The decision to have modelling work done often only comes up once things have already stalled: a pile of models that keeps waiting, a deadline drawing closer, and an in-house team that still has the rest of the project to handle. If that work stays on the shelf, the schedule of the entire project slips with it, and the backlog usually grows faster than your own team can keep up with.
We take over that volume with our large, variable team, which scales with each project and which we reinforce immediately when things are urgent.
To get started, we mainly need clarity about the scope of the work, the required standard and, where applicable, the existing models or drawings that serve as the basis. As soon as we have that information, we pick up the first work quickly, and we always respond to a new enquiry within 1 to 2 working days. We work mainly for engineering firms, architectural practices, contractors and manufacturers that lack the drafting capacity for the volume coming in.
Cable tray routing in the model, built with parametric families that carry the material schedule with them.
Getting started when you have modelling work done
To actually get modelling work started, we need little more than a good conversation and the right documents. In that first conversation, you provide the project details and usually also existing drawings or models that need revising. Your standards and drawing conventions are important here, because we always follow them rather than imposing our own approach. It also helps if it is clear in advance which file format you want to receive, whether that is DXF, DWG, a Revit format or a STEP file, because in practice we handle virtually any common CAD format.
As soon as that information is complete, we can start, and that is quicker than hiring your own drafter, because our team is already in place and nobody needs to be trained first. We respond to new enquiries within 1 to 2 working days, after which we go through the project in more detail in a conversation. If you would like to see how quickly and accurately we work first, we can start with a small initial assignment before a larger project follows.
When things are urgent, we do not wait: we immediately add as many extra people from our large team to the project as needed. That way nobody has to wait weeks before we pick up the first modelling work. A clear list of the drawing types you need also saves time when you first review our work. We also agree in advance how often we will speak during the project, for example weekly or every two days.
Which clients have modelling work done
The problem that having modelling work done solves looks slightly different for every client, but the core is always similar. At engineering firms and architectural practices, it is often a peak in the drawing office, where the in-house team can keep making the design decisions but cannot also work out all the models within the schedule. At contractors and manufacturers, it is more often about repetition: the same parts they have to model again and again in different situations, while their own team does not have the hours for it. In practice, the people at the table are managers, team leaders or owners who feel this first, because they see the schedule coming under pressure or a deadline at risk.
For Firefly, we have now solved that problem across more than twenty projects and hundreds of drawings, each time for the same reason: too little time, too few drafters, or a peak their own team cannot handle. Sometimes we find a set of Revit families clogged with outdated components, which makes modelling slower than it needs to be. Sometimes we receive an as-built file that was half drawn by hand and that we need to rebuild neatly. In all these situations, the question is not whether the work gets done, but who will do it within the time that remains.
We focus on clients in the Netherlands, and we carry out the work nationwide and remotely. A combination of these situations also occurs, for example at a manufacturer facing peak workload and repetitive work at the same time.
No ongoing payroll costs and no idle staff once the peak is over. If one of our people is off sick or on holiday, we replace them and the work simply carries on.
What exactly is delivered with modelling work
When you have modelling work done by us, it covers a broad range of output: 2D drafting, 3D modelling where needed, as-built drawings and revisions to existing models. If you supply an outdated or incomplete model, you get back an updated version, including a correct material schedule. If we build the model from parametric Revit families, or smart components, a part adapts to a new situation or a different size without anyone having to model it again. If the part changes, the material schedule changes automatically with it. For companies in greenhouse construction, where AutoCAD does not handle parts such as valves in piping systems intelligently, this saves at least seventy per cent of the time compared with drawing by hand every time. We clean up existing families and templates if they are still usable, or rebuild them if they are in too messy a state.
What is not included is engineering: we model and draft, but we do not carry out structural calculations. That boundary keeps responsibilities clear between us and your own engineer. We deliver in stages, so you can give feedback along the way before we pick up the next part. That way you keep control over the direction of the model, even when we are working at a high pace and volume. A completely new model, built from a sketch or a set of loose drawings, is also part of this package, as is a combination of 2D drafting and 3D modelling within the same project. We establish which part of this package is relevant in the first conversation.
Scaling up modelling work and cover for absence
Modelling work rarely comes in at an even pace. There are periods with little volume and periods in which a project suddenly requires many models at once, for example during a revision round across an entire set or with a deadline that cannot move. That is why our large, variable team scales up or down per project, depending on what is needed at that moment.
When things are urgent, we add extra people immediately, without a recruitment process first. We did this before on a project where the deadline could not slip: we worked evenings and weekends, with days of fourteen to fifteen hours, even during a planned holiday of Sam, our team leader.
Besides scaling up during peaks, absence also plays a role. If a drafter is ill or on holiday, we replace them within the team, so the modelling work carries on and you do not pay ongoing salary costs for a permanent employee who is temporarily unavailable. Everyone on our team has more than ten years of CAD experience, so an extra or replacement drafter quickly works at the same level without a separate induction period.
Our quality control with at least three review layers stays the same, regardless of exactly who is working on a model. That way we keep the quality of the delivered modelling work consistent, even with changes in the team or a sudden increase in volume. This flexibility works both ways: as soon as a peak is over, we scale back down to the level the project requires.
Frequently asked questions about having modelling work done
Let us take on your modelling work
Send us your documents and drawing conventions and we will let you know within one to two working days what we can take on and when.