R.W. SMITH DESIGN/BUILD GOES 3D WITH B.I.M.

It’s full steam ahead for R.W. Smith & Co. when it comes to technology. The San Diego dealer’s Design/Build division has become one of the first kitchen-equipment design and contracting firms to provide in-house Building Image Modeling services. The company is transitioning all of its design and construction processes to B.I.M., which enables modeling and drafting functions to work collaboratively and more intelligently with general contractors and architects, according to Phillip Lewallen, manager of CAD services at R.W. Smith.

"We see the new B.I.M. technologies as an opportunity for foodservice to come into the construction process sooner and to provide a more functional end-product,” he says. Using Revit as their main modeling and drafting program, added Lewallen, “enables us to produce working drawings in a 3D model for clash detection from the same file.”

During the design process, B.I.M. shows clearances for personnel, access, rough-ins and kitchen-equipment hookups for plumbing, mechanical and electrical conduits. Progressing from design to shop drawings to clash detection from the very beginning of the project creates better coordination between the foodservice equipment designer/installer and other trade contractors to complete the overall job on time and on budget, Lewallen said.

The Design/Build division recently expanded its geographic reach by opening a Phoenix business development office to cover the Arizona, New Mexico and Texas markets. Randy Green, a 20-year veteran of the Southwest construction industry, is business development manager there.