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In operation for just over a century, Barton Malow is a Detroit-based construction management firm specializing in projects that span industries like healthcare, energy, and education, among others. Touted as an industry leader, the company is known for innovation and a commitment to pioneering advances in construction. 

From humble beginnings, Barton Malow has expanded operations to 41 states, Canada, and Mexico and now supports over 3,500 employees. The company’s success over the years is due, in part, to collaborative and sustainable practices, including the use of cutting-edge technologies to support teams and systems. 

How has Barton Malow employed preconstruction tech to move its projects and the industry forward? 

The Limitations of Previous Preconstruction Planning

Preconstruction planning covers the scope of work completed before a project gets off the ground. It includes tasks like defining the goals of the project, creating budgets, conducting site reviews, obtaining permits, working out timelines and scheduling, and addressing potential risk factors. The process requires collaboration between clients, contractors, and designers and can be complex. 

It wasn’t long ago that the industry standard for planning involved handheld tools and clunky Excel spreadsheets that weren’t conducive to efficient and effective team collaboration. 

According to Elizabeth Geiser, who joined Barton Malow in 1999 and is now Vice President of Preconstruction Services, a typical project using Excel left a lot to be desired in terms of flexibility and transparency. That all changed as technology expanded, and Geiser was at the forefront of adopting the latest programs to improve the preconstruction process. 

New Programs Improving Accuracy and Convenience

It started with a move away from Excel to programs like MC2, an early construction project estimating software designed to calculate costs based on takeoff quantities, and WinEst, which allowed for more detailed estimates with a database-driven solution like Excel but with more user-friendly features. 

Today, Barton Malow, at the direction of Geiser, uses a variety of dedicated takeoff tools, including Bluebeam and Autodesk Takeoff. However, the company has also upgraded to Join, a project delivery platform that allows for easy collaboration between stakeholders like designers, construction teams, and clients. 

Versatile Features That Save Time and Money

In the relatively short time Barton Malow has been using Join, the platform has seen several upgrades, including the 2023 rollout of the “Scenarios” feature. This tool, which was designed to allow preconstruction teams to explore changing variables and their impact on timelines and budgets, is a major time-saver. 

Regarding previous explorations of the “what ifs” of preconstruction planning, Geiser says, “We had a day or two turnaround and had to come up with 10 or 15 different choices. Today, we can do that within an hour.” 

The Benefits Outweigh the Costs

Although Geiser admits the per-person cost of such software upgrades is steep, she emphasizes that the practical benefits save employees time and headaches, ultimately contributing to the company’s bottom line. While Barton Malow leads the way on this front, competitors enamored with its success may soon take similar strides. 

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