Smart Solutions case studies highlight how MCAA contractors and Manufacturer/Supplier Council members collaborate to improve productivity, manage costs, and solve real‑world project challenges. Each case study focuses on practical applications of products, technologies, and processes that deliver measurable results across mechanical construction, service, fabrication, and operations.
Through real project examples, Smart Solutions provides insight into how contractors are applying innovative solutions to streamline workflows, improve coordination, and enhance overall performance. Explore the case studies below to identify ideas, approaches, and proven practices that can be adapted to your own operations.
Since A&R Mechanical Contractors adopted Procore’s workforce management software, project planning has become much less of a struggle, timelines have decreased, and profits have increased. For example, getting paid for out-of-scope work has dramatically improved with the T&M [time and materials] Ticket Tool.
A&R Mechanical Contractors, Inc. credits PypeServer software with dramatically improving efficiency in its fabrication shop; pipe cutting tasks that used to take hours can now be done in 10 minutes or less. Justin Powers, A&R’s virtual design and construction (VDC) and fabrication business unit manager, oversees work across the spectrum from contract award to field installation. He described his company’s typical workflow and tools and the impact of integrating PypeServer software.
Breaking ground on the Rex and Alice A. Martin Softball Training Center at the University of Illinois in April 2021, A&R Mechanical Contractors, Inc., faced the unique challenges of building during the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent supply chain issues. They successfully completed the project on schedule thanks to NIBCO, which manufactures more than 90 percent of its products in the United States. “I would have to say NIBCO was very instrumental in helping A&R Mechanical get this project finished in a timely fashion,” said Chris Asklund, A&R Mechanical project manager. NIBCO is a major sponsor of MCAA23.
