AMPAM Parks Mechanical to Acquire AEC Factory
Acquisition Enables AMPAM Parks Mechanical to Expand its Leadership Role in the Growing Multi-Residential BIM Market.
Los Angeles, California, November 21, 2014: AMPAM Parks Mechanical and AEC Factory today announced that they have signed a Definitive Agreement under which AMPAM Parks Mechanical will acquire the services division of AEC Factory, including intellectual property, world-class technologists and technologies related to Autodesk Revit and Fabrication MEP products and services.
The Agreement enables AMPAM to further focus its efforts as the leader in the multi-residential Building Information Modeling (BIM) market. Building Information Modeling (BIM) is the process involving the generation and management of digital representations of physical and functional characteristics of places. Building information models (BIMs) are proprietary files which can be exchanged or networked to support decision-making about a place. Use of BIM goes beyond the planning and design phase of the project, extending throughout the building life cycle, supporting processes including cost management, construction management, project management and facility operation. Participants in the building process are constantly challenged to deliver successful projects despite tight budgets, limited manpower, accelerated schedules, and limited or conflicting information. The significant disciplines such as architectural, structural and MEP designs should be well coordinated, as two things can’t take place at the same place and time. Building Information Modeling aids in collision detection at the initial stage, identifying the exact location of discrepancies.
The BIM concept visualizes virtual construction of a facility prior to its actual physical construction, in order to reduce uncertainty, improve safety, work out problems, and simulate and analyze potential impacts. Sub-contractors from every trade can input critical information into the model before beginning construction, with opportunities to pre-fabricate or pre-assemble some systems off-site. Waste can be minimized on-site and products delivered on a just-in-time basis rather than being stock-piled on-site. Quantities and shared properties of materials can be extracted easily. Scopes of work can be isolated and defined. Systems, assemblies and sequences can be shown in a relative scale with the entire facility or group of facilities. BIM also prevents errors by enabling conflict or \’clash detection\’ whereby the computer model visually highlights to the team where parts of the building (e.g.: structural frame and building services pipes or ducts) may wrongly intersect. BIM can bridge the information loss associated with handing a project from design team, to construction team and to building owner/operator, by allowing each group to add to and reference back to all information they acquire during their period of contribution to the BIM model. This can yield benefits to the facility owner or operator. For example, a building owner may find evidence of a leak in his building. Rather than exploring the physical building, he may turn to the model and see that a water valve is located in the suspect location. He could also have in the model the specific valve size, manufacturer, part number, and any other information ever researched in the past.
Dynamic information about the building, such as sensor measurements and control signals from the building systems, can also be incorporated within BIM to support analysis of building operation and maintenance. Due to the complexity of gathering all the relevant information when working with BIM on a building project some companies have developed software designed specifically to work in a BIM framework. These packages (e.g.: Autodesk Revit) differ from architectural drafting tools such as AutoCAD by allowing the addition of further information (time, cost, manufacturers\’ details, sustainability and maintenance information, etc.) to the building model.
About AMPAM Parks Mechanical AMPAM Parks Mechanical is a full service plumbing and mechanical contractor that specializes in the design and build of plumbing systems for large multi-residential buildings throughout California.
AMPAM Parks Mechanical’s unique model introduced the concept of professionalism to a fragmented market that previously did not meet the level of sophistication that its customers had achieved, and were increasingly demanding from their vendors. The majority of businesses in the industry operate in a reactive manner, meaning they react to a developer’s request with the required service. The design/build model enables AMPAM Parks Mechanical to take a consulting role with its clients, acting in a cooperative manner to provide a full range of services. The Company offers architectural design, design-assist, installation or full design/build services. This versatile mix allows us to cater to customer demand for various projects, as well as generate opportunities to get entrenched with their customers to become an integral value-added service provider.
As most of AMPAM Parks Mechanical’s business is referral-based, it puts a premium on customer satisfaction. The Company’s goal is to save its customers money by being ahead of schedule on its installation timetable. Every month the rental property is under construction rather than generating income, costs a developer a significant amount of money. When one contractor is ahead of schedule on a job, it enables, and in some cases forces, other contractors on the same job to keep pace. All construction projects require numerous contracting services such as concrete, framing, plumbing, electrical, drywall, and finishing. AMPAM Parks Mechanical aims to not just to meet its schedule, but to be far enough ahead to allow the other trades on a project to meet their schedules as well. While this philosophy seems to be all about schedule, it is also about price, professionalism, value-added service, speed, quality and reliability. These factors combine to drive the pace of work on a job site and create high levels of customer satisfaction for the owners and developers of a project.
About AEC Factory AEC Factory is an Autodesk and Bluebeam Channel Partner as well as an Autodesk Authorized Training Center serving greater Southern California. The AEC Factory consulting team specializes in pre-construction services from BIM Coordination to Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) mock-ups including fabrication level Mechanical, Electrical, Plumbing, and Fire Protection model development and 4D simulation. AEC Factory provides pre-construction coordination services, constructability reviews, and Revit project audits to some of the nation’s premier design and construction companies and learning institutions. AEC Factory has a successful record of transitioning Design and Construction firms from 2D to 3D coordination and pre-fabrication.
AEC Factory provides a unique mix of technology tools, workflows, and construction knowledge that is difficult to find in today’s market. Their team acts as an embedded resource and team member on many active construction projects in California. BIM coordination is one of AEC Factories biggest strengths, coupled with their knowledge and practical use supporting some of the industry’s best design tools. As an Autodesk Authorized Training Center, AEC Factory has trained hundreds of design and construction professionals in the use of Autodesk’s Design Suites, including Autodesk Revit Architecture, Revit MEP, AutoCAD, Civil 3D, and Navisworks. “We are very excited about moving our pre-construction services division to the AMPAM family. This move will allow AEC Factory to continue to support the building and construction industries throughout the western U.S. with a deeper bench and unprecedented resources allowing us to realize our vision of what VDC can truly achieve . The Autodesk and Bluebeam software business will remain unaffected and will continue to operate and will be re-branded in early 2015.”, said Roger Charbonneau, CEO of AEC Factory.
Founded in 2009, AEC Factory has become the go-to consulting firm for many of Southern California’s best general contractors, sub-contractors, design and engineering firms as well as institutional clients.