virtual-design-and-construction-feature Archives

July 16, 2018/in Manufacturing /by Hannah Lee

Mark LaBell, BIM / CAD Technical Leader, recently authored an article on laser scanning featured in Manufacturing Automation Magazine. Within, Mark discusses how laser scanning speeds up a project, reduces costs, and improves safety. Although there are challenges when adjusting laser scanning for specific projects, he writes that understanding project goals is key. Laser scanning is quickly becoming the go-to tool for reality capture—replacing the time consuming and less accurate method of manually recorded field measurements and ultimately creating an incredibly realistic and detailed 3D model. The article dives deeper into insights and benefits of using this innovative technology. Read more

Dewayne Galyon, Basebuild Technical Specialist at SSOE, spotlights the value that computational fluid dynamics (CFD), a simulation software that models airflow, offers when designing a cleanroom environment in this Assembly Magazine article. Dewayne urges readers to avoid trial and error methods to keep characteristically high construction costs at bay, while starting the project off right with clean, complete data within the model. He drives his points home with project examples throughout the article, including an overview of a fast-track multi-basebuild, ISO 4 cleanroom installation project that helped SSOE solidify our ongoing relationship with Micron Technology. Read more

November 13, 2017/in Healthcare, Automotive, Chemical, Food & Beverage, Energy / Power, Glass, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Semiconductor / Advanced Technology Engineering United States /by Katie Junga

Jason Christen, PMP, Senior Account Executive at SSOE, and Mark LaBell, Senior VDC Technical Leader, were both featured in a BD+C Magazine article that examines the rise of 3D laser scanners, which have recently evolved into handhelds. 3D laser scanning is the fastest, most efficient method to capture existing conditions. In addition to allowing us to scan harder-to-reach places, handheld scanners provide the ability to show clients results immediately after taking a scan with a workable model showing an accurate representation of the facility—a major benefit of the technology that often translates into cost savings for our clients. Read more

January 5, 2017/in /by Katie Junga

Featured as the cover story in a recent issue of Informed Infrastructure Magazine, Josh Zimmerman, VDC Steel Section Manager, explores the workflow and key considerations necessary to optimize the benefits of VDC Steel in this article. Coordination, collaboration, and clarity of scope are of upmost importance when using this delivery system. Within, Zimmerman provides a short case study on a project for Starwood Capital Group where a concurrent approach to design and steel detailing was used to meet an aggressive project schedule. Read more

November 30, 2016/in Program / Project Management, Engineering /by hitch

New Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) for steel technology seamlessly integrates steel design, fabrication, and erection with reduced cost and a faster schedule.

Josh Zimmerman, VDC Steel Section Manager at SSOE, is featured in the November issue of Area Development Magazine. Within, Josh describes how Virtual Design and Construction methodology can be applied to the steel detailing process and result in significant schedule reduction. This is accomplished by creating fabrication-ready models quicker and earlier in the construction workflow—moving the timing of steel detailing to occur congruently with structural design on the project. Two examples are explored in the article, one saving 2.5 months on the construction schedule through early coordination of design and detailing associated with VDC Steel. Read more

September 28, 2016/in United States /by Katie Junga

Lauren Collier, Associate AIA, was recently featured on Modelo Blog’s “Design Manifestos” discussing her career path to Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) Manager. With over 10 years of industry experience, Lauren offers a glimpse into her professional journey – from making the decision to study architecture and interning with SSOE, to her evolution into the project execution realm. Now a key member in SSOE’s VDC initiative, she’s responsible for enforcing corporate BIM / VDC standards and developing innovative new technology strategies and processes. Read more

July 11, 2016/in United States, Mexico Birmingham, Atlanta, Nashville /by hitch

SSOE experts, John Gill, PE, PMP, Director of Virtual Design and Construction, and Mike Duffey, PE, Principal Account Executive, explore the many benefits of combining an integrated approach with Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) to achieve a collaborative aerospace facility. With this approach, significant advantages result, including a more transparent and collaborative team environment that fosters participation and valuable input during the early stages of a project, increased flexibility and efficiency during the project’s development in the virtual world, and reduction of RFIs. On average, SSOE has seen 20%+ schedule reduction through strategies including concurrent engineering and the use of prefabrication and modularization. Read more

