CSArch: dRofus helps drive standardization in a midsize architecture firm
CSArch is a widely recognized design firm in the state of New York,
providing architecture, engineering and construction management
services. With in-house expertise in every aspect of project delivery,
they were looking for a solution to help them improve communication
between Project Managers, Project Teams and Clients to better
manage project programs, design requirements, and scope.
Volker Husel, AIA, a Senior Associate and BIM Manager at CSArch,
was given the task of finding the right software to bridge these gaps
in their current workflow. Their use of Excel and Revit wasn’t letting
them fully leverage their market-based knowledge to efficiently
record and share project requirements with their teams. “We initially
looked into dRofus to find a tool to help us communicate program
and scope. We had no good way to discover changes or problems
until the owner walked through the building.”
Passing the Litmus Test
CSArch was convinced dRofus was the right solution, so Volker
enacted his unique approach to rolling out new software. While many
will immediately pilot software on a project, they select a project and
run it in a test environment parallel to the project’s development
where he tests workflows and documents them. “Whenever you
present a new software to a team, you want to eliminate the ‘this
doesn’t work’ mentality. This approach allows me to say with
confidence that it does and show them how.”
dRofus Exceeds Expectations
The initial plan was to use dRofus to help manage project programs,
but they quickly realized other benefits within the software. “dRofus
has changed everything about what BIM has meant to our staff…
project leaders are back in control of their projects.” The connection
to Revit opened “a whole new way of doing things.” Along with
benefiting from the core features of dRofus’ Revit integration, they
started exploring innovative ways to leverage the data such as
running occupancy calculations using dRofus and Dynamo scripts.
PM’s and Project Architects input occupancy requirements directly
into dRofus, which are quickly visualized and validated against designs inside Revit.
Another pleasant surprise was how quickly their Interior Design staff
took to dRofus for managing everything from interior finishes to
furniture specifications and procurement.
“Our Interior Designers went from spending large amounts of time managing furniture in Excel to using dRofus to assign items to rooms, attach products, and run reports.” The Interior Design team was his easiest group to sell since their process is inherently time-consuming. The ROI has been huge – “What took days to create now takes minutes.”
University at Albany, SUNY Sees Value
Adoption and development of company standards have been
organic. As they learn new features or ways to gain efficiency in
their workflows, Volker works with office leaders to integrate what
they’ve learned into their Office Standards dRofus database. From
room templates based on school design guidelines to interior finishes
best practices and customized reports, their company standards
continue to evolve, establishing a starting point for new projects.
The benefits of this standardization was realized when they exceed
the University at Albany, SUNY, expectations for delivering Room Data
Sheets. Using dRofus to standardize their design requirements, they
were able to deliver Room Data Sheets for 500 rooms in a fraction
of the time it used to take. Not only were they able to save time
producing the report in dRofus, but their client’s feedback was that
“it was unbelievable that a consultant provided such comprehensive
information.”
What’s Next
CSArch plans on continuing to explore new ways to integrate dRofus
into other aspects of their project delivery with an eye on streamlining
through data. Plans include using dRofus to help manage schematic
design narratives; integration with their Revit content management
platform; and providing value-added services to their clients through
“data deliverables” for improved handover for facility and asset
management.
What does Volker love most about dRofus? “Pushing data around
is fascinating to me. I can do anything with it. The flexibility to use
data as needed in dRofus is what excites me.”
