MCL Construction Leverages Autodesk Construction Cloud to Improve Project and Operational Performance

By: U.S. CAD on November 3, 2022
33. MCL Construction Case Study

Case Study: MCL Construction Leverages Autodesk Construction Cloud to Improve Project and Operational Performance Company-wide

Omaha, Nebraska-based full-service firm MCL Construction manages 180 full-time employees and an average of 80 projects at any given time. The company specializes in health care, religious and academic buildings, including new construction and remodels, but prides itself on taking projects of all sizes.

Since its inception in 1987, MCL has shown continuous growth and innovation to remain at the top of the industry. The company was an early adopter of the Autodesk BIM 360 Field platform, part of Autodesk Construction Cloud, and initially implemented the original version of Vela Systems. MCL wanted to leverage all of the program’s features while getting more of its employees and subcontractors to use it. That’s when they turned to U.S. CAD to help with training and expanding their use of Autodesk products.

Overcoming Challenges Through Technology

MCL’s relationship with U.S. CAD began in 2016 with training on the BIM 360 product. The construction manager wanted to highlight the power of the product and expand its use throughout the company.

U.S. CAD helped the project management team understand the features and functionality of BIM 360, including equipment management and how to create issues reporting. MCL was able to shift management of punch lists to BIM 360 and build facilities maintenance models in the system to hand over to clients. The company trialed the program while building a dental facility, with the goal of expanding use across projects over time.

In October 2018, U.S. CAD trained 80 MCL employees on the new generation of BIM 360. U.S. CAD developed a bespoke program to best meet MCL’s specific needs. A consultant sat down with company executives and project managers to understand how MCL wanted their teams to use BIM 360. They came up with three initial training modules around documents, project management and BIM 360 field functionality.

Supporting training

U.S. CAD led three days of training, going module-by-module with MCL’s project engineers and project managers to show them how to create projects in BIM 360 and set up checklists to standardize and streamline processes.

They also implemented the management software, which required additional executive training to increase usage. The U.S. CAD-led training highlighted data analytics and the overview module to focus on company-level reporting, so executives could see high-risk trends, activities and what was going on with projects, giving them a clearer understanding of the business as a whole.

MCL used the overview module to track the completion of safety and equipment-inspection checklists daily. Executives learned to gauge how projects were being managed through the module, which helped them find ways to improve efficiency and understand which contractors had a better record of delivering quality projects safely and on time. U.S. CAD also brought in an Autodesk representative to sit in on the trainings to offer additional support and tips for using the software.

The U.S. CAD-led training highlighted data analytics and the overview module to focus on company-level reporting,  so executives could see high-risk trends, activities, and what was going on with projects, giving them a clearer understanding of the business as a whole.

How U.S. CAD Helped Improve Efficiency

As MCL found, it’s not enough to invest in technology and expect employees and contractors to use it. Getting the most out of the applications takes time and extensive training. That includes demonstrating the benefits and ways the program can improve efficiency.

Standardization

Over the past three years, MCL has experienced significant growth, adding many projects and personnel. For a company whose volume is spread over more projects, standardization of processes and data creates significant gains in efficiency.

Before 2018, the company only used BIM 360 Field on a handful of projects. When BIM 360 expanded from field to include project management functionality, MCL used the opportunity to standardize their software and centralize data and processes.

Prior to implementing BIM 360 across departments, MCL had a lot of variance in access to project documentation. BIM 360 helped MCL improve access to drawings through the cloud and gave everyone 24/7 access to projects from any location. The platform offered project managers better standardization of tools such as safety checklists, equipment-maintenance reports and other information about each job.