Introduction

We recently hosted a virtual spotlight event featuring four amazing customers from across the Americas, who showcased how they are leveraging cmBuilder for complex construction projects and site logistics planning. From California hospital campuses to Washington freeway interchanges, from multi-story downtown developments in Brazil to collegiate projects in the Midwest, each speaker shared how cmBuilder’s visualization and sequencing tools enhanced their approach to planning. In addition, Javier and Cal from our team unveiled the latest cmBuilder features, such as split geometry, trenching, growth profile, and schedule integration enhancements. Below is a recap of the event.

Waldemar Castro, Turner Construction

Waldemar Castro, VDC Engineer and Superintendent at Turner Construction, kicked things off by describing how his team integrated cmBuilder into their existing planning workflows. One project he highlighted involved replacing a hospital’s central utility plant in Laguna Hills, requiring meticulous sequencing to keep all critical hospital systems operational.

“With cmBuilder, we can quickly generate deliverables that used to take us days—making our plans more accurate and transparent for everyone on the team.”

- Waldemar Castro - VDC Engineer at Turner Construcion

Waldemar explained that before cmBuilder, his team typically visualized site conditions using 2D markups on satellite imagery. Now, they use cmBuilder to merge updated Google Maps data with GPR scans, revealing a hidden network of underground utilities. This 3D modeling context exposed key conflicts, like existing pipes and wiring routes, so they could better manage risk and optimize heavy civil scheduling. In another project, advanced traffic control planning was paramount. The city demanded rigorous proof of how lane closures would be executed, which Waldemar’s team demonstrated via 3D sequences and phased site logistics within cmBuilder.

Karla Firth, Graham Construction

Next, Karla Firth from Graham Construction showed how her team has scaled cmBuilder usage to over 30 ongoing projects—from civil highways to water treatment developments—by capitalizing on easy 3D site modeling. One standout example was the I-405 and 85th Street interchange project in Kirkland, Washington, where closures were tightly restricted and had to be completed during narrow nighttime windows.

“Seeing a 3D simulation, rather than just a 2D drawing, takes everything to another level—especially when we’re proving complex sequences to an owner.”

- Karla Firth - VDC Manager at Graham Construction

Karla demonstrated a full girder placement exercise, walking us through crane positioning, truck routes, and staged installation. Using drone imagery and surface scans imported into cmBuilder, her team replicated real-world slopes and road constraints to verify that long girders could maneuver tight corners. They also validated whether they could drill anchors after the girders were set in place. One quick 3D “what-if” simulation in cmBuilder revealed they had to do the anchors first, ultimately saving time and field confusion. The ability to easily spot potential conflicts—long before trucks and cranes arrived—proved immensely valuable.

Shannon DeVon, Shiel Sexton

Rounding out the customer perspectives, Shannon DeVon, Director of VDC at Shiel Sexton, spoke on empowering his superintendents to take ownership of project logistics in cmBuilder. With his background in preconstruction, Shannon has explored many scheduling and 4D tools over the years, noting that some software can be too complex for field teams to adopt.

“cmBuilder is easy to figure out. Our superintendents love how quickly they can own the project-planning process.”

- Shannon DeVon - Director of VDC at Shiel Sexton

Shannon introduced a downtown Indianapolis project, where his team used cmBuilder to strategize barricades, crane locations, and pedestrian flow around an active campus environment. Even at early design phases, they modeled equipment paths and established control zones that reduced foot-traffic risks. He emphasized that superintendents often drive the most practical logistics decisions, and having a web-based, intuitive platform gave them the freedom to experiment and iterate as conditions on site evolved.

cmBuilder Product Update

To conclude the event, our own Javier and Cal provided a live demonstration of new and upcoming cmBuilder features:

1. Split Geometry

The “Split” feature allows users to break elements into smaller, customizable sections—vital for staging concrete pours or planning slab openings for your crane or boom pump. This addresses a frequent headache where structural BIM models aren’t segmented in a way that matches real-world sequences.

2. Growth Profiles

Growth profiles let you animate the “growth” of beams, columns, or walls milestone by milestone—ideal for showing exactly how a structure will rise or how a demolition sequence will unfold. Combined with a refined presentation tool (with custom branding, timeline sliders, and shareable links). This 3D “growing” effect creates more compelling visuals that better illustrate each step in the construction process

3. Trench Tool

A new trench tool streamlines excavation modeling for utilities, drainage, or other linear work. Users can sketch a simple line, specify trench depth, side slopes, and bottom slope, and instantly generate an excavated volume.

4. Schedule Integration Enhancements

You can now link milestones created in cmBuilder to an updated master schedule—syncing your planning in cmBuilder with your Gantt chart or scheduling software. Any date changes can be re-synced, ensuring the 3D model is always up to date with the latest timeline.

5. Commenting & Link Dashboards

On the collaboration front, improved threaded comments allow quick back-and-forth notes with screenshots attached. Plus, project admins can track who opens each shared link, revoke links when needed, and monitor if external stakeholders have viewed the latest iteration.

Javier and Cal emphasized that cmBuilder releases features on a near-weekly basis, driven by user feedback. The goal is to reduce friction in site planning so teams can model more “what if” scenarios, address risks earlier, and coordinate tasks seamlessly.

Conclusion

From cutting-edge civil infrastructure to challenging multi-story campuses and everything in between, the event captured how our customers are utilizing cmBuilder to enrich their planning workflows. As each speaker demonstrated, bringing real context and 3D clarity to site logistics not only saves time and money, but also fosters collaboration among field, project, and VDC teams, as well as project owners and other stakeholders. Our presenters showcased just how diverse and complex construction logistics can be. Yet, a common theme emerged: the power of an easy-to-use 4D simulation tool that ties together scheduling, equipment selection, and site constraints.

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