Do you still use a rotary phone or have you upgraded to a smartphone? Do you use a map while driving or GPS? These may seem like funny questions as it may seem silly to continue using obsolete technologies for reasons other than nostalgia. Why is the design and construction industry still using 2D drawings to relay ideas to clients?

Our design and build industry has been business as usual for the past couple hundred years.  Clients are shown 2D drawings to understand their home or structure and then build based off of 2D drawings. Why is this?

Michael Rath, CEO of Trilogy Partners, asked himself this question in 2008, he was fed up of the old ways where clients had an architect, builder and designer all essentially speaking different languages and not communicating to each other. This old model of how to build leads to projects being over budget, over scheduled and not the exciting and satisfying process that building your dream should be. He decided that it was time to break the mold and figure out a way where he could bring everyone together in one efficient working process. Michael found the 3D Modeling program SketchUp and he knew that this was how he was going to change how things would be done.

Michael wanted to create a collaborative process where everyone works from an exact 3D virtual model of a structure that is to be built. Where everyone involved, especially the client, knows exactly how the structure will look, feel and that every design and construction detail, down to the last nut and bolt, is answered for ahead of time. Ahead of any expensive mistakes! And so, Project Management Modeling was born.

Project Management Modeling (PMM) is a residential BIM (Building Information Modeling) solution combining project management, interior design and BIM that creates the most transparency and best results for our clients while saving money every step of the way.

“I love technology, I love being creative, I love collaborating with my clients and my subs and my engineers and I wanted to create an environment where everyone can do the best work possible and show it with everyone else in a collaborative open environment.” Rath

In most design and construction, especially in the residential genre, an architect will take the project so far and then usually hand it off to the engineer who hands it off to the builder. And then an interior designer steps in and you realize your Grandma’s heirloom bed wont fit into the guest room! The client is looking one way and then the next while those disciplines are not talking to each other. Everyone is separate. “It’s not well integrated. It is frustrating!” There wasn’t a BIM alternative for residential projects and something had to change. For Michael, the clients are the most important thing. “It’s my job, my duty to create the best possible house for them.” And so it was important that he would create a solution in order to achieve this.

It is time for our industry to change. We need to take advantage of technological advances and have a little fun doing it. “We have VR now!” The subs, the builders, and the clients can “walk around” the model of the house to be built and see how it will look. They will witness where they need to make changes as if the structure is already built. This allows for changes to be made quickly and without any cost involved.

By utilizing the latest technologies we are able to avoid costly mistakes, be more efficient and sustainable but also be more creative and trying things we wouldn’t have been able to do before. Can you image having a waterfall in your living room? You don’t have to imagine, we can show you in a 3D Model. If you love it, we can build it! Trilogy’s Project Management Modeling is giving you the ability to try new things, to make a custom home truly unique for our clients. If we have the technologies to achieve great things then why not take advantage of this? At Trilogy, we are capitalizing on these technologies and we want you to join us on this exciting adventure.

To find out more about our Project Management Modeling that combines project management, interior design and residential BIM you can click here or contact us directly. We would love to chat to you.

Building Information Modeling and Project Management Modeling might be viewed as the same thing, heck they sound kind of similar, right? They have similarities, sure but to put it simply, the main difference between the two is that BIM is for the big guys doing huge multi-million dollar projects, and PMM is BIM plus project management for the rest of us.

“BIM is for the big guys, PMM is for the rest of us.”

BIM is used for large projects: skyscrapers, bridges, huge multi-family condos in large cities. But there was no residential BIM solution, so we needed to create one ourselves. We had to invent our own process that works for every stakeholder in a project, especially the client, with an added bonus of project management (not an aspect of BIM), and so Project Management Modeling was born.

“PMM was born out of a need for a simple client-focused project management tool.”

We wanted everyone to be on the same playing field and to serve the client first and foremost.

Project Management Modeling uses a geo-located 3D model of the home or structure to be built that has data of every single element needed to create the model in real life, even down to the interior finishes. We like to say that we build the structure twice, once in the computer and then again in real life. PMM allows us to show clients design details like the tile layout of an entire room in a 3D model as opposed to a piece of tile on a sample board, we vet the structure for build-ability to find issues and fix them before we ever break ground. PMM saves time, saves materials, saves money.

