PCL Construction is one of North America’s largest and most respected builders, delivering complex civil, buildings, and infrastructure projects across the continent. Led by innovators like Aaron Akehurst (Manager, Construction Services) and Darren Kresak (Superintendent), PCL has deployed 100 active cmBuilder licenses, empowering teams - from VDC managers to field superintendents - to shift from static planning to dynamic, 4D site logistics.

"I really believe that we are excellent—probably the best—planners. And now we can communicate that plan at the pursuit stage… It’s really helping us win more work."

- Aaron Akehurst - Manager, Construction Services at PCL Construction

From Digitization to True Digitalization

Aaron Akehurst draws a critical distinction that reflects PCL’s modern planning philosophy. Digitization simply converts physical processes into digital ones, moving from paper to PDFs. Digitalization, however, fundamentally transforms how work happens by leveraging digital tools.

cmBuilder supports that shift. Instead of interpreting static 2D drawings, teams now combine 3D geometry, time-based sequencing, and accurate equipment specifications to create dynamic 4D simulations. The result is planning that is faster to produce, easier to interpret, and far more aligned across clients, trade partners, and field teams.

Winning Work Through Visual Planning Excellence

The most immediate impact appeared in pursuit work, where visual communication of construction methodology creates powerful competitive differentiation.

On a recent US civil project, tender documents showed a severely restricted site that would barely keep the facility operational. The PCL team modeled an alternate location in cmBuilder, proving the original plan wasn't feasible while demonstrating a solution that would save the client $5–10 million. The visual sequencing made the value proposition undeniable.

On a large Canadian hospital project, cmBuilder enabled a major mid-design shift. After months of design work based on a four-story deep excavation, the team identified a better building location based on the sloping site. Within one week, they quantified excavation volumes in cmBuilder and confirmed the shift would save three months and $30–40 million. The ability to model, validate, and communicate that change so quickly made it possible to confidently pivot the design.

"We saved $30 to $40 million and three months of schedule on a single project because we could validate a major change in less than a week. It’s really changing the way we plan."

- Aaron Akehurst - Manager, Construction Services at PCL Construction

From Pursuit to Field: Real Project Value

Beyond winning work, cmBuilder delivers value throughout execution. At the hospital project, the dynamic site model generates precise quantities for general expense items that are traditionally estimated at a high level, such as trailer months and linear feet of fencing by phase. In another project, cmBuilder was used for three-week look-ahead planning, catching a conflict between a concrete pour and an electrical trench before it became a field issue.

Perhaps most powerful is cmBuilder's library of 3,000+ construction assets with embedded specifications. A co-op student exploring the equipment catalog discovered a spider crane that would fit in a confined space where the superintendent had planned a forklift. The accurate cut sheets and 3D geometry allowed immediate validation, eliminating what superintendents describe as "15 minutes digging through five different websites" for basic equipment specs.

Bringing Planning to the Field: The Superintendent’s Perspective

Adoption in the field is the real test for any construction technology solution. Darren Kresak, a Superintendent with over two decades of experience, represents the practical side of this digital transformation.

Darren, who describes his career foundations as "pounding nails", proves that 4D planning isn't reserved for BIM specialists. His onboarding consisted of watching just seven YouTube tutorial videos before he was building complex simulations.

"My experience in 3D modeling was pretty much zero before I started... These simulations that I’ve built, I did it completely off of the first seven cmBuilder tutorial videos on YouTube."

- Darren Kresak - Superintendent at PCL Construction

This ease of use translated to major wins. For a mountain gondola adventure park, the challenge was pouring concrete tower foundations in remote wilderness where each helicopter pour cost roughly $40,000. By integrating drone survey data into cmBuilder, Darren modeled access scenarios to show which locations could be reached by road, potentially eliminating up to 50% of helicopter trips.

Furthermore, on a bus transit facility with no existing drawings, Darren used drone topography imports to validate design constraints. He modeled access ramps to ensure electric buses wouldn't bottom out, verifying slope percentages before a single shovel hit the ground.

Scaling cmBuilder Across the Organization

At nine months into its enterprise-wide adoption, PCL already had 75–80 active projects using cmBuilder. Their rollout is structured intentionally to integrate cmBuilder across all project phases:

• ICT/VDC: Project setup, importing terrain and models, and initial milestones.

• Project Engineers/Coordinators: Excavation sequencing, drawing overlays, and schedule integration.

• Superintendents: Drive the logistics, create scenarios to experiment with crane placement, site access, and safety routing.

This team-based workflow ensures that cmBuilder becomes a living planning environment, not a one-person task.

What used to be static drawings and long schedules is now a dynamic, team-driven workflow that sets a new standard for digital construction planning. This shift goes beyond simple digitization to true transformation, making PCL's expertise visible, valuable, and decisive in winning work and improving execution at every project stage.

If you'd like to learn about PCL's approach to implementing new technology solutions watch Aaron's presentation from SitePlan Summit 3:

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