The cost has always been a challenge in the constructionarena, from projects going over budget to the usage ofdifferent raw materials constituting increased expense. PIZÁInternational is a pioneering change in the ConstructionManagement Industry by implementing Innovative Processesand Technologies, setting a Higher Standard of Collaboration,Communication, Coordination, and Project Controls throughoutthe lifecycle of a project, resulting in substantial cost savingsand time benefits. Certified by the Construction ManagementAssociation of America (CMAA), PIZÁ is ahead of the curve inthe Program / Construction Management Industry.PIZÁ International identifies what causes constructionprojects to have these substantial variances in cost and how theycan be solved. They start by increasing collaborative work—themajority of the project’s teams work in silos and do not providevalue—by implementing emerging technologies such as virtualconstruction environments where all teams and key participantscan work together, add value, and eliminate risk at the same timewhile viewing a replica of the building on their screen or in thecollaborative meetings.“The result has been outstanding, a typical project goes overbudget 20% or more from the initial base; with our methodology which we call “Virtual Construction,”this variance is lowered substantiallyto a range from 2% to 3% by reviewingthe budget, scope, and specs witha virtual setting months beforeconstruction starts,” explains DamiánPizá, Founder of PIZÁ International.“We identify and solve hundreds oferrors, omissions, and discrepancies incontract documentation which are themain creators of over-cost, and at thesame time all team members providetheir insight, past experience, andlessons which add much more value.”It doesn’t come as a surprise that thecompany was the Winner of the 2022CMAA’s Project Achievement Award& ENR Best Global Project Award,representing the Best of the Best of managed projects worldwidethat serve as an example to the industry and are true pinnacles ofexcellence and innovation.

Solving Major ChallengesThe majority of the problems in a construction project are createdduring pre-construction. Hence, PIZÁ International solutionsare heavily focused on the planning stage, where they canreview the budget, scope, drawings, and specifications, amongother contractual documents, and help motivate collaboration,so it is not a one-person review but a multi-team collaborativeprocess. “Traditional Methods identified under 100 issues duringthe planning phase, our methods enable identifying over 1000issues on average per project, we also have found inconsistencyand under-estimating budgets, where a virtual environmenthelps our client understand exactly where and why the budget isunderpriced,” adds Damián.Once the client feels these technology-oriented processes aresolving real problems they have encountered in the past monthsbefore construction, they tend to get on board, but not before.They tend to be skeptical and not pay for something they think should be perfect, which is different. The benefits are translatedinto the cost; Damián and his team solve numerous issues ahead oftime so that the budget has better accuracy after their review, andthe contingency is lowered from 10% usual to 2.5%.Nearly every management practice PIZÁ Internationalapply has a technology process that makes it more efficient andeffective; they include a full-time Technology Manager plus itsOffice Support called TMO (Technology Management Office) inall their projects. Technology has become an essential part of thecompany’s Construction Management team, providing visuals ofall project controls via dashboards, BIM, Scanners, Drones, DigitalTwins, PM Software, Business intelligence, Paperless reviews,Virtual Reality, Virtual Construction, among others to have amuch better understanding of the data/information, and therefore,heightening the soft skills that enhances a better managementpractice overall.PIZÁ International can also anticipate and avoid risk,enhancing teamwork, forecasting, and solving issues ahead oftime while creating value opportunities through visualization &collaboration. Having a good planning process is the key, andthey call this method “Virtual Construction,” meaning that beforethe start of construction, PIZÁ International models a replica ofthe building (digital twin) that they can review in detail. “We areable to identify errors, omissions, discrepancies in the design andspecs much sooner and therefore eliminate them, or address them,months before they become issues. We are also able to confirmquantities, scope of work which make our budget much morecertain,” elucidates Damián. “During this process we can alsoidentify value propositions and evaluate them, as well as focusingon complex areas where coordination of the trades could be aproblem.”Moving Ahead with StrengthPIZÁ International does not focus on competition or competitors,and they focus on themselves. “Every now and then we know abouta new company that is modeling LOD500 in pre-construction andI just shake my head thinking why they would do that?” saysDamián. “We avoid misinformation, we avoid sales acts from thebig tech suppliers, we focus on trial and error, testing, asking lots ofquestions and research to all new tech we are interested or we findit would be helpful for managing projects. Probably this is whatdifferentiates us, we don’t use technology just because we have it,we us it for the purpose of eliminating risk and creating value toour projects, and we go extra miles in training and implementing iteffectively and efficiently.”The good does not end there for PIZÁ International as theygive back to society by collaborating with the students andsupporting them to do their final Project with BIM Processes & Procedures. They are starting their 12th semester with the Techof Monterrey Architectural Program and 3rd year as liaison withthe CMAA (Construction Management Association of America)student Chapter of the same University. Their passion is to conveyexperiences as Construction Managers and Technology Processesto the new generations, stressing the importance of genuineconstruction before they get attached to virtual constructionenvironments.Keeping ourselves ahead of the curve regarding technologyand innovative processes for Managing Construction Projects isPIZÁ International’s priority. They believe they have a strongfoundation regarding methods and how they manage constructionprojects. Not many clients understand this ideology. Having clientswho favor technology and use it is kind of the type of project theywould like to support. Clients that believe that faster is quickerin construction is a big no for PIZÁ International. “Our visionfor the next 10 years, supporting clients/owners to be better, butthey must be convinced that technology is the way and open to achange of how projects are managed culture, Technology has manyimplementations and its only growing so a technology-orientedculture is essential, this is our target while still advocate for Techbeing at the forefront of any project,” says Damián