Case Study: Brown & Read Engineering achieves 4x faster, more accurate bids with Trimble MEP

Mechanical Contractor Realizes 4x Process Improvement Through Trimble AutoBid Adoption

Brown & Read Engineering, a Reno-based HVAC and plumbing firm founded in 2003, faced rapid growth and increasingly complex higher-education and public projects that outgrew their pencil-and-paper, AutoCAD and Excel estimating workflow. To gain more automation, better AutoCAD connections, screen takeoffs and vendor connectivity, Brown & Read turned to Trimble MEP and adopted AutoBid Mechanical and AutoBid SheetMetal.

Trimble MEP implemented AutoBid for takeoff, bid creation and vendor submittal, delivering automated material lists, correction-factor controls, historical job-based bidding and vendor pricing integration. The result: bids became far more accurate across building types and Brown & Read reports a fourfold speed improvement in estimating, the tools have already “paid for themselves,” and they’ve enabled successful work on projects such as the Carson City Federal Building and the University of Nevada, Reno.

Brown & Read Engineering

Tyke Read

Engineer