A clash in a BIM model costs almost nothing to fix. The same clash discovered during steel erection or MEP rough-in costs thousands in rework, schedule delay, and subcontractor friction. Our clash detection services identify every spatial conflict across your models before a single crew mobilizes on-site.
When a ductwork run collides with a structural beam, the field crew stops, and every trade waiting behind sits idle while the GC, engineer, architect, and MEP consultant sort it out. A single undetected clash cascades into days of lost schedule and tens of thousands in delay costs that a model review would have eliminated.
Generating a five-hundred-item Navisworks report nobody can act on is not clash detection; it's noise. Every conflict we identify is reviewed, classified by type and severity, assigned to the responsible discipline, and documented with clear visual references and resolution guidance. Your team receives a structured report that drives real coordination meetings and resolves conflicts before construction begins.
Effective clash detection only works when every discipline's model is included. We federate architectural, structural, and MEP models, including mechanical HVAC, electrical conduit and cable tray, plumbing, fire protection, and civil site elements into one coordinated environment and run analysis across all simultaneously. No discipline is checked in isolation. No system gets a pass.
Undetected clashes don't stay hidden; they surface as change orders. We provide contractors, engineers, and owners with complete clash detection that identifies and resolves every spatial conflict before construction begins.
Learn MoreWe expand in-house BIM and VDC team capacity during high-workload periods, delivering independent clash analysis in the exact output format your coordination workflow already uses.
We give GCs and CMs pre-construction coordination intelligence structured around the construction sequence, so every coordination meeting focuses on what needs resolution now, not model report sorting.
We give mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractors spatial intelligence to finalize routing, prefabricate off-site confidently, and arrive on-site knowing systems will install without costly field modifications.
We help design teams identify coordination conflicts during design development, before bid, and before contractor-discovered field issues generate RFIs that delay construction and damage design intent.
We verify structural models against architectural layouts, MEP penetrations, and civil elements, catching conflicts while design is still fluid and corrections remain inexpensive to implement and document.
We provide owners and developers with independent clash detection as an owner-side QC measure, giving visibility into coordination status at key milestones before conflicts become schedule and cost overruns.
We run specialty-trade clash analysis for fire protection, data, building automation, and curtain wall contractors, ensuring routing space, equipment clearances, and access zones are confirmed before crews mobilize.
A systematic workflow moving from raw model files to a fully actionable conflict resolution plan
Receive architectural, structural, civil, and MEP models. Confirm discipline pairs, project phases, required tolerances, file formats, and coordination priorities.
Combine discipline models in Navisworks or the agreed coordination platform. Configure hard-clash, soft-clash, clearance, and system-specific tests.
Remove false positives, group duplicate clashes, classify issues by severity, location, discipline, and construction impact, and assign responsibility.
Deliver visual clash reports, viewpoints, element IDs, issue assignments, and resolution status. Re-run tests after model updates when ongoing coordination is included.
With nearly a decade of hands-on experience in construction cost estimating, David has helped hundreds of contractors, subcontractors, and developers across the USA and Canada bid smarter, win more, and build profitably. Working with industry-standard tools including Bluebeam, PlanSwift, and RSMeans, David brings the same level of precision and speed to every estimate, whether it's a single-trade subcontractor bid or a full commercial project breakdown.
We utilized Federal Estimating's clash detection services for a hospital expansion project, and the results were exceptional. Their team identified multiple conflicts between HVAC, plumbing, and structural systems before construction began. Resolving these issues during preconstruction saved us significant rework costs and prevented schedule delays in the field. Their expertise and detailed reporting added tremendous value to the project.
Federal Estimating provided clash detection services for our mixed-use development, and their coordination process was extremely thorough. The clash reports were well organized, easy to understand, and helped our design and construction teams address potential issues early. Their proactive approach improved overall project coordination and minimized the risk of costly field conflicts.
Our company engaged Federal Estimating for BIM clash detection on a large warehouse construction project. Their team carefully reviewed all building systems and identified coordination issues that could have impacted both budget and schedule. The communication throughout the process was excellent, and they worked closely with our team to resolve clashes efficiently. We highly recommend their clash detection services for complex construction projects.
Clash detection in BIM is the process of identifying spatial conflicts between building elements across multiple discipline models, including architectural, structural, MEP, and civil, before construction begins. When models from different design teams are federated into a single coordinated environment, elements that physically intersect or violate required clearance zones are flagged as clashes. Resolving conflicts at the model stage eliminates the field rework, schedule disruption, and coordination disputes that occur when crews encounter the same problems on-site.
A hard clash is a direct physical intersection between two building elements, a pipe running through a structural beam, for example. A soft clash occurs when elements don't physically intersect but violate a required clearance zone, such as insufficient maintenance access around an air handling unit. A workflow clash involves construction sequencing, where one trade's work physically prevents another from completing their scope in the required order. Our analysis covers all three types because all three create real, costly field problems.
