Electrical contractors are turning more and more to prefabrication in order to increase labor productivity and profitability. Prefab processes compress the scheduled time to project completion, decrease materials waste, increase safety, and make optimum use of the existing labor force.
Using the appropriate technology, here are seven ways to support your prefab processes:
1. Advanced trade contractors use cloud-based tech solutions to plan, track, manage, and continuously improve their process from design through installation. A cloud-based platform can enable you to do more prefabrication through kitting, custom forms and field requests. Technology example: GTP Stratus
2. Implementing enterprise level production and materials management solutions will help all key stakeholders across the design, build and install process. Technology example: Manufacton
3. Building information modeling (BIM) is your best friend when you’re facing complex projects with technical challenges. Expertise with and a solid foundation built on BIM facilitates prefabrication, and prefab benefits your projects. Technology example: Autodesk Revit
4. Grow in stages. When you’re making changes in your prefab process, you can’t do everything all at once. Take smaller, successful steps. With the use of certain technology tools, companies can take a week-long process and complete it in a day. If you manage your growth well, in the long run, you can perform faster, smarter and do a more cost-effective job for your clients. Technology example: eVolve MEP
5. Get buy in for your BIM processes from the teams involved. When employees are given the opportunity to help drive the project forward, it becomes their project, too. Although there will always be one or two people who are not interested in change, don’t allow them to drag down the momentum of your project.
6. Embrace a company culture that helps push your technical boundaries. As each team member strives to be the best, it improves the entire company’s achievements. To grow and advance, you’ve got to let employees know it’s acceptable to fail as long as you analyze the lessons learned to avoid the same mistakes again.
7. Use “lean construction” principles. And lean construction isn’t as complicated as some people may think. Basically, you need to be thoughtful in every decision you make and avoid waste.
During MEP Force 2020 Virtual, Jason Barber, with Manufacton, and Robert Britton, with Britton Electric, talked about how to grow the prefabrication component of a business. To hear the session “How to Optimize Your Electrical Prefab Process” on demand, navigate through the MEP Force agenda to Tuesday, September 1, 2020 at 3:30 pm.
Trade contractors look to eVolve MEP software to save time and increase productivity when working with assemblies in HVAC, plumbing and electrical BIM. Check out the eVolve MEP case studies to see how companies are saving time and getting more work done with eVolve MEP.
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ATLANTA -- EVOLVE announces a wave of updates to its suite of software for MEP contractors and prefab shops. These updates introduce new features, improved functionality, and bug fixes to enhance users' experience. One of the key updates is the addition of 3D model...
