Rosendin's digital edge: an electrical contractor's journey to internal success

As one of the nation’s largest employee-owned electrical contractor, Rosendin Electric specializes in delivering innovative, high-quality electrical and communications solutions for complex construction projects while fostering a culture of safety and collaboration.

Empowering fieldwork, enhancing communication, and streamlining internal processes

Headquartered in San Jose, California, Rosendin Electric stands as a beacon in complex electrical construction projects, holding a renowned position in the global Electrical Contracting arena. By harnessing breakthrough technology and unparalleled in-house expertise, they consistently address and resolve up to 70% of project challenges before the first brick is laid. Since its beginning in 1919, Rosendin has steadfastly pledged to shield its clients and their ventures during intricate construction phases – periods marked by potential hazards, exposures, and many possibilities.

In 2019, Rosendin Electric made a decisive transition from other software to Revizto as their Integrated Collaboration Platform to streamline internal processes, communication, and project coordination. As a specialty subcontractor, Rosendin has really tapped into the platform’s full potential to gain value internally, and this case study captures the detailed insights from the Rosendin team that outline the advantages, benefits and outcomes achieved through their usage of Revizto.

Overcoming hurdles, harnessing opportunities

Before adopting Revizto, Rosendin Electric grappled with substantial challenges stemming from their reliance on other software for issuing assignments, tracking, and hosting coordination models. The discontinuation of that software needed a transition. Revizto surfaced as their chosen solution, bringing with it the advantages of assignment management, error tracking in modeling, and a standout clash detection capability. This transition significantly reduced Rosendin Electric's dependency on other products.

Revizto is a platform for communication between BIM and Field, BIM and PMS, and Field and PMS. It centrally locates a lot of tools in one place.
Jared Siebert | BIM Coordinator/Lead Detailer at Rosendin Electric

Challenges	Solutions
Outdated Technology Dependence Rosendin relied heavily on other software for operations. Its discontinuation left them with a void in their workflow and a heightened dependency on products they did not want to use.	Transition to a Comprehensive Tool With the adoption of Revizto, Rosendin found a robust solution that effectively filled the gap left by other software’s discontinuation, reducing their dependency on other products.
Operational Bottlenecks Manual assignments and tracking of sheets caused significant delays, with extensive projects taking up to a week and a half just for sheet management.	Efficiency in Sheet Management The integration of Revizto's new API allowed Rosendin to develop an application that streamlined sheet lifecycle tracking from over a week to mere minutes.
Communication Hurdles The absence of streamlined communication tools often led to misunderstandings between field and office teams, especially when coordinating large project teams across multiple stages.	Enhanced Communication & Collaboration Features like sheet overlays in Revizto improved installation clarity, fostering better coordination between field and office teams, regardless of the project or team's size.
Challenges in Software Transition Adopting new software was met with resistance due to the inherent learning curve. Many perceived this change as an unnecessary complication rather than a solution.	Overcoming Adoption Resistance One-on-one demos and mandates overcame initial hesitations, as team members recognized Revizto's utility, including spot elevation measurements and drawing overlays.
Manual Processes & Visualization Issues A lack of automation meant manual tasks (like sheet lifecycle tracking), leading to inefficiencies. Additionally, field teams faced challenges in visual representation, notably lacking features such as sheet overlays for clearer installations.	Automated Processes & Improved Visualizations Revizto automated manual processes, minimizing delays. Clash detection, filters, and search sets enhanced project management and visualization, leading to more integrated workflows.

Challenges

Solutions

Outdated Technology Dependence

Rosendin relied heavily on other software for operations. Its discontinuation left them with a void in their workflow and a heightened dependency on products they did not want to use.

Transition to a Comprehensive Tool

With the adoption of Revizto, Rosendin found a robust solution that effectively filled the gap left by other software’s discontinuation, reducing their dependency on other products.

Operational Bottlenecks

Manual assignments and tracking of sheets caused significant delays, with extensive projects taking up to a week and a half just for sheet management.

