Leading the Virtual Design & Construction Movement at O'Shea Builders

Thanks to technology, a building can now be completely constructed before any soil is moved or materials are purchased.

And the possibilities for construction technology are practically unimaginable today. This is what excites Evan Sharp, VDC manager for O’Shea. (VDC stands for Virtual Design and Construction, which is a type of technology that creates digital models of buildings and project sites.)

Evan joined O’Shea in January 2022 with a major in architecture and mechanical engineering experience. As O’Shea has made the leap to using VDC technology, Evan has led the charge with constant training and learning.

“Much of the learning even now is taking the initiative,” he says. “Learning about the construction industry, trade partners, and their expectations was essential – along with how BIM can be helpful to the organization. Taking on projects and doing whatever was needed helped me learn about the process, and then seeing the holes or opportunities where processes could be improved was very important.”

Today, Evan’s responsibilities include coordination, construction visualizing, conceptual model creation, serving as a BIM (building information modeling) advocate and trainer, and much more.

The Benefits of VDC

Adopting new technology can be a difficult process, especially in the construction industry. But the benefits are already proving to be worth the effort.

“VDC allows for architectural elements, structure, and MEPs to be designed side-by-side in 3D and any problems that arise to be fixed before construction,” Evan shares.

For years, architects and engineers have been using BIM to overlay the initial architectural design on the structure. Then any necessary changes can be made to allow for structural requirements before the design goes to the mechanical contractors, who use the model to size their systems, add ducts, pipes, and required elements, and make further changes.

“This collaborative approach to building allows for far more certainty around construction,” Evan says.

One tool that has become essential to VDC, especially with existing structures, is 3D laser scanning. A scan of an existing structure can be imported into the 3D model along with all the new geometry, allowing the team to “build” the structure virtually without ever even being on site.

“Having this level of certainty allows for preassembly off site, increasing quality and lowering cost,” Evan says. “If you can do a level of building in a controlled environment and have all the tools to check the assemblies via visual, pressure, and leak detection, you can avoid doing that in the field.”

Not only that but the assemblies can be built before they are needed on site. So rather than waiting for a specific location to be completed before starting on mechanicals, those mechanicals can be preassembled offsite well in advance and quickly installed in place much quicker than starting with all the separate pieces in the field. 

Only Scratching the Surface

As the use of VDC continues, Evan anticipates many more changes and benefits, including the expansion of construction subassemblies, improvements in clash detection, increased use of VDC in estimating, and integration with site work.

“We are just scratching the surface of trying to integrate VDC into all of our projects, but we are already seeing positive outcomes, like time and cost savings, while increasing project efficiency,” he says.