MORTENSON

How Mortenson saved money on construction projects using VR walkthroughs

Construction experts Mortensen adopted VR in their 3D modelling to catch design flaws earlier and saved over £30,000 during a single data center build in Illinois.

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The Challenge

Traditional building information modelling (BIM) uses 3D models to present construction projects on two-dimensional screens, often incorporating aspects of the infrastructure such as electrical systems, mechanical pipework and heating, ventilation and air conditioning (HVAC).

While useful, Mortenson has found that presenting 3D objects with non-immersive tools has its limitations. These include:

Skill barriers – traditional BIM projects can be hard to follow, so stakeholders who don't understand complex software and design models may not be able to make sense of what they see.
Limited access – access to traditional BIM tools may be limited to members of the team in virtual design and construction (VDC) roles. Online screen sharing is a work-around but is restrictive. If 20 people are looking at a single model being driven by the VDC expert, it makes gathering feedback more difficult than it needs to be.
Missing critical issues – traditional BIM tools automatically flag design clashes but might not capture all issues. Teams using 2D representations of 3D models might miss safety and accessibility issues not directly represented in how the model is developed.

About the company

Mortenson, headquartered in Minneapolis, has built their reputation as a top-20 builder and developer across sports facilities, renewable energy and healthcare projects. Building Design + Construction magazine ranks the firm as the sixth largest data center builder in the US, having completed over 375 facilities.

Industry

Construction

Brian Nahas,
Director of Virtual Design and Construction,
Mortenson

“

The scalability of VR technology amidst the pandemic drove a unique way of collaboration, which will continue to influence our ways of working into the future.

WHY VR

Why VR?

Mortenson saw the value of immersive technologies in being able to truly experience a building before a single brick is laid. Here are some of the reasons they chose Quest:

Safety – Setting up an immersive working area without compromising spatial awareness is key. The Quest 2 and Quest Pro's capability to set boundaries and overlay 3D models over users' real-world view has been especially useful for 1:1 scale models.
Networked headsets – Bringing team members together in a virtual environment is an important motivator, especially among hybrid teams. It's possible to bring up to 50 people together in VR, so contributors can join from wherever they're based in real time.
Ease of use – Meta headsets work out of the box without the need for a powerful computer connection. Pick-up and go capabilities have not only made it easy for team members to use the devices but have also made establishing organization-wide processes for the use of VR a simpler task.

The Solution

Mortenson purchased 35 Meta Quest 2s, 10 Meta Quest Pros and various other Meta Quest devices to make BIM accessible for everyone. The construction experts create virtual twins of building projects and use the virtual collaboration app Resolve to handle the largest and most complex of designs, bringing stakeholders who usually take a backseat to the front and center of the review process.

With just one hour of training, Mortenson employees with no prior experience of VR become self-sufficient using the software. Once models are linked to the powerful app, new versions sync seamlessly to reflect the latest design tweaks and amends. It’s not just internal workflows that benefit but more collaborative ways of working too. Models uploaded by external consultants are ready to review in VR in minutes.

As well as seamless integration, from document management systems to headsets, Resolve also powers a smoother review process. From 3D room names on floors to high-contrast colors, and Meta avatars to the app’s collaboration tools, Resolve allows stakeholders to review and comment on designs simultaneously. Time spent discussing issues outside of reviewing sessions has dramatically decreased.

For those issues that demand extra attention, Mortenson syncs Resolve with issue tracking software that allows project teams to prioritize and find solutions in an efficient way.

ISV FACT FILE

Why Resolve?

Resolve helps construction companies turn their traditional BIM files into digital twins that can be explored in VR to ensure a high standard of safety and efficiency on building projects.

Working with Mortenson was a natural fit. Resolve’s software was easy to get to grips with for new team members, and once models were linked from the project’s document management platform, everything synced seamlessly to reflect the latest updates and amends.

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Taylor Gilmore,
Operating Group Integrated Construction Director,
Mortenson

“

Resolve is the only application that can handle the large federated models of our Data Center projects on both the Quest 2 and Quest Pro... That's important for the scale of information we need to achieve.

The Results

One of Mortenson's greatest VR success stories came during their work on a hyperscale data centre in DeKalb, Illinois. 50 reviewers spanning four states and ten companies walked through 3D models of the data center to raise more than 600 issues. For example:

While virtually simulating a maintenance procedure, the team discovered that end feed boxes were blocked by light fixtures. Fixing the problem before it made it to the field saved an estimated $26,500.
Short electrical conduits were pulled closer to cable trays without obstruction saving approximately $12,000.

Ryan Zoldan,
Integrated Construction Manager,
Mortenson

“

Meta Quest 2 and Resolve allow us to collaborate at a whole new scale.