March 21, 2016/in /by hitch

Mark LaBell, BIM / CAD Technical Leader, was interviewed for this recent article on laser scanning featured in BD+C Magazine. Within, Mark discusses SSOE’s rapid and widespread adoption of 3D laser scanning to capture existing conditions of facilities or sites and reviews the investments needed in not only software, hardware, and personnel training, but also third-party vendor relationships needed to fully support laser scanning data processing and modeling. Laser scanning is quickly becoming the go-to tool for reality capture—replacing the time consuming and less accurate method of manually recorded field measurements and ultimately creating an incredibly realistic and detailed 3D model. Read more

February 4, 2016/in Healthcare Master Planning /by Katie Junga

John Gill, Director of VDC and Craig Pickerel, Architect and Section Manager take a look at how VDC has already transformed the way design and construction teams work together to develop new healthcare facilities—and where they see additional benefits in the future in Medical Construction & Design Magazine. The pair provides insight into specific ways VDC could enhance operations, maintenance, and management of a healthcare facility, improve the patient experience, and enhance staff efficiency and performance. Read more

January 20, 2016/in Automotive, Chemical, Food & Beverage, Glass, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Semiconductor / Advanced Technology Program / Project Management, Engineering China, Mexico, India India /by Katie Junga

SSOE Group is a leader in leveraging the latest technology to enable integrated and collaborative project delivery. SSOE Group was featured in BOSS Magazine, in an article highlighting the company’s technology strategy and culture — both of which are helping provide better solutions to clients. Driven by collaboration, SSOE is using innovative tools and customized applications to deliver high quality projects more efficiently, while working to maintain employee engagement along the way. Read more

November 5, 2015/in Automotive, Chemical, Food & Beverage, Glass, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Semiconductor / Advanced Technology Engineering /by Katie Junga

Firms being asked to play a bigger role in providing expertise

Dave Sipes, Chief Operating Officer at SSOE Group, was featured in this article recently published in Engineering News-Record (ENR). The article highlights manufacturing, a particularly robust market currently, and the need within this market to improve processes — with an emphasis on output. Popular among manufacturers is integrated project delivery, a concept that focuses on collaboration and commitment among all parties, which is successfully executed with the help of highly evolved technologies like 3D modeling and laser scanning. Read more

November 1, 2015/in Pharmaceutical /by hitch

In this article featured in the October, 2015 issue of Pharmaceutical Manufacturing Magazine, SSOE’s Ed Royzman, PE and John Gill, PE, PMP take readers through an overview of Virtual Design & Construction (VDC) and its role in removing barriers between the phases of project delivery. Royzman and Gill take a look at how the benefits of VDC were leveraged on one FDA-compliant pharmaceutical project – providing significant value for process validation by allowing designers, fabricators, and contractors to input detail into the model. This resulted in a more accurate picture of building conditions, with the added benefit of all commissioning and validation efforts recorded for future facility adaptation. Read more

October 12, 2015/in Healthcare, Automotive, Chemical, Food & Beverage, Energy / Power, Glass, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Semiconductor / Advanced Technology Data / Fire / Security (DFS), Master Planning, Sustainable Design, Program / Project Management, Site Evaluation, Engineering /by Katie Junga

John Gill, PE, PMP, LEED AP, SSOE’s Director of VDC, was recently published in Engineering News-Record (ENR) discussing the topic of Virtual Design and Construction (VDC). Gill has over 20 years of industry experience and was responsible for the implementation of SSOE’s VDC program. He writes on the many strengths the VDC framework has to offer our industry, and offers some tips for implementing a solid foundation on your next project. Read more

September 29, 2015/in /by Katie Junga

Mark LaBell, BIM/CAD Technical Leader at SSOE Group, and Lauren Collier, Assoc. AIA and Design Technology Section Leader, are both featured in this article recently published in Building Design + Construction Magazine. The article discusses the recurring theme of reluctance to technology that exists in the conservative realm that is the AEC industry. Despite the opposition, when implemented well, innovation can offer a better way with the rewards surpassing the risks. Read more

September 8, 2015/in Program / Project Management United States, Mexico /by Katie Junga

Cultural and commercial variances between the U.S. and Mexico can sometimes result in construction delays or expensive component substitutions. When strategic plans rely on heavily maintaining schedules, the following insights, which are often grouped under the head of tropicalization, should add confidence to the planning and executing of projects here in Mexico. Read more

