Saunders Construction Inc. is a Colorado-based construction industry innovator focused on general contracting, construction management and real estate development services. Key to their growth over the past 50 years has been their ability to adapt and integrate with evolving technology. From 2D sketches, laser scanning to augumented reality/virtual reality, Saunders has always evolved with the times and kept their high standards consistent.
"With cmBuilder, we have found an effective communication tool for site logistics planning and scheduling."
-Matthew Hamann, Integrated Services Manager | Saunders Construction
We sat with Matthew Hamann, Integrated Services Manager at Saunders, to discuss the company’s vision for their next growth phase. He highlighted issues of inaccessibility of technology and limited communication that the company’s project teams faced due to mountainous project terrains and highland climates in Colorado. He was tasked with finding a 4D software solution that simulated site logistics planning and relayed the information back to the workers on the field. That’s where cmBuilder came in.
"One of the biggest challenges we have in the industry is getting the information (like models, schedules and RFIs) that comes from the technology to the field where it can have the most impact."
-Matthew Hamann
After numerous trials with other software, the pressing issues became ease of use and learnability. Matthew spoke on the steep learning curves and the difficulties of adjusting resource parameters on the legacy software packages. Upon trying cmBuilder, once the models were imported, the user interface was easy for him, his team and the superintendents to understand and navigate.
"The previous logistics plans we would put together for project teams (depending on the level of pursuit), whether 2D, 3D or 4D plans were too expensive to carryover on the site and there was also too much lag time."
-Matthew Hamann
Speaking on the communication and 4D scheduling gap filled by cmBuilder Matthew said:
“cmBuilder filled this gap by enabling our project team to clearly communicate and maintain logistics plans. It gives our project team members the the tools to start initial buildings and maintain existing ones…To date, we haven’t had a tool where a project team could maintain a 3D or 4D logistics plan on their own because training on other platforms took such a long time.”
Matthew’s team has taken advantage of the presentation feature on cmBuilder. They previously experienced challenges merging 3D logistics plans with 4D milestone videos. By using our 4D markups and callouts, scheduling and communication among all team members is effective and deliberate. The project team has also benefitted from cmBuilder’s extensive resource library (previously a challenge for the team on other platforms) as resources are easy to find and parameters are easy to set.
"It would take forever to do the things that are easy in cmBuilder. For example, if we want to show a tower crane at a specific tower height and jib length, that's a three-minute activity in cmBuilder. However, this same process could take six hours in other software."
-Matthew Hamann
Saunders is committed to 3D and 4D modeling solutions that are time efficient and user-friendly. Matthew is also doing a demo at Colorado State University on how to build logistics plans using cmBuilder. A session that will give industry technology insights to the next stream of professionals who will continue to integrate modern construction technology services.
"With cmBuilder, we have found an effective communication tool for site logistics planning and scheduling."
-Matthew Hamann
If you would like to learn more about how cmBuilder can help you on your next project, contact a product specialist today.
