EMJ’s Construction Technology (CT) team recently created a digital mock-up for EMJ Construction Special Projects’ Brookhaven Village retail project in Addison, Texas.
A digital mock-up is a 3D visual representation of proposed construction that allows a team to see how their current methods and materials will come to life on a project. Typically the architect designs the mock-up, but this can be complex when coordinating between owner, contractor and subcontractors.
Brian Tiehen, Quality Manager, saw an opportunity to utilize construction technology on the project. At the project kick-off meeting, Tiehen proposed that the CT team design a digital mock-up to submit to the architect to avoid delays.
EMJ Construction Special Projects Superintendent Tom Rue jumped at the opportunity. Within only a few days, Roger Aasheim, EMJ Virtual Construction Engineer II, had coordinated with him to create the mock-up.
“It’s a little bit like a Tetris puzzle,” Aasheim said. “We had to look at all the materials and possible situations and make them fit together in a small space. All the conditions need to be met for it to be useful.”
The digital mock-up allowed all parties to make necessary design adjustments before performing the full-scale structural mock-up.
“The beauty of this is being able to give the entire team a visual of how the mock-up should look,” said Rue. “You take that to the architect, they make several changes to their plans, and it simplifies the entire process before you’ve even started construction.”
“We sent it to the architect, and he approved it with minimal changes, which expedited the whole process,” Aasheim added.
The team then moved forward with the structural mock-up wall, giving the entire project team peace of mind to move forward efficiently into construction.
“I spoke with the architect after the fact, and he was absolutely thrilled,” Tiehen said. “Helping him get a visual representation together took something off his plate, made his job a lot easier, and set expectations for the project.”
The team’s efforts constructing this digital mock-up in only a few days served the team, the architect and ultimately the client to deliver an exceptional construction experience. Congratulations to the Brookhaven Village team on their proactive behavior!
