Visually communicating design/build concepts to customers can have a tremendous impact on business. Just ask Bruce Richards, Estimator, and Howard Haggett, Sales Manager for Central Construction Industries (CCI) LLC of Putnam, CT. Both men credit the outstanding sales success CCI has enjoyed in its two years in business to their firms use of 3D CADD (computer-aided design and drafting) sales presentations.

Central Construction is a commercial construction firm specializing in pre-engineered buildings for small businesses or general use as workshops or warehouses. "Most clients are nervous about the quality of the construction, amount of completion time, government regulations and layout for their specialized equipment," says Richards. "Often, these customers are buying a building for the first and only time in their lives. We find that using 3D CADD in sales presentations benefits our firm in a number of ways. First of all, it eliminates virtually all of the clients' uncertainty and nervousness about the building what they see is what they are going to get. Secondly, its a key differentiation point from our competition. The 3D visualizations make it easier for clients to understand the different variables present in choosing a contractor. Lastly, in many cases the 3D drawings give a presentation a better image of professionalism, an image that imparts a sense of quality workmanship."

CCI uses DataCAD architectural CADD software (DATACAD LLC, Avon, CT) and 3D F/X (Asymetrix Learning Systems, Inc., Bellevue, WA) to create their 3D photorealistic sales presentations. Richards first heard about DataCAD from another contractor, who suggested he try DataCAD because the program is specifically geared for 2D and 3D architectural design. "I taught myself how to use DataCAD by reading the manuals," said Richards. "When I tried to teach myself another CADD program, I gave up because it was so complex. With DataCAD I produced usable drawings in a short time and the price was right."

CCI includes DataCAD drawings in every proposal. "Before we had the software, we quoted our design-build jobs like everybody else, using word processing software to create 14 or 15 pages of project specifications," Richards continued. "Now it takes two days for me to create a 3D rendering of the exterior building as well as a 3D visualization of the interior, and the client can see exactly where everything will fit."

Haggett and Richards sit down with customers during the bidding period. Unlike larger jobs where bidding is more formalized, the smaller, one-time customers need help in designing their buildings, and estimators like Richards must create complete designs for the bid.

Richards can provide an example: "One potential client wanted to build a machine shop. He had an equipment layout for the different machine tools to go in the shop, but he wasnt sure what size building he needed or where to put the office, the facilities, or the loading docks. I used DataCADs 3D features to lay out all the equipment for the machine shop, which included the loading dock and the unloading areas and where he would disassemble the pieces that he had, the work-flow through his machine shop, and clearances for the overhead cranes. The equipment determined all of the 3D spaces, and thats where 3D visualization became very important."

Another project, a bid for a sand-blasting and plasma-spraying shop of an FAA-authorized repair station, was the first job bid using interior and exterior rendered drawings. It was a 10,000-square-foot shop with a 3,000-square-foot office area.

Haggett was the key sales person on the bid. He recalled, "We definitely beat out the competition. None of the other bids had 3D drawings. I realized at that point DataCAD really helped in dealing with the customer. It gave us a major edge over everyone else. The client wanted to know about the quality of Central Constructions work, and 3D made the difference in putting our best foot forward."

Richards stated that a current project requires images of the building as it appears from the outside, and that is easy to do with DataCAD. "We are working on a retail location for an industrial supplier, and it is a high visibility site for the client. The rendering program gives the client a realistic view of how the building will appear. It will have three loading docks, but they told us that they want it to look friendly from the street. From our first rendering, we added more windows and changed the shape of the canopy over their loading dock. DataCAD lets us show potential clients what they are going to get and we have made the client much happier with the building he is buying."