner and supplier change orders, and actual costs.

You can find useful tips and insights in the free resource “Software Collaboration for Modern Projects.”  

3.     Automated Spooling

Fabrication software can help make your work more profitable by automating routine tasks that take a lot of time. The process of automating spooling is one way you can save hundreds of hours on every job. eVolve MEP helps you harness the power of Autodesk Revit for faster detailer workflows, more efficient use of skilled labor, fewer errors, higher quality, and shortened schedules.

4.     Collision Avoidance

If you would like to eliminate the guesswork of how the systems on a job are going to fit together, collision detection software will help you see clearance issues and collisions in the 3D project model before they get built and become your problem. Navisworks software and the Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) Model Coordination module help you anticipate and reduce potential clash and interference problems before construction, minimizing expensive delays and rework.

5.     Project Management

For detailed tracking, documentation and reporting, plus monitoring every stage of a project, project management software is key. From simple task management to completions, dependencies and roadblocks, you can follow how the project is meeting its timeline goals in a unified context. Autodesk Construction Cloud is an example of project management software that can help you coordinate between office and field with centralized documentation and data. 

ACC provides a single source of truth for design and build decisions with its common data environment (CDE). This enables you to standardize your project management process using preconfigured forms, while reducing the time required to determine how tasks are progressing.

6.     Asset Tracking

One of the challenges for MEP contractors has been asset management workflows. The Assets tool in Autodesk Build (formerly BIM 360) has robust categorizing and tracking features so you can monitor fabrication of spools of pipe and duct and related equipment. You can keep tabs on asset milestones and have visibility into warranties, certifications, cut sheets, and training materials through the use of barcodes or QR codes. You can also connect assets to issues, documents and photos for quality and commissioning workflows.

For MEP contractors like you, these software tools can drive more profitable jobs by making the complex more accessible, making data more visible, and allowing for the appropriate scaling of your business.

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If you want to explore the ways MEP technology can be a wise use of your company’s time and money, contact Applied Software today. The experts at Applied will help you set goals and choose the technology that makes the most sense for your individual needs.