Luke Hunter, Founder & Managing DirectorWith the aim of eliminating wasted time and resources in construction, Insight BIM specializes in customizing the Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect platforms, specifically for construction firms who have their own unique methodologies and IP, through its bespoke and agile Pre-Construction Automation Programs. “We believe that the majority of waste in construction can be avoided during pre-construction. Our mission is to connect companies to the future of construction automation with profit and productivity driven workflows and platforms that link to the latest in construction technology,” explains Luke Hunter, founder and managing director of Insight BIM. The company works with construction firms in identifying their uniqueness in the market and creating pre-defined options, in advance, to meet the needs of the specific market they are targeting. “With our pre-construction automation strategy, clients get a clear path toward winning more projects without competing on cost but providing a higher value than the competitors.”
Empowering Clients with Pre- Construction Automation
Hunter says, “With open API platforms such as Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect, there are almost limitless possibilities to customize and automate entire pre-construction processes. However, the power and potential of these BIM platforms are not realized completely." Insight BIM’s pre-construction automation programs eliminate manual processes prone to human error during the pre-construction phase of a project, from costing through to onsite project management. The programs focus on virtual construction model automation.
In the beginning, Insight BIM creates a ‘Construction Automation Strategy’ to determine the client’s current stage in construction and where they would like to be at a specific point in the future. Insight BIM can create a roadmap from this that aligns with the client’s mission and values as well as provide clarity and focus for both. The company then works on standardization. “We pull each structure type into individual pieces, give them specific names, codes, and properties. From here, we establish all pre-defined options for each structure type—heights, widths, roof pitches, materials, and orientations, to name a few,” explains Hunter. The next phase is that of automating and streamlining the entire project costs and processes.
With our pre-construction automation strategy, clients get a clear path toward winning more projects without competing on cost but providing a higher value than the competitors
The virtual construction model is the focal point from which all information and communication are collected. “Here, our first step is creating parametric custom connections that work for all pre-defined options, allowing the virtual construction model to automatically update when changes are made,” mentions Hunter.
Insight BIM then develops simple, easy-to-use ‘Tekla automation tools’ in the form of dialog boxes that run directly inside Tekla Structures and integrate all individual parts, custom connections, and pre-defined options. “We provide pre-defined and pre-engineered solutions for all variations of structures that clients specialize in,” he adds. This empowers clients to create and customize company-specific, fully detailed virtual construction models in about two minutes and train anyone virtually to do it. Following this step, the company customizes and streamlines the outputs required that come directly from the model like project cost, material orders, fabrication, and onsite assembly details. “We then customize and set up Trimble Connect for seamless virtual project management workflows,” says Hunter.
"At the end of the day, our mission is to contribute to global abundance by empowering construction companies with unique methodologies to dramatically reduce the time and cost of construction"
Finally, the company helps create and provide systems, procedures, and team training using the expertise gained through real projects for fast implementation. Insight BIM offers video and documented procedures for easy implementation and new team training with minimal disruption. Since everything comes directly from the virtual construction model, project costing is 100 percent accurate, which takes the guesswork out of project estimation. “We are training sales teams to create a fully detailed Tekla construction model and generate the entire project cost of all materials and labor in less than 10 minutes. At the same time, we are seeing reduced project processing times from an average of 50 hours to just 8 hours,” notes Hunter. Materials are being delivered to site weeks in advance. On the other hand, construction teams are assembling structures, looking at the same 3D model on tablets, and communicating virtually, which is dramatically reducing time spent on onsite project management. Insight BIM helps build a business strategy driven by virtual construction technology, designed to delight customers and drive measurable results. “We empower people in design and construction with technology and automation enabling them to reduce time spent on generating project costs and pre-construction deliverables by more than 80 percent,” says Hunter.
In addition, Insight BIM offers a structural design and analysis platform, StructurePro, which automatically completes a structural design and analysis after the Tekla model is uploaded. “We integrate full design and analysis into the Tekla automation tools we develop through the pre-construction automation program,” says Hunter. Clients then receive a digitally signed form from Insight BIM’s certified structural engineering team for building approvals in any state in Australia within three hours.
This alone enables a further 3–6 weeks reduction in the overall time it takes to complete each project. It should be noted that only those that go through the company’s pre-construction automation programs gain access to StructurePro and the enormous time and cost savings associated with it. At this stage, it is only available to Australian companies, but the company is completing the final stages of testing to attract and work with international companies as well.
