Collaborative Project Design
Food Client
SSOE recently partnered with a well-known Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) to design a new manufacturing facility for agricultural products in the plant-based food industry. The overall design team was comprised of numerous entities in addition to SSOE that included multiple divisions within the OEM, as well as an architectural firm responsible for the building envelope and interior build-out.
There were six teams distributed across four countries in five different time zones. Successful execution of this project required frequent communication and close coordination.
The OEM partner is a major supplier of equipment in the process industries. They have the expertise and resources to provide the process and controls engineering. SSOE’s initial role on this project was to support the balance-of-plant design engineering, specifically the design and modeling of utility piping systems as well as the design and modeling of all the piping support structures throughout the plant. During the project, we also assumed responsibility for the design of steam, condensate, process wastewater, chilled water, potable water, and instrument air systems.
There were numerous challenges on this project that needed to be overcome by collaboration among all the design team members. One example is that the building design was already well underway when the other partners started detailed design so there were some unexpected constraints due to early assumptions regarding design criteria. Another challenge involved the mix of SI and Imperial units across the connections on equipment skids, piping system components, and in-line devices. Finally, due to supply chain issues prevalent at the time, the completion of OEM equipment skid design work was delayed which required an evolution of the project execution strategy to work around design information dependencies within the team.
Due to SSOE’s collaborative approach, attention to detail, and focus on the successful delivery of the overall project, our relationship with this OEM has been strengthened and we are well-positioned to collaborate on additional future projects.
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SSOE is actively piloting AI Chat large language models (LLMs) or copilots that use Natural Language Processing (NLP) to streamline both design and development tasks, transforming how our teams interact with software and each other.
By integrating chat LLM engines into platforms like Revit, we’re enabling users to prompt complex actions using simple, conversational commands. In Revit, this means automating tasks such as modeling elements, cleaning up parameter data, managing annotations and dimensions, and organizing sheets—without writing scripts. These automations and quality prompts can be shared across project teams, accelerating workflows and reducing manual effort.
Similarly, our internal Software Development Community is leveraging GitHub Copilot to expedite coding tasks. Developers can generate and refine code using NLP prompts, tapping into GitHub’s extensive Repo to move faster from concept to implementation.
Together, these tools represent a shift from traditional, expert-driven scripting to intuitive, AI-assisted automation, unlocking new levels of efficiency and scalability across our projects.
SSOE is utilizing Microsoft Copilot Edge and M365 to significantly enhance work efficiency and accuracy across various departments. Copilot is accessible to all staff after training. Key areas of application include using it as a writing assistant, for idea generation, document summarization and generation, research assistant, excel assistant, programming code assistant, language translations, product comparison and data analysis. Use of Copilot has become part of the everyday life of SSOE employees who have identified key ways it can help them become more efficient with their daily tasks as well as more accurate in their deliverables.
Today, 100% of SSOE employees have taken the voluntary training and have access to Copilot Edge, achieving early our October 1, 2025 goal.
We found ourselves in need of a more robust tool to enhance resource forecasting and staff assignment capabilities. Instead of waiting for the perfect tool, we’re building it. SSOE’s in-house technology team has developed and piloted a tool that aims to forecast optimal staff mix and duration for new projects against existing workload to better understand capacity and manage resources efficiently. Additionally, the tool will allow teams to identify gaps to optimal staff mix.
SSOE has developed a proof-of-concept to use an AI Agent to act as a Master Engineer and Architect trained in SSOE’s processes, best-known-methods, and trainings. Our data structure is being remodeled to enable better use of our proprietary knowledge to train the agent on the ‘SSOE way’.
We helped our client visualize and optimize façade design for occupant comfort—long before breaking ground through the use of the Autodesk Forma tool. It allows the designer to rapidly experiment with the building’s geometry and façade design to promote sustainability, prioritizing quality of spaces and comfort for end uses, especially in extreme climates (daylighting and microclimate analysis tools) at the project’s exact geographic location, using location-specific environmental data.
Discover how SSOE is using Autodesk Forma to improve sustainability outcomes for industrial projects: SSOE Group: Improving sustainability outcomes for industrial projects with Autodesk Forma.
Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) is SSOE’s enterprise-wide project delivery platform. We partner with the Autodesk Product team and have research access. Use of the AI Assistant allows our design teams, owners, and general contractors the ability to query the project specifications for quality, answers, and more rapid responses to RFIs, submittals, or issues.