The PMM model is then used for project management. Framers can put on Virtual Reality glasses to see how the structure is framed, masons look at the model for stone layout, electricians can measure the model to see exactly where their electric box needs to go, plumbers know where to run lines to. All of this equals less supervision time and less mistakes on the job site. Again, cost savings every step of the way with PMM. Our estimating is so precise because every piece of the home or structure is in our PMM model. We estimate down to the last door handle so there are no surprises for our clients.

What does PMM do that BIM does not?

We took the best aspects of BIM (3D modeling, vetting a structure before building, having all subcontractors on the same page) and applied that to PMM. Then we kept going to add in project management and interior design. This saves large amounts of money on supervision costs and eliminates the unknown or a designer saying “trust me” when it comes to design decisions. It is BIM plus MANAGEMENT!

“Working with Trilogy Partners and their Project Management Modeling process I can be part of the design process and a decision maker in how the design looks and works, which makes it easier to fabricate. With other contractors I simply put their design into action which is not always considered from a welder’s point of view. Having my input be part of the process ensures a high-quality finished product that I am extremely proud of.” Brian Dunphy, Ark Fabrication

What about Structurals and MEP?

We are now putting structurals into our models. MEP (Mechanical Electrical and Plumbing) is not a complicated issue in single family residences. It will be in the commercial project we do and so we will include it there.

What is the biggest benefits to using PMM? 

Interiors and finishes. Data management. Not having to traipse around with client from one design store to another or deal with small samples and risk management. Using PMM for estimating and having our subcontractors use the model.

Are there any problems that face PMM?

The only problem we face is that a lot of our subcontractors don’t own a computer or iPad where they can view our 3D Model but where theres a will there’s a way. We incorporate workarounds. SketchUp Mobile Viewer is helpful and subs can use their smartphones. For something like tile we print out photos from our PMM model and hang it right in the room the tile is to be installed. A picture is worth a thousand words so our subs have a few thousand words of instruction around them.

What about geolocation? Can you do this in PMM?

Absolutely. It empowers our clients to know the exact view from their kitchen sink or master bedroom. We also use geolocation for solar studies so we are sure to optimize the sun’s warming effect in the winter and minimize that in the summer.

 “PMM is a solution for little guys and single family residence builders for whom BIM doesn’t work.”

Why doesn’t BIM work for the little guys exactly?

BIM is beefy and expensive to use. It was created for huge projects like the Freedom Tower in NYC or large bridges. It is expensive for a small contractor to employ on their projects. If BIM worked for us as a single family homebuilder then we would be using it. But it didn’t which is why we created Project Management Modeling.

Why should the industry be using PMM?

Lower costs, less mistakes and more efficient design are just a few of the reasons. If we can lower the cost of housing throughout the country and the globe then more people can afford housing. That is the big goal, to enable those who want to own a home to do so. We also want to be kinder to the the environment by having less waste. Houses can be designed better and smarter which means more efficient sizes, less heating costs, better environmental impact.

We use PMM because it works and builders love it, subs love it, designers love it. But most importantly our clients love it. That is reason enough for us.

Trilogy Partners is paving the way for both clients and industry professionals with its revolutionary Project Management Modeling process. Trilogy Design and Build team members have been working closely with Trimble SketchUp team members, building an important relationship between the two companies as they work to further develop the SketchUp based Project Management Modeling process to become an industry standard for the home building industry. 

Today is Part One of a Two part blog post release from SketchUp where Director of Marketing at SketchUp Mark Harrison interviews Trilogy Partners’ CEO Michael Rath. As Rath says in the interview, “a well executed SketchUp strategy, like the one we are using, not only results in a fantastic model, but also lowers project costs. That’s because we resolve construction problems in the model and not on the construction site, and because we embed supervision into the model, we save money.” It’s a no brainer. 

Read more about our Project Management Modeling process and contact us today to start the most creative and empowering process possible to design and build your dream home anywhere in the world! 

Welcome to the future of design and build, where seeing is believing.

SketchUp Blog: Project Management Modeling at Trilogy Partners: Part I