Efficiency in Sheet Management

The integration of Revizto's new API allowed Rosendin to develop an application that streamlined sheet lifecycle tracking from over a week to mere minutes.

Communication Hurdles

The absence of streamlined communication tools often led to misunderstandings between field and office teams, especially when coordinating large project teams across multiple stages.

Enhanced Communication & Collaboration

Features like sheet overlays in Revizto improved installation clarity, fostering better coordination between field and office teams, regardless of the project or team's size.

Challenges in Software Transition

Adopting new software was met with resistance due to the inherent learning curve. Many perceived this change as an unnecessary complication rather than a solution.

Overcoming Adoption Resistance

One-on-one demos and mandates overcame initial hesitations, as team members recognized Revizto's utility, including spot elevation measurements and drawing overlays.

Manual Processes & Visualization Issues

A lack of automation meant manual tasks (like sheet lifecycle tracking), leading to inefficiencies. Additionally, field teams faced challenges in visual representation, notably lacking features such as sheet overlays for clearer installations.

Automated Processes & Improved Visualizations

Revizto automated manual processes, minimizing delays. Clash detection, filters, and search sets enhanced project management and visualization, leading to more integrated workflows.

Scaling up the tech stack with the API

Revizto plays a central role in Rosendin Electric's BIM operations. Jose Samaniego, Field Applications Development Manager, shared that while some projects might still use other software, Revizto is now one of the main tools the company depends on, especially for coordination. The field teams find value in Revizto's sheet overlays, which make installation processes clearer.

A notable improvement highlighted by Jose is the integration of Revizto's new API. Using this API, he and his team developed an application simplifying sheet lifecycle tracking within Revizto. Before this, they had to create and assign each sheet by hand, a time-consuming task that could take up to a week and a half, especially for projects with many sheets.

Revizto has become a mainstay in our operations, bridging the gap between office and field teams, making our coordination efforts more efficient.
Jose Samaniego | Field Applications Development Manager at Rosendin Electric

With the API, they've created a system that quickly finds folders with the necessary PDFs and generates related issues. This has reduced the task time from several days to just minutes or a few hours.

Jose confirmed that Revizto is a staple in almost all projects Rosendin handles. The primary use of the software is during the construction phase. Although there are instances when Revizto is brought into the design stage, its significant application kicks in when the project officially starts and the team begins to use it actively.

Managing shop drawings with the Issue Tracker

A particularly beneficial feature in Revizto is the robust Issue Tracker, which offers Rosendin the ability to monitor the progression of each shop drawing in real-time, ensuring they're always updated on its current status. Given the multilayered workflow – from the detailing phase, moving through modeling, field reviews, stringent quality assurance checks, meticulous quality control procedures, and culminating in the final nod of approval from the Engineer of Record – a centralized tracking system becomes invaluable.

Jared Siebert, BIM coordinator/Lead Detailer at Rosendin, underscores the value derived from the Issue Tracker's ability to auto-identify concerns based on shop drawing numbers. This intelligent system is a game-changer, helping to harmonize and streamline each phase of the process.

An additional feather in the Issue Tracker's cap is its potent search functionality. The ability to swiftly look up sheets using specific names like "EC 18" or category codes such as ".00" for underground operations greatly expedites the process. In essence, Revizto’s Issue Tracker emerges as a cornerstone in Rosendin's drive to ensure consistent quality and efficiency amidst a demanding and elaborate workflow.

Using Viewpoints and Section Cuts in the field

Jared emphasized the value Revizto brings, especially to field operations. He notes that executing section cuts in Revizto simplifies processes compared to similar operations in other software. Ryan Elcock, Prefab Coordinator at Rosendin, further elaborated on the advantages of using Revizto. He singled out the viewpoints feature as a game changer, especially for sizable projects. Given the complexities of navigating vast spaces, the viewpoints enable foremen to instantly jump to specific locations without unnecessary hassles. This feature proves invaluable on tablets, where traditional navigation can prove tricky. The use of section cuts is also a huge benefit for performance, ensuring devices don’t get overwhelmed, especially with expansive maps. While the field teams typically rely on iPads, office teams use a mix of iPads and computers, and some even use Xbox controllers for navigation.

