The engineering colleagues Daniella Castro and Alyssa Schorer decided it was time to start their own business about 18 months ago. Now Castro and Schorer have achieved an efficient way to run DNA Detailing & BIM, LLC and gained freedom to create their own schedules.
Castro and Schorer work in different places and time zones, mostly in the Western part of the USA. At the start of their business, they tried collaborating via a VPN connection but it proved simply too slow. They also tried taking turns when working, then zipping results and emailing the work to each other. After trying these methods, they chose Tekla Model Sharing as it allows them to work efficiently together on the same Tekla Structures model at the same time regardless of their locations or time zones.
“As soon as we put Tekla Model Sharing in action, we've just been using it ever since. Now we both are on the model all day. It works really well. For several hours a day we work at the same time,” Castro and Schorer say.
Collaborating efficiently with BIM
Both the partners report that using Tekla Model Sharing and Tekla Structures has been problem-free. They only need to know what area the other one is working on. “At first we supported our updates with emails,” Schorer admits. However, after a trial period double-checking became unnecessary. “Now we just use the Model Sharing. At the end of the day we might shoot an email, that’s all.”
A more productive way of working
Castro and Schorer have taken a leap from sitting behind the computer at the office to a more flexible, more productive way of working. Not only can they choose their own location freely, but they also can work on projects located on the other side of the US, several time zones away. This opens up more business opportunities for their small detailing and building information modeling business.
“We can work on a plane off-line or at a hotel. We carry our offices in our backpacks,” explains Daniella Castro. “As soon as I write-out, my work is up-to-date. With a laptop I'm good to go, I don't even need an internet connection,” Castro emphasizes.
With Tekla Model Sharing, work is faster as different parties working on the same model at the same time do not need to share the whole model but instead only share the changes made in the model. Modeling can happen offline and because only a tiny amount of data is transferred, even the slowest Internet connection is sufficient. Castro and Schorer have travelled to approximately 12 places in the last 12 months, including Hawaii and Grand Canyon. It’s possible because they don’t need to cut off other projects when visiting one site.
Castro carries a laptop to the job site. All the updates are there with her. There is no need to print drawings, customers can just look at and comment on the 3D model. “I remember going to a job site when I couldn’t do anything there. But now, you’re never constrained from doing something.”
Freedom to choose work and play time
“Daniella and I once worked on the beach together,” recalls Alyssa Schorer. “Later we got connected online, read-in, and got the answers we needed. Then we continued working offline.” Another example of BIM and Tekla Model Sharing giving more freedom took place when Daniella Castro went to her grandmother’s house in Mexico. “While I was not necessarily on vacation it was still a great opportunity to see my family. The internet connection there was slow but work was completely doable,” Castro explains.
”Us Americans are accustomed to two weeks of vacation a year,” reminds Alyssa Schorer. “You have to consider carefully how you use it. With Tekla Model Sharing we now have a new kind of freedom,” she continues. These entrepreneurs get to travel, spend time with family, but still be in operation in the American business style. “I rather have vacations where I do a little bit work every month than only one vacation a year,” says Schorer.
We can work on a plane off-line or at a hotel. We carry our offices in our backpacks.
Alyssa Schorer, DNA Detailing & BIM, LLC
Risk management for start-up businesses
Freedom is only one benefit Tekla Model Sharing enables. As Castro and Schorer have experienced, the low cost collaboration solution reduces the start-up risk for those who dream about working for themselves. As there is no need for an office or IT back-end, just connecting laptops via the Internet puts a new entrepreneur in business.
Thinking big
Castro and Schorer think that Tekla listens to the customer and readily adds new functionalities. “It continues to blow my mind but Tekla listens to the customer. You're not going to get similar commitment from other companies,” summarizes Schorer.
Castro recommends BIM to others. “We should be pushing with what technology can do for us. I would like to see how others use BIM, how they push the idea of BIM and what their work looks like.”
And what does work look like for DNA Detailing & BIM? “We do things differently…..because we can!”
