Virtual Construction Design & BIM For MEPF Systems

Q. What advice do you have for a customer looking to hire a provider like you?

A. The three most important steps are 1 check references, 2 check references and 3 check references,in that order.

Q. If you were a customer, what do you wish you knew about your trade? Any inside secrets to share?

A. Well then they wouldn't be secrets would they now?

Q. What questions should a consumer ask to hire the right service professional?

A. How long have you been in construction? When was your business founded? How many customers do you have? How do you expect to deliver accurate work, on time and within budget?

Q. What important information should buyers have thought through before seeking you out?

A. how will this service improve my bottom line?
what will be the likely outcome if I don't adopt this new technology?
how much is this really going to cost me?
what can go wrong?
how do we cope with that as a team?

Q. Why does your work stand out from others who do what you do?

A. Ray Couzens has been in the construction industry since 1964. Previous business ventures included a joint venture ductwork detailing enterprise in the UK in the 70;s,RPC Mechanical Consulting and RPC Electrical Consulting in Canada in the 80's, and finally my current venture started in 2009 as a sole proprietorship and taken corporate as CC2BL INC in 2010. The only construction industries not worked in are Nuclear Power and ShipBuilding. We are tech savvy and use all the toys.

Q. What do you like most about your job?

A. I get to work from home mostly, and also spend time visiting local construction sites and interfacing with the tradesmen.

Q. Do you have a favorite story from your work?

A. I have a very thick skin - it's hard to upset my equilibrium. When I was an apprentice back in 1964, the chief draftsman would look out of the window mid morning to check it was raining (it usually was), look at me and say "I wouldn't send my dog out in this weather, get your coat on Ray!"

Q. How did you decide to get in your line of work?

A. I attended a vocational high school in the UK. When it came to my turn near to graduation, the school guidance counselor looked down his list and said "You're going into HVAC. Go see so and so for an interview I have arranged."

Q. Tell us about a recent job you did that you are particularly proud of.

A. I'm proud of them all. Generally speaking I can save a mechanical contractor 50% of his field labor budget by modeling his systems, even more if he has a Trimble Total Station for layout work.

Q. Do you do any sort of continuing education to stay up on the latest developments in your field?

A. I participate in AUGI Autodesk, Xtracad and Quickpen cad forums and QuickBooks accounting forums. I read voraciously to keep current with Autodesk products such as Autocad MEP and Revit MEP, Navisworks Manage. I spend time working with tutorials from numerous sources.
I recently attended QuickBooks University on line. I am planning to attend Autodesk University this winter.

Q. What are the latest developments in your field? Are there any exciting things coming in the next few years or decade that will change your line of business?

A. Cloud computing, Laser Scanning for renovation projects and verification of new installations. Trimble Total Station
laser triangulation equipment integrated with BIM models. Downloading duct models to plasma cutting tables and duct coil lines.

Q. Describe your most recent project, what it involved, how much it cost, and how long it took.

A. Metro State College of Denver Hotel and Hospitality Learning Center, an $8,000,000.00 mechanical project was modeled and coordinated for under $30,000.00 in around three months. My scope was the dry and wet side mechanical and the electrical systems coordination and penetration drawings for Trimble Total Station layout for the hotel portion of the building from a Revit MEP design model by the engineer of record.