Exxel Pacific leverages OpenSpace to prevent trade damage and warranty claims

Based out of Bellingham, WA, Exxel Pacific was founded in 1989 as a development company, but quickly transitioned into a general contractor, building a wide range of projects including commercial, mixed use, multi-family/senior living, student housing, high-rise, and historic preservation for their long term customers. As a 100% employee owned company, Exxel Pacific prides itself on proactively serving their customers by delivering high quality projects in the most cost efficient manner possible. In addition, Exxel Pacific focuses on building enduring relationships with clients and lives by the following core values:

• We are dedicated to shared success
• We take ownership and lead by example
• We provide opportunities for a fulfilled life
• We take care of each other like family
• We do the right thing even no one is looking

As an enterprise customer since 2022, Exxel Pacific leverages OpenSpace to not only deliver projects on time and under budget, but now includes OpenSpace as an integral part of their Quality Control program, led by Matt VanderVeen.

The challenge: prevent trade damage after drywall is hung

Before OpenSpace, documenting projects prior to hanging drywall was a time consuming process for Exxel Pacific. Each project team was committed to documenting locations of mechanical, electrical and plumbing rough-in, as well as framing backing and blocking prior to insulation and drywall. The team would take three-to-five pre-cover photos per unit with a 360 camera and pin the images to a floor plan using PDF editing software. This capture process was very time consuming, typically taking two-to-three hours per floor on large multi-family projects with hundreds of units. With OpenSpace, the team can now efficiently document a floor in about 20-30 minutes. With the reduction in time needed to capture, the Exxel team can focus their efforts on other project responsibilities such as safety, schedule, and quality.

If documenting pre-cover conditions wasn’t a big enough challenge, sharing the 360 images to subcontractor field crews proved to be an even bigger challenge. Exxel team members would print and post 360 photos out on the jobsite and also email PDFs with pre-cover images to subcontractors. Exxel’s Quality Control Program was determined to give greater access to pre-cover documentation, especially to anyone fastening through drywall. Crews installing drywall, towel bars, handrails, TV mounts, or other items were at risk of puncturing a water line. Any water leak from a fastener into plumbing can take several days of re-work and be expensive. It was imperative to the team that they accurately communicate in-wall conditions to the field.

The solution: create a pre-cover QR code with OpenSpace

By streamlining the documentation process with OpenSpace Capture, Exxel Pacific’s team could shift their focus to getting pre-cover documentation to the field. Using the Shared Folders feature and public links, Matt VanderVeen, Exxel Pacific’s Quality Control Manager, created a system that allows their subcontractors to scan a QR Code and view all pre-cover captures on the floor they’re working on. Their “Scan before you drill” motto is a nod to the 811 “Call before you dig” message and gives their trade partners the ability to scan a QR code and see what’s in a wall before they drill into it. By using the public Shared Folder link option, the end user doesn’t need an OpenSpace account to view the capture(s), meaning they don’t need to log in to see the pre-cover documentation.

The results: reduced rework and warranty claims

Exxel Pacific rolled out the pre-cover QR Code pilot on the Line Apartments project this spring. They showed the team how to use the QR Code during a weekly foreman’s meeting and the trades caught on right away. “It’s really easy to use and our subcontractors love it. The fact that we don’t need to add them to the project or give them special access makes it easy for everybody on-site to view the captures.” Matt Brown, Project Manager on the Line Apartments commented.

Within the first two months of deploying the QR Code system, the pre-cover Shared Folders had already received over 160 views. It also helped the team find missing or buried electrical boxes on each level (a savings upwards of $2,000 per level).

It’s too early to tell, but odds are that Exxel’s warranty team will also benefit greatly from the deployment of the QR Codes. Matt VanderVeen noted, “Some of our costliest warranty claims come from damage to piping that isn’t immediately noticed. A punctured water or sewer line might not leak during construction, but when it starts leaking after turnover, it can flood multiple levels and cost upwards of $30K to repair the pipe and finishes. Not to mention the impact that it has on the residents.” Through the use of the QR Code pre-cover captures, the team is hoping that these costly warranty claims will be reduced or maybe even removed altogether by giving their trade partners this level of visibility. This use case is another example of how Exxel Pacific is innovating in ways to deliver on their promise to serve and satisfy their customers by providing the most cost efficient and high quality projects in the Puget Sound region.

What’s next: using OpenSpace for precon and remediation

As the Exxel Pacific teams are already regularly documenting and providing supporting information through Field Notes during construction, it will be easy for them to take these practices into the preconstruction phase to document preexisting conditions and provide a deeper level of understanding for bidding. Stay up to date with Exxel Pacific’s exciting work on Facebook or LinkedIn.