We have thousands of installation sheets undergoing intricate reviews and approvals, so managing shop drawings in our projects is complex. Revizto's Issue Tracker streamlines this process, centralizing all tracking activities, making it indispensable in our workflow.
Jared Siebert | BIM Coordinator/Lead Detailer at Rosendin Electric

Cutting costs & increasing efficiency with Revizto

Simplicity equals cost-savings
‍Switching from other software to Revizto, as Jared Siebert highlighted, was akin to moving from intricate computer operations to the ease of an iPhone, resulting in reduced training costs and faster onboarding.
Operational efficiency
‍The quick adaptability to Revizto eliminated extensive training sessions, leading to shorter project initiation times and resource savings.
Mobility equals productivity
‍Transitioning from laptops to iPads in the field streamlined operations, reducing equipment costs and improving task turnaround times.
Empowering workers, reducing dependencies
‍As noted by Tony Steele, Senior BIM Manager at Rosendin, field workers' active involvement in model reviews meant reduced dependency on specialized BIM teams, cutting down on overhead costs.
Instant reporting, fewer errors
‍Ryan Elcock emphasized that real-time snapshots and instant measurements made possible by Revizto resulted in quicker error detection, minimizing costly project delays.
Efficient design adherence
‍The overlay feature in Revizto, praised by multiple team members, ensured projects stayed true to original designs, thereby reducing costly deviations.
Minimized rework costs
‍Reflecting on past experiences, Jared saw potential past savings, hinting at the software's capability to prevent expensive reworks.
Streamlined on-site reviews
‍With Revizto, Tony experienced more efficient site reviews, translating to fewer hours spent, and consequently, lower operational costs.

In our journey from other software to Revizto, we didn't just transition between software; we transformed how we approach, execute, and finalize projects. Revizto is not merely a tool; it's a shift towards unparalleled efficiency and design precision, ensuring every hour and resource is optimally utilized.
Jared Siebert | BIM Coordinator/Lead Detailer at Rosendin Electric

Essential Revizto features for Rosendin

At Rosendin, some Revizto features have made a big difference for the team. Jose Samaniego and Tony Steele both highlighted the dashboard. It puts all the important project details in one place, which helps the team make decisions faster.

For fieldwork, Jared Siebert and Ryan Elcock shared that Revizto's intuitive sectioning and measurement tools are better than other software for managing drawings and taking measurements in the field. Ryan further explained: “In tasks such as determining conduit lengths, pipe spacing, and taking elevations, these tools have proven invaluable. Their efficiency not only saves time but also minimizes the need to juggle between software platforms.”

The power of Revizto's dashboard, with its filters and tags, provides a comprehensive view of our project's status, ensuring our team always stays on track.
Tony Steele | Senior BIM Manager at Rosendin Electric

Maximizing Revizto's potential: tips & tricks from Rosendin experts

Dashboard deep dive
‍Tony Steele, Senior BIM Manager, emphasized the significance of filters when trying to get an accurate picture of a project's status. He also suggested creating custom reports, such as a three-week lookahead or tracking overdue items, to ensure the project stays on track.
Navigating with ease
‍Ryan Elcock, Prefab Coordinator, mentioned that for individuals either learning or teaching Revizto, using controllers for navigation is beneficial. The interface of Revizto, in conjunction with a controller, can enhance the experience for users.
Harnessing analytical assets
‍Jose Samaniego, Field Applications Development Manager, recommended the strategic use of search sets when monitoring elements like conduit runs. By tagging these elements with unique identifiers, one can streamline complex tasks such as takeoffs through simplified data extraction and analysis.
Team management tactics
‍The importance of utilizing the dashboard to watch the team's capacity was pointed out by Jared Siebert, BIM Coordinator/Lead Detailer. A brief review of the dashboard can alert you to any team member who might be overburdened, prompting a redistribution of tasks or additional assistance.