The CAD Room: The leading company for BIM consultants

The CAD Room is the leading company in the UK for BIM Consultants and CAD design services. 

Grant Hood, Owner of the CAD Room, spoke to UK Construction Media about the services offered and their importance to the BIM processes in the industry. 

Could you tell us a bit about the company and its origins? 

The Cad Room started out in 2003 as a outsource company for contractors in producing a high volume of as-built and working drawings.

What was the thinking in setting a cad solutions company up? Was there a particular demand in the market?  

I previously worked for a small consultancy as a cad operator and soon became a MEP co-ordinator. The clients my employer was working for gave us quite a lot of just cad work and soon we were overloaded.

We decided that we would set up an outsource company to handle the demand and try and attract new clients, offering them the quality service I had established.

How do you feel you’ve grown into the industry as time has progressed?  

Over the years there have been ups and downs for us and I have grown both as a businessman and also as an experienced co-ordinator. As a company in today’s industry I feel we are one of the top BIM companies that still offer that personal touch.

BIM is now one of the main issues within the construction industry. How have your services helped companies with the transition to next year’s BIM Level 2 target? 

Just by offering BIM we have been able to help companies, but mainly with resource. The major players are already up to speed and have developed a lot of what is needed.

We have been working closely with a lot of small consultants who maybe don’t have the need for in-house BIM capabilities but are still required to hit the Level 2 target if they want to work on certain projects.

What do you feel The Cad Room offers to the industry that is perhaps unavailable anywhere else?  

90% of the time when the phone rings it will be me who answers it. I am the first voice most people hear and I would like to keep it that why.

We offer a personal approach and flexibility to the needs of our clients. We are not a company for red tape and we are honest in what our capabilities are but most importantly, we are affordable.

Is there a specific project you can highlight to demonstrate the work you undertake?  

We are heavily involved in the new Royal Liverpool Hospital where we are co-ordinating the floor plans as well as creating manufactured module drawings for off-site assembly.

What are the Company’s plans for the future, as BIM progresses?  

Our plans are exciting at the moment – over the last three years we have seen significant growth, both in the industry and in-house thanks to BIM.

Because of our growth we are looking to branch out into the world to offer our services abroad and we are in the early stages of setting up our overseas office.

Is there anything else you would like to add?  

In the industry at the moment, resource is a big concern and I’m worried about the industry being hijacked by inexperienced people who consider themselves BIM capable after a two-day training course.

Even as a small company, we need to rely on contractors from time to time and find it really difficult to source the right candidates who are capable and experienced in the BIM environment.

I hope that over the next year, the resource improves and hopefully the costs associated will even out.

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