One of the greatest challenges facing the construction industry is a lack of labor. As a result of this, some construction companies find it difficult to get projects done efficiently and effectively.

This is where EVOLVE comes in. EVOLVE prides itself in its commitment to the construction industry by improving profitability and reliability for trade contractors. We do this by aligning teams on a single platform, which allows for greater collaboration. EVOLVE software also helps with the issue of few skilled workers, by offering software that increases productivity. One company that has reaped the benefits of utilizing EVOLVE software is B & I Contractors.

B & I Contractors is an employee-owned company that provides high-quality installation and service of mechanical, electrical, and plumbing systems for its customers. The company offers customers the best value through innovative and progressive solutions.

Shawn Sandstedt is the CAD Manager at B & I, and has seen the benefits of utilizing EVOLVE software to maximize productivity within the company.

“Like everyone else, we’ve had a hard time getting qualified employees. Revit and EVOLVE have helped us better utilize our own resources as well as attract new talent who wanted to work with us because of how we use technology."

Some of the benefits that B&I has seen since utilizing EVOLVE software is:

- an 80% reduction in time placing hangers

- a 25% reduction in spooling time

- a 25% reduction in time renumbering

- the ability to move more quickly into utilization of prefabrication

- easier hiring of new talent

The Problem

Before B & I succeeded in the areas previously mentioned, they faced a few challenges. Two major problems that B & I faced were hanger placement and spooling. Hanger placement can take up a lot of time and energy as it can take many days to create hangers for ductwork for one building.

“Another big thing for us was the layout points. Being able to export the hangers and the sleeve points all into one file – not have to go to AutoCAD – and just send a CAD file and a TFL file to our Trimble tool was important to us,” said Sandstedt.

Along with these issues, B & I also wanted help with auto-tagging and a lineup tool to set up multiple sets of pipes.

“Currently, we’ve been doing about 20% of our field install as prefab, but we’re trying to push it out to 70%. EVOLVE is going to help us make that transition better,” Sandstedt explained.

The Solution

Because he knew that there were opportunities for further improvement, he turned to EVOLVE Mechanical for help. What started with several people and specific features, Sandstedt eventually expanded usage and applications for the software across B & I. With EVOLVE, he found that the discovery and onboarding processes were easy.

“Within an hour of calling EVOLVE, I was contacted and given recommendations based on my needs,” Sandstedt explained.

As someone who is constantly looking for resources that will reduce time inputs without compromising quality,  Shawn was thrilled to have the help of EVOLVE.

The Results

By utilizing EVOLVE, B & I was able to drastically reduce the amount of time spent in hanger placement. The whole process used to take 40 hours; but now, it only takes eight! This has given the team more time and opportunity to take on additional projects, since tasks can now be completed quicker and more efficiently.

“The point layout has also been huge, being able to export points and not having to use APO anymore,” Shawn explained. “I have the points built into some of the features of the families, and it’s saved us a ton of time. Now we do everything inside Revit, export files to our Trimble, and then we're pretty much done from there to drive to the field.”

But this is just the beginning for the collaboration between B & I and EVOLVE Mechanical. As B & I turns its focus towards prefab construction - with a goal of increasing it from 20 to 70 percent of field installation - they plan on continuing to work with EVOLVE to reach this goal. Shawn believes that in order to use model-linked data to improve the prefab workflow, EVOLVE will be an essential resource in accomplishing this.

Schedule a demo with us today to learn if EVOLVE is right for you. You can read the entire B & I Contractors case study here.