June 30, 2015/in Automotive /by Katie Junga

Matt Oberts, PE, LEED AP, Automotive and Industrial Division Facilities Manager at SSOE, recently published “An A/E Perspective on Optimizing the Design-Build Strategy” for Design-Build Institute of America. In his article, Oberts talks about design charrettes, which he defines as “an intensive, collaborative session that is held as early as possible in the life of the project.” This daylong assembly of project participants — from both the design side and the build side — sets the foundation for a successful project in which goals and objectives are understood, agreed upon, and ultimately achieved. Additionally, the design-build process itself becomes increasingly effective by employing the various components of Virtual Design and Construction (VDC). Through early process planning, and optimal implementation of 3D/BIM technology and measureable benchmarks, a design-build project has the potential to exceed client expectations, regardless of whether the focus is schedule or budget. Read more

August 2, 2017/in Healthcare United States Toledo, Columbus, Cincinnati /by hitch

TOLEDO, Ohio, August 2, 2017 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management, announced today that Lauren Collier, VDC Department Manager, and Mark LaBell Jr., Senior VDC Technical Leader, have been selected to present at the annual Ohio Facilities Construction Commission (OFCC) Conference. This year’s event takes place over the course of four different dates in locations around the state of Ohio: August 15th in Columbus, August 23rd in Cincinnati, August 30th in Cleveland, and September 12th in Columbus. Read more

October 26, 2016/in Program / Project Management, Engineering /by hitch

LAS VEGAS, Nevada, October 26, 2016 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management, announced today that Senior VDC Technical Leader, Mark LaBell Jr. and VDC / BIM Section Manager Tony Paupert have been selected to present at this year’s Autodesk University. The event will be held November 15 – 17, 2016 at the Venetian Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Read more

October 11, 2016/in Program / Project Management /by hitch

ATLANTA, Georgia, October 11, 2016 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global project delivery firm for architecture, engineering, and construction management announced today that Project VDC / BIM Coordinator, Douglas Furia will speak at the Fall BIMForum, to be held October 17-19, 2016 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. Read more

May 26, 2016/in /by hitch

TOLEDO, Ohio, May 26, 2016 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) firm along with Autodesk, Inc., an American multinational software corporation that makes software for the architecture, engineering, construction, manufacturing, media, and entertainment industries, hosted their first Reality Capture Summit on Thursday, May 12, 2016 at SSOE’s world headquarters. Read more

March 11, 2016/in United States /by hitch

SAN FRANCISCO, March 11, 2016 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) firm, announced today that Chief Strategy Officer, Vince DiPofi, PE, along with Dan Vining, General Manager, EPCM, and Lauren Collier, Associate AIA, Integrated Project Delivery Specialist, have been selected to speak at the Association for Strategic Planning (ASP) Annual Conference. The event will be held March 16 – 18, 2016 at the Sheraton Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco, California. Read more

October 10, 2014/in Semiconductor / Advanced Technology /by hitch

PORTLAND, Oregon, October 10, 2014 – SSOE Group (www.ssoe.com), a global engineering, procurement, and construction management (EPCM) firm, announced today that SSOE Vice President Clem Wood will present at the annual SEMI Pacific Northwest fall breakfast forum. This year, the event is hosted by SSOE and will be held on Wednesday, October 29^th, at SSOE’s office in Hillsboro, Oregon.

BIM is a fundamental ingredient of VDC at SSOE.

In 2015, Dodge Data & Analytics released a SmartMarket Report, “Measuring the Impact of BIM on Complex Buildings” focused on quantifying how BIM is contributing to improved outcomes in the stages of design and construction for complex buildings. In order to quantify, Dodge performed an online survey of 391 owners, architects, and contractors who indicated that their company uses BIM and that they had a moderate or higher level of knowledge about the use of BIM at their company.

