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How Miller-Davis Company Leverages Autodesk Construction Cloud to Drive Efficiencies on a Complex Montessori School Project

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Miller-Davis Company (Miller-Davis), a full-service construction company located in Kalamazoo, Michigan, takes a unique approach to implementing technology by aligning people, process, and technology to ensure success. Selected to oversee the reconstruction of a high-end Montessori School in northern Michigan, Miller-Davis decided to deploy Autodesk Build and Pype AutoSpecs within Autodesk Construction Cloud™ to meet tight timelines and coordinate with multidisciplinary teams.


Implementing New Construction Management Tools to Foster Greater Collaboration

With their previous construction management solution, the team noticed gaps in their workflows and processes. Miller-Davis’ leadership team challenged Strategic Process & VDC Specialist Ariel Castillo and Project Executive Pete Hill to find a state-of-the-art solution to help their company grow, attract new talent, and build relationships with subcontractors. That’s what led them to partner with Autodesk to adopt Autodesk Build and Pype AutoSpecs on the 85,000 sq ft Montessori School project.
 

“Autodesk is investing heavily to create a one-stop-shop platform that connects data and has interoperability between solutions. With the availability of Autodesk Construction Cloud, we started thinking about the possibilities of having a common data environment and more seamless integration between the solutions we use. We selected the Montessori School project as the pilot due to its size, scope, and schedule, which would allow us to test the full capabilities of Autodesk Build.”

Ariel Castillo
Strategic Process & VDC Specialist


How a Common Data Environment Provides Greater Collaboration across Project Teams

Over 80 people have access to Autodesk Build on the Montessori School project. Having information stored and accessible in one location eliminates the risk of teams not having the most up-to-date information, which can cause rework, schedule delays, and cost overruns. In addition to teams working with more confidence, with one place for RFIs and submittals, teams can easily manage the process and quickly see the status of an RFI or submittal, next steps, assignee, and track progress.

In addition to a more streamlined and transparent RFI and submittals process, Miller-Davis uses the Meetings tool in Autodesk Build to facilitate more organized and actionable meetings. With the agenda created directly in Autodesk Build, teams can link to high-priority issues, RFIs, and submittals to document decisions and drive faster resolution.
 

“Autodesk Build empowers our teams to work more efficiently and have a higher level of coordination and communication. Our previous construction management solution did not have these capabilities and served more as a file storage system. With the flexibility of Autodesk Build, we can seamlessly manage RFIs and gain more visibility into the process, drive accountability across teams, and get to the resolution faster.”

Pete Hill
Project Executive


Automating the Submittals Log Process to Streamline Project Delivery

Miller-Davis uses Pype AutoSpecs to modernize the tedious, manual workflows traditionally required with submittal log creation, such as copying and pasting data from specs to create a submittal log. By automating this process, the company reduces risk and human error, and can spend more time reviewing and understanding the project’s requirements. With a deeper understanding of the project specifications, Miller-Davis can create tailored “mini-logs” for subcontractors to improve communication and expectations upfront.

Miller-Davis is on a path to continuous improvement by adopting technology to improve its workflows. With Autodesk Build and Pype AutoSpecs, the company can achieve its goals to grow, attract new talent, and win more work by providing high-quality client deliverables.
 

“Pype AutoSpecs helps get our projects started faster by leveraging machine learning and AI to automate submittal log creation. What used to take us a week now takes two days. By streamlining this process, we can get requirements to our subcontractors sooner and transfer the submittal log directly into Autodesk Build.”

Pete Hill
Project Executive