Industrial Mechanical Design & VDC/BIM Services in Illinois

Capabilities for Industrial Mechanical Projects

DePue provides mechanical design and VDC/BIM services for new construction, facility expansions, plant retrofits, shutdowns, equipment upgrades, utility projects, and existing mechanical systems.

The required deliverables depend on the project. Some facilities need a targeted scan and updated layout. Others need BIM coordination for shutdown projects, fabrication-ready BIM modeling, pipe spool drawings, installation sequencing, and field support through completion.

Existing-Condition Scanning and As-Built Modeling

Verify the Facility Before Designing the Change

Existing industrial facilities are rarely identical to their original drawings. Piping may have been rerouted, equipment may have been replaced, and decades of maintenance work may have changed the available space.

DePue provides 3D laser scanning for industrial facilities to capture relevant existing conditions before a new mechanical system is routed or fabricated. The point-cloud information can support scan-to-BIM services, equipment layouts, piping modifications, utility planning, tie-in verification, retrofit coordination, and updated facility documentation.

Our scan-to-BIM services in Illinois are designed around the area and accuracy required for the project. The goal is to collect useful field information, not to create unnecessary data that does not support a construction decision.

How 3D Scanning Supports Industrial Retrofits

A retrofit must fit around what is already installed. Three-dimensional scanning can help the project team understand available space, locate existing systems, verify critical dimensions, and review proposed changes without repeatedly sending multiple stakeholders into the work area.

For an operating facility, this can also reduce disruption during early planning. Plant personnel, engineers, equipment vendors, fabricators, and contractors can review the same captured conditions before final routing, equipment placement, or tie-in decisions are made.

Existing-condition services may include

• Jobsite walkdowns and field verification
• 3D laser scanning
• Point-cloud registration and review
• Existing-condition facility modeling
• Existing piping and equipment layouts
• Mechanical-room modeling
• Pipe rack and utility-corridor documentation
• Tank, vessel, pump, skid, boiler, chiller, and equipment-location verification
• Tie-in point identification
• Updated or newly created mechanical as-built drawings
• P&ID review, creation, or revision based on the agreed scope
• Record-model updates following construction

Industrial Mechanical and Piping Design

Construction-Focused Design for Real Plant Conditions

DePue provides industrial mechanical design services for projects where piping, equipment, utilities, access, fabrication, and construction sequencing must be considered together.

Our work may begin with an owner’s concept, equipment-vendor information, a P&ID, a preliminary engineering package, an existing model, or a field condition that needs to be resolved. From there, we help develop practical mechanical layouts that support coordination, estimating, fabrication, installation, and long-term facility use.

Mechanical design for plant expansions must do more than place new equipment inside a building. It must consider how the new system connects to existing utilities, how production areas will be accessed, how future capacity may be added, and how construction will be sequenced around the facility’s operating requirements.

Where a project requires professional engineering calculations, code analysis, or sealed engineering documents, the responsible engineering scope and licensed-professional requirements should be established during project planning.

Industrial piping design services may include

• Process piping design and modeling
• Utility piping layouts
• Steam and condensate routing
• Compressed-air layouts
• Chilled-water and hot-water piping
• Glycol and process-water systems
• Natural-gas piping layouts
• Tank, pump, heat-exchanger, boiler, chiller, compressor, and skid connections
• Equipment layout modeling
• Mechanical-room layouts
• Pipe rack layouts
• Process-line modifications
• Utility extensions and header modifications
• Future tie-in planning
• Phased expansion layouts
• Plant retrofit design
• Shutdown and tie-in planning
• Routing studies and conceptual options
• Auxiliary mechanical details
• General-arrangement drawings
• Orthographic drawings
• Piping isometric drawings
• Bill-of-material support based on the agreed scope

BIM Coordination and Mechanical Clash Detection

Coordinate the Mechanical Scope Before Installation Begins

Mechanical BIM coordination brings proposed systems, existing conditions, equipment models, structural information, and adjacent trades into a shared coordination process.

DePue supports mechanical BIM coordination in Illinois for industrial projects, facility upgrades, new construction, and GC-led work. Depending on the project, our team can participate in model-development meetings, clash reviews, routing discussions, constructability reviews, and installation-planning sessions.

