Mortenson Construction

Autodesk BIM Experience Award Winner

About Mortenson Construction

Mortenson Construction provides diversified construction services, offering customer-centric general contracting, construction management, design-build, program management, project development and "turnkey" development. Founded in 1954 with headquarters in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the firm has over 2,200 employees, operating in 47 states and China. Mortenson has expertise in a wide range of project types, including healthcare, sports, science and technology, manufacturing, cultural, renewable power, government, hospitality, and corporate.

In 1990 the firm reached Engineering New Record’s list of top 50 contractors, and has remained within the top 50 every year since. Mortenson is one of the only two pure contractors to be included in Building Design and Construction’s Top 50 BIM Adopters ranking from its 2009 Giants 300 Report and have earned national recognition from the American Institute of Architects, receiving their Technology in Architectural Practice (TAP) BIM award on four projects; more than any other general contractor.

Mortenson Construction’s BIM Experience

Mortenson Construction has been using building information modeling (BIM) since 1998 to improve the way it constructs buildings for its clients. To date the firm has used BIM processes on over 100 projects at a total construction value exceeding $6 billion. Autodesk BIM solutions are a mainstay at Mortenson and are used in every aspect of its construction practices.

Mortenson uses Autodesk® Navisworks® software for virtual design and construction, enabling coordination between all major system trades, enhancing communication to all project stakeholders, and facilitating integrated project delivery (IPD) for a higher quality building and lower delivery cost. On many projects, the firm self-performs all concrete, using Autodesk® Revit® Architecture and Autodesk® Revit® Structure software to generate layout drawings for its field crew and produce quantity schedules for materials. Mortenson also uses Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and AutoCAD® MEP software to create discipline-specific design models for use in Navisworks software when those models are not available from the project architect, engineers, or subcontractors. In addition to Navisworks and Revit-based software, the firm also uses AutoCAD® and AutoCAD® Civil 3D® software.

Reseller: MasterGraphics, Madison, Wisconsin

Mortenson Construction’s Notable BIM Projects

Tulalip Resort Hotel

Marysville, Washington
439,860 square feet

The Tulalip Resort Hotel is a 12-story, 387-room hotel, spa and conference center that opened in the summer of 2008. The use of BIM on this $130-million project resulted in a higher level of collaboration among Mortenson Construction and the owner, architect, subcontractors, and even onsite craft and trades people. This facility was built using a fast-track schedule; Mortenson Construction began construction with the design documents only 60 percent complete and the project team delivered the project in just 22 months, allowing for a “soft” opening of the hotel 3 months ahead of schedule.

Autodesk Navisworks software was used throughout the building process—for prefabrication, design and construction coordination, constructability, preconstruction quantity survey, site logistics, and 4D scheduling. This allowed the design to be modified before costly and time-consuming conflicts arose in the field. With only conventional 2D design information available, Mortenson used Revit Architecture, Revit Structure, and AutoCAD MEP software to create design models that were combined together in Navisworks to generate a construction model for the whole project. Mortenson then used this Navisworks model as the basis for its collaboration with the architect and structural engineer, as well as mechanical, electrical, and plumbing (MEP) subcontractors to help coordinate their designs. In some cases, Navisworks software was used to communicate the design to the construction site team in place of construction documentation. For instance, when it came time to pour the first concrete deck on this fast-track project, the only information Mortenson conveyed to field crews was directly taken from the model.

In addition, the project team used Navisworks software and traditional documentation to create integrated work plans (IWPs). These IWPs were layout drawings given to the field crews that consolidated all construction information for a specific task, combining standard plans and elevations with 3D views from Navisworks software into one delivery source. Instead of reviewing multiple drawings (e.g., mechanical, electrical, structural), the crew referred to these coordinated IWPs and, as a result, were 22 percent more efficient while building the structure. In addition to IWPs, Mortenson extended the concept of IPD to the crew by making the Navisworks model available on a computer set up in a job site trailer, where any crafts person, at any time, could access model information to get the job done safer, faster, and with better precision. The use of BIM on this project resulted in a 30 percent reduction in RFIs, 26 percent increase in production of shear walls, and enabled Mortenson to finish the overall structure 6 weeks ahead of schedule.

The Harley-Davidson Museum

Milwaukee, Wisconsin
130,000 square feet

The Harley-Davidson Motor Company has collected and maintained one motorcycle for each model it has produced in its 100-year plus history. This project was designed to house, protect, and display that collection, as well as an archive of print material, memorabilia, clothing and everything documenting a century of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company. The project included the three buildings that house the Museum and Archives, as well as a restaurant and café, retail store, and special event space. The new museum is also an icon of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company design culture. Unlike most production vehicles, you can see all of the systems that make up a Harley-Davidson motorcycle. The new Harley-Davidson Museum is much like the motorcycles it houses, with many of the structural building components exposed but still retaining an open concept free of complex architectural elements and visual obstructions such as MEP systems.

The project team was challenged to minimize obstructions and hide MEP systems, thus requiring them to be consolidated into areas that had ceiling coverage within the wallsand within the floors. The use of BIM allowed every building system and element to be precisely modeled and then studied in the context of the whole building before it was built. The project’s architect, structural engineer, and MEP engineers used Revit Architecture software, Revit Structure software, and AutoCAD MEP software respectively for their designs and routinely provided these models to Mortenson Construction, who aggregated them in Navisworks software to create a construction model. Mortenson Construction used Navisworks software throughout the project, from planning to coordination to construction execution. Navisworks software also allowed the client team to “walk through” a virtual representation of their building, enabling them to visualize various design and building component options and make better-informed decisions about the final design.

The extended project team—including the design teams, Mortenson Construction, its construction subcontractors, and the client—used Navisworks software to visually communicate and help resolve design and construction issues, and to address facility access and maintenance issues. The Navisworks-based construction model also encouraged teamwork amongst the project team, including firms that are not usually involved in the coordination process such as consultants for elevator equipment, exhibits, and kitchen equipment. At any time, the project team could access the real-time Navisworks model across the Internet, even from the construction site. The Navisworks model (running on a computer in a job-site trailer) was used by foremen, superintendents, and subcontractors to plan, communicate, and review locations in order to help them fit everything correctly.