How Cloud-Based Coordination Helped Granger Construction Keep a Complex Hospital Project on Budget and Schedule
Key takeaways
- Granger Construction used Autodesk BIM Collaborate within Autodesk Forma to centralize coordination on a $68 million hospital project.
- Automatic clash detection and live model access helped the team resolve issues earlier and reduce budget and schedule risk.
- Cloud-based coordination gave subcontractors and project partners broader access while keeping permissions and status control in place.
- Sectioning the campus building by building helped Granger Construction manage a four-building hospital with prefabrication and structural steel elements.
- Autodesk Revit notifications into BIM Collaborate let Darrah Leach review clashes quickly and keep the project moving.
How did cloud-based coordination help Granger Construction keep a complex hospital project on budget and schedule?
Granger Construction used Autodesk BIM Collaborate within Autodesk Forma to centralize coordination, detect clashes automatically, and help project partners resolve issues earlier. On the Caro Psychiatric Hospital project, that approach improved collaboration and communication, reduced confusion about which model to use, and helped the team stay on budget and schedule.
Darrah Leach, VDC manager at Granger Construction, said, “Without BIM Collaborate, we would have had challenges identifying where those additional supports would have been put in place. This would have sidetracked our whole coordination effort causing budget overruns and schedule delays.”
What made the Caro Psychiatric Hospital project difficult to coordinate?
The Caro Psychiatric Hospital project was difficult to coordinate because the state of Michigan contracted Granger Construction to replace an aging facility with a $68 million, 127,000-square-foot construction spread across four buildings. The campus also included prefabrication and structural steel elements, which created complex coordination needs across multiple disciplines.
The metal trusses and bracing required close coordination with ductwork and piping, and extra bracing and framing introduced additional coordination demands. Granger Construction needed a deeper level of coordination to keep the work aligned across the full project team.
How did Autodesk BIM Collaborate and Autodesk Forma change Granger Construction’s coordination workflow?
Autodesk BIM Collaborate within Autodesk Forma gave Granger Construction a cloud-based coordination environment that made issue resolution faster and more accessible. Granger Construction had initially been using Navisworks for project coordination, but the team moved to BIM Collaborate when the project needed stronger multi-trade engagement and communication.
The team was able to section the buildings and focus coordination building by building. Because the solution is cloud-based, anyone with permission could clear clashes without needing expertise in Navisworks. Darrah Leach said the process was “all instant and automated,” which helped the team stay accountable and allowed more meaningful discussion about what needed to be done.
BIM Collaborate also made coordination accessible to more project partners. Architects, trades, VDC experts, and project managers could all work in the same environment and share live data regardless of location.
How did cloud collaboration give subcontractors and project partners broader access without losing control of the process?
Cloud collaboration gave subcontractors and project partners broader access by putting coordination in one shared, permissioned environment while preserving oversight. Granger Construction could let people clear clashes, review updates, and engage with the model without requiring every participant to be a coordination specialist.
That mattered on a project where some people could not attend every meeting or worked in different time zones. Darrah Leach said, “When everyone has access to the same thing, there’s no confusion about what file we’re supposed to be using.” He added that people could update the model from another time zone and he could still see it.
The result was greater transparency and more accountability without losing control of the process. The BIM manager could spend less time on routine coordination and more time on higher-value issues.
How did automatic clash detection help Granger Construction resolve issues faster?
Automatic clash detection helped Granger Construction identify potential issues earlier and move to a clash-resolved model faster. By maintaining communication in one place and in real time, BIM Collaborate gave the team a faster way to spot conflicts and respond before they became field problems.
Granger Construction also involved subcontractors earlier in the process so they could self-check their work as they went. That saved time, padded the coordination timeline, and helped the team deliver quality models.
Darrah Leach explained, “Getting the plans in front of the subs earlier moves the process along faster. When they push notifications from Autodesk Revit into BIM Collaborate, I can immediately review, remove clashes, and change the status. Cloud-based coordination keeps us on track with schedule and budget.”
What project outcomes did Granger Construction see from centralized cloud coordination?
Centralized cloud coordination helped Granger Construction increase accountability, save time, improve quality, and reduce costs on the Caro Psychiatric Hospital project. By keeping all communication in one place and giving the full project team access to the same live model, Granger Construction could resolve issues faster and keep the work aligned across disciplines.
The approach helped the team stay on track with schedule and budget while supporting better collaboration across the hospital campus. It also reduced confusion, improved access for remote participants, and allowed the BIM manager to focus on the issues that mattered most.
Granger Construction’s experience showed how cloud-based coordination can support better project outcomes on complex healthcare builds by making coordination more transparent, more accountable, and easier to manage across multiple buildings and teams.
Frequently asked questions
How can cloud-based coordination help keep a complex hospital project on budget and on schedule?
Cloud-based coordination helps keep a complex hospital project on budget and on schedule by centralizing communication, automating clash detection, and letting teams resolve issues earlier in one shared model.
What are the biggest coordination challenges on a multi-building hospital campus project, and how can BIM collaboration help manage them?
The biggest challenges are managing multiple buildings, prefabrication, structural steel, trusses, bracing, ductwork, and piping at the same time. BIM collaboration helps by letting teams section the work, share live data, and coordinate in one environment.
How do construction teams use automatic clash detection to reduce coordination issues before they hit the jobsite?
Construction teams use automatic clash detection to identify conflicts in the model early, review them quickly, and update the status before the work reaches the field. That reduces rework, confusion, and delays.
How can subcontractors and project partners be given broader access to model coordination without losing control of the process?
Subcontractors and project partners can be given broader access through a permissioned cloud platform that lets them review, update, and self-check their work while the project lead still controls status changes and oversight.
What does cloud collaboration actually improve on a large healthcare build compared with traditional coordination methods?
Cloud collaboration improves access, transparency, accountability, and speed. It keeps communication in one place, lets remote stakeholders update the model, and reduces dependence on a single coordination specialist.
How can Autodesk BIM Collaborate and Autodesk Forma be used together on a complex construction project?
Autodesk BIM Collaborate can be used within Autodesk Forma to coordinate models in the cloud, detect clashes automatically, and support collaboration across architects, trades, VDC experts, and project managers.
How do VDC teams support schedule and cost performance on hospital construction projects using cloud-based coordination tools?
VDC teams support schedule and cost performance by resolving clashes faster, keeping the team accountable, and helping subcontractors self-check earlier so the project can move toward a clash-resolved model sooner.