Maximizing Productivity at Lower Costs
What gives Insight BIM a leading edge in the market is its team. “We are building a family of people and organizations who value innovation and strive to be the best at what they do to positively impact the industry and change lives. Not only the lives of their clients but also the team that make up the organization,” says Hunter. The highly skilled team is dedicated to implementation, is driven by results, and is relationship focused. What is more, the company’s agile approach allows them to build real, lasting relationships with clients with a focus on positive disruption and change, leading to success for all parties involved, including end users. “We see our clients as partners rather than billable hours. For this reason, we are selective and only run a limited number of programs each year and have a limited number of organizations we work with at any one time,” points out Hunter.
Insight BIM has proven to be the partner of choice for maximizing productivity and profits by automating pre-construction projects for numerous companies. The success story of Superior Garages & Industrials stands as a testament to the company’s effectiveness in pre-construction. Since working with Insight BIM and implementing their pre-construction automation program, the client’s team productivity has skyrocketed, and material waste is at an all-time low. Consequently, the client is winning more projects by delivering proposals and project time schedules at a speed with which the competition cannot match. “Insight BIM continues to deliver outstanding results for us with a professional and dynamic team that strives to exceed all our expectations. All projects, both standard and complex, are now quoted and completed with confidence,” says Jeremy, Director and Structural Engineer, Superior Garages & Industrials.
With a track record of delivering projects faster at lower costs without forsaking quality, Insight BIM is moving forward to create more client success stories. In the next three years, the company will be expanding internationally after the initial focus to work with Australian organizations. At the moment, Insight BIM’s specialization is in Trimble’s Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect. “We are currently implementing a ‘learn as you work’ program for our team, which has so far been very successful. Each team member spends time throughout each day learning new skills that are of interest to them while also providing possible benefits to our company’s growth and those we work with,” says Hunter. The teams are being trained to develop Autodesk and Bentley products as well to reach out to a wider audience and increase their impact on the construction industry. “At the end of the day, our mission is to contribute to global abundance by empowering construction companies with unique methodologies to dramatically reduce the time and cost of construction. We hope to attract and work with organizations that are creating solutions to positively impact the way we live and work,” concludes Hunter.
Maximizing Productivity at Lower Costs
What gives Insight BIM a leading edge in the market is its team. “We are building a family of people and organizations who value innovation and strive to be the best at what they do to positively impact the industry and change lives. Not only the lives of their clients but also the team that make up the organization,” says Hunter. The highly skilled team is dedicated to implementation, is driven by results, and is relationship focused. What is more, the company’s agile approach allows them to build real, lasting relationships with clients with a focus on positive disruption and change, leading to success for all parties involved, including end users. “We see our clients as partners rather than billable hours. For this reason, we are selective and only run a limited number of programs each year and have a limited number of organizations we work with at any one time,” points out Hunter.
Insight BIM has proven to be the partner of choice for maximizing productivity and profits by automating pre-construction projects for numerous companies. The success story of Superior Garages & Industrials stands as a testament to the company’s effectiveness in pre-construction. Since working with Insight BIM and implementing their pre-construction automation program, the client’s team productivity has skyrocketed, and material waste is at an all-time low. Consequently, the client is winning more projects by delivering proposals and project time schedules at a speed with which the competition cannot match. “Insight BIM continues to deliver outstanding results for us with a professional and dynamic team that strives to exceed all our expectations. All projects, both standard and complex, are now quoted and completed with confidence,” says Jeremy, Director and Structural Engineer, Superior Garages & Industrials.
With a track record of delivering projects faster at lower costs without forsaking quality, Insight BIM is moving forward to create more client success stories. In the next three years, the company will be expanding internationally after the initial focus to work with Australian organizations. At the moment, Insight BIM’s specialization is in Trimble’s Tekla Structures and Trimble Connect. “We are currently implementing a ‘learn as you work’ program for our team, which has so far been very successful. Each team member spends time throughout each day learning new skills that are of interest to them while also providing possible benefits to our company’s growth and those we work with,” says Hunter. The teams are being trained to develop Autodesk and Bentley products as well to reach out to a wider audience and increase their impact on the construction industry. “At the end of the day, our mission is to contribute to global abundance by empowering construction companies with unique methodologies to dramatically reduce the time and cost of construction. We hope to attract and work with organizations that are creating solutions to positively impact the way we live and work,” concludes Hunter.
June 24, 2019
