The multi-trade, design-build contractor uses tech to transform how it builds
Power Design, Inc. is a design-build contractor based in St. Petersburg, Florida that works across multiple trades, including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and systems technology. The company brings its expertise to residential, assisted living, hospitality, and mixed-use projects across the U.S.
Power Design was looking for a documentation solution that would help the business scale sustainably and maximize efficiency—without creating extra work for field teams. The contractor selected OpenSpace’s reality capture solution to standardize operations and foster collaboration and soon deployed the technology company-wide after piloting it at three locations.
Read this case study to learn how, working with OpenSpace, Power Design has achieved significant time and cost savings, improved productivity, expedited issue resolution, and future-proofed its operations.
Goal: Implement Robust, Standardized Documentation to Improve Collaboration
St. Petersburg, Florida-based Power Design works across multiple trades, including electrical, mechanical, plumbing, and systems technologies, at sites across the United States. Rooted in principles of collaboration and innovation, the company wanted to invest in technology that could standardize documentation and offer all teams greater transparency and access to jobsite conditions.
With projects in over 23 states and thousands of workers nationwide, Power Design needed a solution that was easy to use, would reduce project base costs, and facilitate communication without adding to field teams’ daily tasks.
Melvin Gonzalez, Director of Field Technology, and Daves Vargas-Ballestero, IT Field Manager, spearheaded the integration of OpenSpace’s reality capture solution.
Strategy: Deploy OpenSpace to Fully Document Jobsites Weekly
Power Design began testing OpenSpace in 2018. “We really were aiming to create consistency around documentation across the country,” Gonzalez said. The company wanted not only to capture the condition of jobsites but also to keep office staff looped into key conversations. This new transparency, they hoped, would streamline workflows and increase productivity.
When OpenSpace was initially deployed at three locations, there was a bit of a learning curve for field and IT staff. “OpenSpace proved its value, and it started to make our lives easier,” Vargas-Ballestero said.
With buy-in from executive teams and enthusiasm from f ield crews driving its expansion, Power Design soon rolled out OpenSpace across the company. It developed standard operating procedures to standardize documentation, including how and when to walk a project site with OpenSpace and a 360° camera, and extensive training programs for OpenSpace’s many applications.
“A picture is worth a thousand words,” Gonzalez said, “and in this case, it is invaluable for knowing where we stand on every project.”
Everyone in the field totally relies on OpenSpace. It always has our backs.
Results: Cost and Time Savings, Which Are Transferred to the Customer
Today, documenting sites with OpenSpace is one of three mandatory processes for every Power Design project. From site planning to final review, field teams take weekly walks on every project to track progress, flag issues, and create a single source of truth that has proven indispensable.
“We’re improving every day by trying new things and new features with OpenSpace,” Vargas-Ballestero reported. Gonzalez agreed: “Everyone in the field totally relies on OpenSpace. It always has our backs.”
Power Design is seeing benefits in the following areas:
Cost Savings: When there is always proof of how, when, and where something was done, teams can quickly resolve issues and avoid costly rework and overcharges from subcontractors. “We consider OpenSpace a time machine,” Vargas-Ballestero said. “We always have all the historical information we need, which is super important for many reasons.” On some projects, Power Design is seeing as much as $15,000 in savings.
Time Savings: OpenSpace enables virtual tours for Power Design’s off-site teams, which removes the redundancy of multiple employees visiting on a regular basis. If one person has walked the site, teams across the country can tour it virtually. One West Coast project manager reduced cross-country travel for site visits by 50 percent.
$15,000
Travel to sites reduced 50%
Collaboration and Productivity: With all in-office and on-site team members looped in regarding the latest site conditions, the company is seeing that meetings are more efficient, project issues are more rapidly identified and remedied, and misunderstandings between cross-functional teams are minimized. “Communication is everything on a job,” Vargas-Ballestero said, “and communication has improved with OpenSpace.” More effective collaboration has led to better and faster decision-making, which helps Power Design meet—or beat—deadlines.
Issue Resolution: Historical imagery can help swiftly resolve disputes. Automatic timestamping allows the right photos to be easily and quickly located.
Future-proofing the Business: “Everything we invested in OpenSpace paid off during COVID-19,” Gonzalez said. While construction was deemed “essential” and on-site work largely continued amid lockdowns, management teams working from home remained productive because they retained visibility on every site. “Because of OpenSpace, we were able to continue advancing despite the difficulties,” Gonzalez said. He and Vargas-Ballestero found that amid rising economic uncertainty, the solution helps them move forward efficiently and confidently. Continued collaboration with teams at OpenSpace also enables them to stay on the cutting edge of construction technology and optimize their operations.