Mechanical clash detection should not be treated as an automated software exercise. A clash may be technically visible in a model but operationally insignificant, while an access problem or installation-sequence conflict may create serious field consequences without appearing as a traditional hard clash.

DePue reviews coordination issues through a mechanical-construction lens, prioritizing conflicts that affect safety, fit-up, fabrication, equipment access, installation, maintenance, testing, startup, and schedule.

BIM and VDC coordination may include

• Mechanical trade modeling
• Multi-trade BIM coordination
• Federated-model review
• Mechanical clash detection
• Trade overlay models
• Pipe, duct, equipment, steel, electrical, and controls coordination
• Support, sleeve, penetration, and opening coordination
• Equipment access and service-clearance review
• Installation access review
• Constructability reviews
• Coordination-meeting participation
• Clash reports and issue tracking
• Design-change review
• Routing-option development
• Model-based field coordination
• 4D scheduling and phase visualization where required
• Installation sequencing
• Progress and closeout model support

Fabrication-Ready Modeling and Mechanical Detailing

Connect the Coordinated Model to Shop and Field Execution

Once the project team agrees on the mechanical layout, the information must be translated into usable fabrication and installation deliverables.

DePue supports fabrication-ready BIM modeling and prefabrication modeling for piping, mechanical assemblies, modular skids, equipment connections, and related construction scopes. The required level of detail is established based on the contract, fabrication process, project standards, installation needs, and responsibility of each party.

We will not assign an unsupported level-of-development designation to every model. Deliverables and modeling expectations should be defined during project scoping so the owner, engineer, GC, fabricator, and installer understand how the model will be used.

A fabrication drawing must account for more than geometry. DePue considers how an assembly will be built, inspected, transported, staged, lifted, supported, connected, tested, and installed within the available project window.

For related construction capabilities, DePue also provides industrial piping, pipe fabrication and prefabrication, skid fabrication, and equipment setting.

Fabrication and construction deliverables may include

• Pipe spool drawings
• Piping isometric drawings
• Orthographic routing drawings
• General-arrangement drawings
• Equipment tie-in details
• Prefabricated assembly layouts
• Modular skid layouts
• Pipe-support coordination
• Valve and instrument orientation
• Spool breakdown planning
• Material takeoffs and bills of material
• Shop-fabrication information
• Field-installation drawings
• Spool identification and staging support
• Total-station layout information where required
• Fabrication and installation sequencing
• Updated drawings following approved changes

Construction Support and Mechanical Closeout

Maintain Coordination from the Model Through Turnover

Conditions can change after coordination is complete. Equipment submittals may be revised, site conditions may be exposed during demolition, or another trade may need to adjust its routing. Those changes must be controlled so field teams are not working from outdated information.

DePue can support the mechanical scope during fabrication and installation by maintaining communication among the VDC team, project management, shop, superintendent, foremen, owner, engineer, equipment vendors, and other project stakeholders.

Accurate closeout information can help the facility plan maintenance, future expansions, equipment replacements, and later tie-ins. The required format, accuracy, and responsibility for record documentation should be defined before construction begins.

Construction and closeout support may include

• Field-layout support
• Model-based layout information
• Responses to approved design changes
• Revised routing and equipment layouts
• Coordination of discovered field conditions
• Redline incorporation
• Fabrication drawing updates
• Installation-sequence adjustments
• Field-verification support
• Mechanical as-built drawings
• Record-model updates
• P&ID updates based on the agreed scope
• Turnover-document support
• Digital closeout information
• Future tie-in documentation

Software Platforms We Use

We utilize a full suite of industry-leading software to deliver high-quality, field-ready models:

• AutoCAD MEP
• AutoCAD Plant 3D
• Autodesk 3ds Max
• Autodesk ReCap Pro
• Autodesk Construction Cloud
• Fabrication CADmep
• Revit
• Navisworks Manage
• Navisworks Freedom
• Bluebeam Revu
• Trimble Total Station
• Trimble AutoBid Mechanical
• Trimble AutoBid SheetMetal