Bending conduit at Interstate Operations Center
by Steven Drouin
When you first hear the phrase “50-year-old company,” you might not think about the latest applications or cutting-edge 3D modeling. But at Interstate Electrical Services, we’ve always been early adopters, and we work hard to make sure the technology we use is at the forefront of innovation and stays aligned with our business goals.
I began my career at Interstate almost 25 years ago in the purchasing department, where I filled out forms by hand. We had one computer in the office, “just in case.” If you had told me then that in a couple of decades I’d be leading the information technology team at that same company, and that we’d be using computers, software, and other technology to revolutionize the way we conduct business, I would have laughed out loud.
But here we are in 2018, with software platforms, applications, and cutting-edge equipment permeating every aspect of Interstate. Technology has touched everything. Time entry for employees is now semi-automated and takes half a day to process instead of four. Business intelligence tools give us the capability to forecast the future rather than rely on historical data. Our cloud-based applications enable us to transmit data to our employees in the field and also enable us to design and prefabricate materials needed for our projects. These company transformations were possible because everyone at Interstate adheres to our “Vision, Efficiency and Adoption” commitment.
When Interstate made the decision to focus on lean construction and prefabrication within the past decade, it required all three of these commitments.
Interstate Trimble data
A companywide vision for what “lean construction” meant helped shape our business plan. We were able to break down our lean methodology to make it flexible so we could meet each client’s needs while still ensuring maximum efficiency on our end. Our goal is to stay competitive in the ever-changing construction landscape. Everyone at Interstate — from the top executives down to our new apprentices — adopted this vision for efficiency.
The migration to our lean construction strategy has been overwhelmingly positive and has changed the way we approach every project, both internally and externally. Where we were once measuring and marking pipe layouts by hand, and bending pipes onsite, today we use 3D modeling software to measure and fit components with precision. Our team of in-house project detailers focus on extracting individual assemblies and components for prefabrication. Starting with the coordinated 3D model, they use Revit information modeling software to create 3D drawings for the assemblers on the prefabrication floor to build.
Interstate detailer working in Revit
The components are assembled in our 100,000sf temperature-controlled operations center, where our assemblers have all the tools they need on hand and plenty of space to work in a safe environment that is optimized for assembling electrical components. Our customers as well as our internal stakeholders can track the shipment of a specific piece of equipment to the jobsite.
Because we have the positioning data in our 3D models for every electrical component we’ll need, we use technology like the Trimble Robotic Total Station to project that data at the jobsite, enabling our electricians to work quickly and accurately. This means the onsite work now takes a fraction of the time it used to take, leading to less disruption for our customers.
These are just a few of the ways Interstate has evolved to stay at the forefront of technological innovation in the electrical services industry. We look forward to continuing our evolution as a company to help meet the needs of our customers in a safe and efficient manner. We are excited to see what the future holds.
Steven Drouin
Steven Drouin is director of IT services at Interstate Electrical Services.
