How CEC Uses OpenSpace toImprove Communication withGeneral Contractors
The Irving, Texas-Based MEP-Technology Contractor Has Deployed OpenSpace on Projects
Ranging from a Solar Farm to a Historic Government Building Renovation

Goal: Improve Photo Documentation forConversations with GCs

is always fresh and up-to-date. Current projects include
an 80-million-square-foot solar farm in a remote area ofWest Texas, where the team is responsible for making 2

As a full-MEP-T contractor, CEC Facilities Groupmillion connections and putting in hundreds of thousands

frequently needs to show accurate jobsite conditionsof zip ties in the course of daisy-chaining thousands ofbefore starting work. Having thorough, easy-to-navigate

panel rows together.

photo documentation to quickly show GCs true site
conditions became a high priority.
Ease of use was just as important as functionality, which
CEC discovered in the process of vetting and implementing
other construction technology solutions.

OpenSpace allows QA/QC
teams to spend more timelooking at things instead ofworrying about paperwork.
Jared Peinado, Director of Project Controls, CEC“Our field team’s time is valuable and anything new that

Prior to using OpenSpace, the 10-person QA/QC team

we introduce needs to provide equivalent or exceptional

would have been taking photos with their phones of eachvalue to our team. If there are a lot of steps involved using

connection in order to fulfill their inspection requirement.

a piece of technology, the field teams will be reluctant toNow, they can simply strap a 360° camera to their hard

implement and continually use that tool/technology,” said

hats and walk, allowing them to multitask as OpenSpace

Jared Peinado, Director of Project Controls at CEC.

captures in the background and pins imagery to theproject plan.

Strategy: Use OpenSpace to Fully
Document Each Jobsite 1X to 2X Per Week

They can also use the Field Notes feature for punchlist
items and to document instances where CEC’s work was

CEC’s field teams have deployed OpenSpace on a wide

accidentally damaged by other parties, or when areas ofrange of projects to ensure that jobsite documentation

the site weren’t ready for them to begin. They simply takea picture and type a comment, and the image and text

So far, OpenSpace has driven meaningful change in these

are automatically pinned to the plan, which is far easierareas:

than writing down an observation in a notepad and trying•

Time savings: OpenSpace saves the QA/QC teamto remember what area of the site it pertains to later.

a few hours every time they document a jobsite. ItThey can also automatically generate reports with all thealso makes them more productive, since they can“tagged” items.

multitask while doing site walks. The technology also
saves time in the course of routine interactions with“This is huge for our QA/QC team,” said Peinado. ”It

GC and other subcontractors. “When I can quickly

allows them to spend more time looking at things insteadpull up a photo and don’t have to spend three or fourof worrying about paperwork.”

hours trying to respond to an email or a delay letter,
that’s hugely valuable,” Peinado said.

OpenSpace has also been leveraged on the renovationof the 350,000-square-foot Dallas County Records•

Issue resolution and enhanced communication:
CEC’s main use case for OpenSpace right now

Building, which is a complicated project that entails joining

is reducing exposure to risk and improving

three existing buildings from different decades. The teamcommunication with GCs. “The accuracy andhas also begun using OpenSpace on a large manufacturing

completeness of the documentation puts us in aplant for an industry-leading semiconductor company.

strong position to defend ourselves against project
delay allegations,” Peinado said. By helping CEC prove

The accuracy and completenessof the documentation puts usin a strong position to defendourselves against project delay
allegations.

that they weren’t the cause of the original delay,
OpenSpace also puts CEC in a better position torequest overtime if the GC is intent on speeding up
delivery. It’s also useful in day-to-day interactions. For
example, if the GC’s Project Manager says during ameeting that a certain area is ready for electrical, CEC

Jared Peinado, Director of Project Controls, CEC

can simply pull up a recent photo to demonstrate what
remains to be completed—which gets everyone on

Results: Improved Collaboration andRelationship Management with GCsthe same page faster.
•User experience: In the course of introducing

By having QA/QC teams walk jobsites once or twice aOpenSpace to several teams, Peinado has foundweek with OpenSpace, CEC can easily document theirthat it’s highly intuitive, even for older colleagues

work for later discussions. The company is looking forward

who aren’t highly tech-savvy. “It’s very easy to use

to piloting OpenSpace Track for progress tracking, which

no matter what your skill level is,” he said. Ease ofcan facilitate pay applications and strengthen trust withuse has been a key differentiator when comparing

GCs by accurately documenting what percentage of their

OpenSpace to other technologies. For example,

scope of work has been completed day by day.

while Matterport can be useful for providing asbuilt conditions to a client during the handoverprocess, it’s too complicated to be used for daily site
documentation.