Construction technology spreads in South Florida

From left: Ryan Shear, Marlins Stadium construction and Brian Meltzer

Several new technologies have enabled South Florida developers and construction companies in recent years to build more efficiently than ever before.

Through building information modeling – or BIM – companies can create a 3-D model in the design phase, and virtually plan each stage of the project before construction starts. Increasingly, BIM is used for complex developments, such as hospitals and other medical facilities.

“By the end of 2010, when the economy was better, we saw building owners couldn’t afford to be as wasteful,” Hector Camps, president of Miami-based tech consulting firm PHI Cubed and chair of the nonprofit BuildingSMART Alliance, told The Real Deal. “There is greater pressure from ownership to reduce waste and costs.”

Camps points to the $640 million Marlins Stadium project in Miami as one of the best local uses of the technology. Boston-based Suffolk Construction linked a model to its construction schedule. Software helped prevent three different trades from simultaneously the same workspace, and coordinate deliveries of construction equipment. The ballpark at 501 Marlins Way opened last year.

“The more prudent we can up front, the more efficient we can be in the field,” said Brian Meltzer, president of the Miami operations of New York-based Plaza Construction.

Plaza Construction relies on Multivista software, a visual construction documentation provider, to pinpoint problems or errors during the building process. Multivista technicians take photos at the same location during each construction milestone. This way, companies can address a legal claim – or double-check if the pipes were insulated before drywall was installed.

Ryan Shear, managing partner at developer Property Markets Group, is more resistant to implementing BIM for his projects. He said he has not seen it make much of a difference in terms of use of time and resources. To aid the consumer, condominiums at Property Markets Group’s high-end towers Echo Aventura and Echo Brickell come wired for iPads, iPod minis and other electronics. It is billed as the “Apple package,” and is included in the asking price, Shear said.

“Our technology is for ease of the buyer, not for ease of construction,” Shear said.

But, according to Camps, nearly every construction service provider in South Florida has retooled their building process between 2006 and now. Some invested in new technologies and went back to college to brush up, he said.

“The building industry is notoriously known for not competing in technology,” Camps said. “They’re deeply rooted in tradition. Now you’re seeing that change.”

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