Enabling faster, data-driven estimates and seamless trade collaboration across complex pre-construction workflows
Client Overview
The client is a reputed general contractor with a strong legacy in delivering affordable housing and historic rehabilitation projects across the United States. With over $1 billion in project value delivered and more than 55 completed projects, they have helped create homes for over 29,000 families, establishing themselves as a trusted partner in socially impactful construction.
Problem Statement
Operating in a highly competitive sector, the client’s pre-construction workflows were under increasing pressure to produce faster, more accurate estimates while also managing complex trade coordination. Manual quantity take-offs and siloed design reviews led to delays, inconsistencies, and reduced visibility for stakeholders. As their portfolio expanded, it became critical to digitize and streamline the pre-bid and coordination process to improve efficiency and minimize risk.
Key Challenges
- Time-consuming and error-prone quantity take-offs during pre-bid
- Trade coordination relying on fragmented, manual communication
- Limited ability to visualize design intent during early planning
- Inconsistent data and document management
- Difficulty collaborating across teams and platforms during pre-construction
- No standardized process for integrating models with bid workflows
DGTRA’s Approach & Solutions
DGTRA engaged with the client to digitize and optimize their pre-construction planning and coordination workflows, setting up a Revit-enabled system tailored to their operational needs and project types.
Key solutions delivered included:
- Pre-Bid Workflow Optimization: Mapped and streamlined the pre-bid process to eliminate redundant steps
- Automated Quantity Take-Offs: Established a rules-based system for accurate, model-driven take-off generation
- Trade Coordination Setup: Built a coordinated design environment to reduce clashes and improve constructability reviews
- Stakeholder Visualization Support: Provided 3D visual outputs to communicate design and sequencing intent early
- Centralized Data & Document Management: Implemented structured, collaborative spaces for data sharing and version control
- Cross-Platform Collaboration: Enabled cloud-based collaboration across project stakeholders and trade partners
Solution Ecosystem
DGTRA designed and implemented a modular digital solution ecosystem including:
- Model-based quantity extraction tools integrated with take-off logic
- Trade coordination workflows aligned with multi-disciplinary project timelines
- Visualization engines to convert data into presentation-ready formats
- Document control layers to ensure secure access and consistent file structure
- Interoperable platforms to enable seamless collaboration across contractors, designers, and engineers
All technologies and workflows were deployed in a vendor-agnostic manner to allow flexibility and future scalability.
Conclusion
DGTRA’s intervention transformed the client’s pre-construction planning into a digitally integrated, highly collaborative process. By introducing model-based take-offs and standardizing coordination practices, we helped reduce turnaround time, improve accuracy in estimates, and create better alignment between trades—all before construction began.
This approach not only improved bid confidence but also laid the foundation for smoother downstream execution. The client is now equipped to respond to bids faster, collaborate more effectively, and maintain a competitive edge in delivering high-impact, community-focused housing projects.
