Headquartered in Buffalo, NY, Arc Building Partners is an innovator in the construction industry. Offering an array of services and project delivery models, from construction management to full design-build, has allowed Arc to build a strong reputation and recurring client base in their geographic markets. Their strategic approach revolves around the ideology of early engagement to not only deliver a remarkable end-product for the owner, but to deliver value-based solutions through all stages of the construction project life cycle, from concept to completion.

Within the ever-involving construction industry, Arc has built and maintained a strong sense of purpose that is embedded in their brand. An arc, such as the one in their logo, is much like a bridge, a shield, and a story arc that symbolizes the many hats they wear for their clients and communities. As members of the construction industry, the Arc team plays a proactive role in defending the environment and the social fabric of the neighborhoods they serve. By pairing innovation and a whole lot of hard work with meaningful partnerships, Arc helps clients transform empty lots, vacant buildings, and hazardous brownfields into buildings designed to better serve people going forward.

As an industry veteran, and Arc’s chief visionary, Frank L. Ciminelli II, President & CEO of the firm, sets strategies and goals for the company. He then leans on his talented team to execute, day in and day out. One of these talented team members is Ana Alcocer, Arc’s Virtual Design + Construction Manager and leader on the front lines. Ana’s focus is to deploy technology in a meaningful way, while also remaining aligned with Frank’s strategies and vision. Ana has a keen interest in driving efficient workflows within Arc’s tech stack and integrating digital technologies within the company’s operations to benefit the team in the field.

We sat down with Ana to gain in-depth insights into how Arc deploys technology within its project delivery models, and how cmBuilder has assisted Arc on their digital journey. Ana discussed a number of relevant topics, but most notable were the following:

1. Arc’s primary goal when it comes to technology deployment is to first establish internal consistency. This is done through the development of technological standards and processes that their field teams, who are the end-users of the technology, can trust.
2. The secondary goal is to continually track their progress with dashboarding and data analytics, by assessing the level of VDC maturity achieved within each individual project.
3. And finally, based on the data coming from their VDC maturity dashboards, Arc aims to find the optimal mix of digital software that streamlines their tech stack and drives efficiencies, rather than trying to do too much with too many digital software platforms at once. To achieve their goals, Arc acts on data-driven insights and keeps ease-of-accessibility for the team at the forefront of their contech initiatives.

This is where cmBuilder comes into play. As Ana shared insights on how cmBuilder has changed their project planning and delivery workflows, she said, “Upon using cmBuilder, the first thing that I now ask for is the actual specific information of the crane, the dimensions and details of the heavy machinery and other equipment. We didn’t do this before; we would get the information from the subcontractors later. But knowing we can input real-life equipment information onto the cmBuilder platform and manipulate the variables to ensure it will work has been an absolute gamechanger.” Ana highlighted the ways in which Arc has been able to take logistics planning to a new level through the adoption of the cmBuilder platform, which minimizes project-associated risks:

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“As we started using cmBuilder, we found we were able to take logistics planning even further, to anticipate and mitigate conflicts. Through this, we have been able to identify risks proactively; before we bring in the heavy machinery and before field installations take place.”

- Ana G Alcocer - VDC Manager at Arc Building Partners

Before adopting cmBuilder, Arc’s project teams were having regular bi-weekly BIM coordination meetings to work though design and constructability challenges, shop drawing reviews, etc. Now, with the ability to model and simulate their project site logistics in 3D/4D,  the bi-weekly site logistics meetings are used for visualizing the site logistics plan in 3D and getting ahead of any potential issues that could impact the project schedule in the future.

“Originally, we were just doing 2D sketches with markups. How much information we can get out of that simply doesn’t compare to what we can get through cmBuilder.”

- Ana G Alcocer

Lastly, Ana circled back to Arc’s fundamental principal goal. Arc aims to create an insightful “digital twin” that can be utilized during the preconstruction planning phase. They are now able to achieve this through cmBuilder’s 3D and 4D modeling capabilities. This enhanced workflow has allowed Arc to create clear visualizations of their end products and develop accurate sequences for performing builds, all while facilitating a collaborative work environment. Every stakeholder, from subcontractors to clients, is able to access the logistics plans on the cloud and see their plan visually displayed in project life-cycle stages.

“Once you create a shared link, every stakeholder who wants to access it can see it and comment on it with the tools cmBuilder provides. That’s been a great plus.”

- Ana G Alcocer

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