How TDIndustries’ technology journey is leading to greater client satisfaction

“Our end-goal is to make sure that the owner has a product they are delighted with,” explains Ken Luong, Project Manager at TDIndustries. But it can be challenging, he says, “Customers and owners are looking for their building to be built faster, and for everything to be seamless.”

Achieving this is no easy task. Especially when you’re delivering large-scale, complex projects like stadiums and arenas with team members involved at every stage of the project lifecycle. With a focus on owner’s varied requirements, TDIndustries must deliver every single project at the highest standard and in the shortest possible timeframe.

In response, TDIndustries has adopted integrated BIM (building information modeling) workflows using Autodesk® Revit® – and it’s ushered in a new era of competitive advantage.

Josh Robinson, estimator at TDIndustries puts it this way, “We have to grow with technology to utilize all the tools we can to give a better product to our customers.”

This new approach has not only helped them achieve the excellence they strive for, it’s also increased accuracy across all their projects and led to efficiencies which have had a big impact on their bottom line.

TDIndustries’ commitment to client satisfaction is evident right from the start of their projects. And being able to demonstrate that in the bid phase is giving them the edge over their competitors.

Their integrated way of working is a key factor which helps them impress clients and win new projects. Accurate estimating and pricing are increasingly becoming key – and helping clients visualize their project with a 3D model has been a game changer.

Josh says that the market is moving towards delivering as-built 3D models for clients and the effect on potential clients is noticeable. “If you can show a client a 3D model with their pricing when you walk into an interview or you’re trying to win a job,” Josh explains, “It gives them more confidence in you.”

Liz Welch, Mechanical Engineer agrees: “Using Revit in the early stages of pre-bid and design has been advantageous and gives us a competitive edge,” she says.

How?

By creating a Revit model early on and incorporating the latest engineering data to give faster and more accurate pricing estimation.

Now, TDIndustries can make adjustments as part of the natural progression of design, and relay pricing impacts in a more timely fashion – eliminating the need to redraw or recreate the data.

“We’re able to turn around pricing faster now because we’re all linked into one database,” says Josh. “This has significantly reduced lead times and helped TD keep on top of pricing updates that need to be made after every design change.”

It’s a sharp contrast to the old industry standard where engineers were updating plans which they often had to start from scratch. “Instead of redrawing everything, we’re tweaking the model to include all the costs inside that job,” says Josh.

“So a process that would take two weeks is now cut down to a week.” Liz adds, “With Autodesk® ESTmep™, and a readily available visual model, estimators have visual confirmation that parts will work as intended. It’s transformed our takeoff process into more of a review than start-from-scratch planning,”

It’s improving constructability too. Using the model, TDIndustries and the trades can communicate any issues in design and construction much earlier in the process and make the changes needed to ensure the building will operate at maximum efficiency.

“As we’re starting to move into coordination and trying to use fabrication, we want to bring our actual real-world fabrication parts into the model so that we can more clearly understand if the design is constructible” explains Ken. With Autodesk tools like ESTmep for accurate pricing models, Revit to identify constructability challenges, or Autodesk® BIM 360®for maintenance input, TDIndustries comes to the table with critical information that helps everyone design a better, more constructible building.

For TDIndustries, all this adds up to better ROI on projects. Working with accurate models, they're able to eliminate labor-intensive rework, cut the construction schedule and reduce the number of RFIs through more effective collaboration.

They’re seeing that, in many cases, these integrated design-build projects can reduce a traditional schedule by up to 30%. Using Revit and Autodesk® Navisworks®to identify virtual design coordination challenges early is the main contributor to realizing this benefit.