We created an infographic that boils down a few key findings from this report on the positive impacts of BIM, top project outcomes expected to have the greatest impact in the next 5 years, and obstacles preventing organizations from achieving greater efficiency through BIM. You’ll also find a few SSOE-specific stats on the impact we’ve seen from VDC in our organization. Read more

September 7, 2015/in Healthcare, Automotive, Chemical, Food & Beverage, Energy / Power, Glass, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Semiconductor / Advanced Technology Data / Fire / Security (DFS), Master Planning, Sustainable Design, Program / Project Management, Site Evaluation, Engineering China, United States, Mexico /by Katie Junga

In our latest newsletter, we are highlighting the outstanding performance of Jonathan Bolbach and Mark LaBell, winners of SSOE’s Founder’s Award. Their accomplishment — developing the AutoNavis software application — met two of the award’s key criteria: delivering exceptional value to clients by saving them time, trouble, and money and implementing an innovation that leads to improved processes and quality. Read more

September 7, 2015/in Healthcare, Automotive, Chemical, Food & Beverage, Energy / Power, Glass, Pharmaceutical, Manufacturing, Consumer Products, Semiconductor / Advanced Technology Engineering United States /by Katie Junga

In moving a project from statement of work to completion of construction, regular collaboration between owners, designers, and contractors is no longer a luxury. It is the managerial insurance the project must have in order to stay on schedule and budget. Much of the unbudgeted time and expense incurred by change orders can be attributed to a lack of integration between the players. It’s often because these parties failed to include the resources and intentional effort for collaboration. Read more

March 19, 2015/in Food & Beverage, Manufacturing Engineering China, United States /by Katie Junga

In the AEC industry, when a client asks for a project to be completed “faster, better, and cheaper,” chances are they will be told that two out of three is about as good as it gets. Thanks to technology, integrated delivery methods, and an exceptional team effort, SSOE raised the bar and delivered on all counts on a recent project for a global leader in the food industry.

The beginning of a new era in construction project delivery.

VDC Steel is an innovative application of SSOE’s virtual design technology that seamlessly integrates steel design, and fabrication, delivering exceptional quality with reduced cost and a compressed schedule.

Virtual Design and Construction is not just a new software or tool—it’s an industry-wide shift in the process for delivering construction projects. In fact, VDC has been compared to the shift that took place when digital cameras were first introduced to the photography industry. With our VDC Steel capabilities, SSOE is well positioned to offer our clients the benefits of this new approach to project delivery since it is in an area where we excel; we have been working with steel structures for 65 years, starting with our first project.

VDC Steel takes a 3D/BIM model beyond design intent and into the design details, shop drawings, fabrication, and procurement. For example, most are familiar with the benefits of clash detection utilizing a 3D model. However, in a VDC application the clash detection is done using the detailed design—exactly as the project is going to be built, not just the design intent. This results in much more powerful and accurate clash detection.

Historically, SSOE has been an industry leader in recognizing the opportunities that result from shedding traditional methods and fully leveraging available technology for the benefit of our clients. This includes our early adoption of 3D / BIM as a tool to reduce inefficiencies and errors in the design process. While BIM has now been widely adopted by both designers and contractors, to-date the intelligence capabilities of the model and efficiencies of utilizing a single model from design through construction have not been fully leveraged. Often, contractors and fabricators must create additional 3D models from the designer’s 2D drawings, which is wasteful and inefficient, and creates more opportunities for errors. VDC is a process change that removes the barriers to using the same intelligent 3D model from design through construction. It reduces the number of handoffs, compresses the schedule, eliminates errors, tightens material quotes, and results in a completed project that is closer to the original design intent. It also improves the ultimate design by revealing issues more generalized drawings miss.

VDC Steel is just one piece of the shift being generated by Virtual Design and Construction. We are excited because it’s a piece our clients can leverage to immediately experience significant benefits.

Benefits of VDC Steel:

Streamlined and seamless integration through one virtual model that produces:
Fabricator ready models
Approved shop drawings
CNC programs
Mill order lists

Exceptional Quality
Advanced clash detection
Limited field errors
Methodical control from design to construction

Reduced Cost
Optimized detailing in a virtual environment
Accurate bids and estimates
Reduction in field change orders

Reduced schedule by a minimum of 4 weeks
Steel lead times Design and approval process
Analysis and options

Tag Archive for: virtual-design-and-construction-feature

Tag Archive for: virtual-design-and-construction-feature

Tag Archive for: virtual-design-and-construction-feature

BIM is a fundamental ingredient of VDC at SSOE.

The beginning of a new era in construction project delivery.

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Tag Archive for: virtual-design-and-construction-feature

Tag Archive for: virtual-design-and-construction-feature

Tag Archive for: virtual-design-and-construction-feature

BIM is a fundamental ingredient of VDC at SSOE.

The beginning of a new era in construction project delivery.

Contact Us

Our Services

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