Field team using tablets, augmented reality overlays, drones, and laser scanners to coordinate constructible models and reduce rework.
Greeley, Colorado, August 22, 2025
Hensel Phelps is broadening its digital-construction capabilities across projects while enacting multiple executive leadership changes. The firm has standardized a Virtual Design and Construction (VDC) program on every job, pairing BIM, drone operations, laser scanning, augmented reality, and cloud collaboration to reduce rework, improve safety, and boost field efficiency. A staffed VDC group supports project kickoff through construction with clash detection and constructible models accessible on tablets in the field. The company emphasizes hands-on, in-field training and practical technology use tied to measurable outcomes, including improved risk scores, reduced rework, and recognized safety and innovation performance.
Hensel Phelps, an employee-owned general contractor founded in 1937 in Greeley, Colorado, is broadening its digital-construction capabilities across projects while implementing multiple executive leadership changes effective January 1, 2025. The company says its expanded virtual design and construction program is now a standard element on every job and is being paired with stronger field training and wider use of augmented reality and cloud tools to reduce rework, improve safety, and increase efficiency.
Several senior moves take effect at the start of 2025. Derek Hoffine was promoted to Executive Vice President and will oversee multiple regions including the Pacific Northwest, Rocky Mountain, and Southcentral districts, as well as Hensel Phelps Water and Diverge. A regional leadership role for the Rocky Mountain area was filled with a new Regional Vice President. The company also appointed a General Manager for Mission Critical Integrated Solutions and announced the retirement of a long-serving regional leader who had overseen several western regions and the Water unit. In a separate executive update, a 27-year company veteran assumed the role of President and COO, taking responsibility for execution of the strategic plan and alignment of corporate operations.
Hensel Phelps has been systematically integrating a VDC (Virtual Design and Construction) program across its work. The VDC group, led by a director and supported by 95 staffers in roles from Senior VDC Managers to BIM Engineers, develops BIM execution plans during procurement and kickoff to set standards for deliverables and collaboration. The VDC team handles clash detection, drone operations, augmented reality set-up, and laser scanning on job sites.
The company collects BIM data on every project regardless of owner requirements and uses cloud platforms such as Trimble Connect as the central source of truth for field data. Project teams use powerful iPads and visualization tools to display constructible models in the field, anticipate conflicts, avoid utility strikes, and plan next steps.
Hensel Phelps is expanding the use of Augmented Reality (AR) tools such as Trimble SiteVision to validate installation work, perform quality control, and visualize demolition and utility work in real time. The technology has been put to work on complex programs where AR helped map floor removals, visualize spatial constraints, and continuously track QA/QC. Engineering teams have loaded design models into field visualization systems and used color-coding and collaboration workflows to support safety verification and coordination on demolition and utility installations.
The company emphasizes onsite training by VDC personnel, preferring in-field, hands-on instruction over video-only programs. Regional training sessions are used to scale knowledge quickly and the organization encourages field, safety, and quality teams to leverage VDC tools. Hensel Phelps reported acquiring hundreds of AR licenses and increasing the number of cloud collaboration licenses to meet demand.
The firm takes a field-oriented approach to technology, applying tools only where they reduce rework, prevent accidents, and improve constructability. That practical stance extends to developing workflows that connect BIM, 3D coordination, and digital collaboration tools into a single ecosystem. Advanced visualizations allow workers to identify clashes earlier, assign accountability, and improve cost control during construction.
Adoption of these tools has generated measurable benefits: improved risk scores, better insurance outcomes, reduced rework, and stronger safety performance. The company has received multiple safety recognitions, national and local awards, and a technology innovation award in 2024 for processes that link data and improve transparency for stakeholders.
As one of the largest employee-owned general contractors in the United States, Hensel Phelps works across aviation, healthcare, and transportation infrastructure sectors. Recent efforts include selection to provide Construction Manager at Risk services for a major airport concourse reconstruction project and regional office moves planned for the Rocky Mountain region and the Facilities Services Group. The company continues to expand its VDC language into operational protocols and tie digital workflows to safety procedures.
The preferred path into the VDC group is conversion of experienced field or office engineers and area superintendents into VDC roles, combining field knowledge with digital skills. Managers and engineers with mixed field and office experience have developed company-wide workflows that create a common language for teams and clarify what is planned versus what has been installed.
The reporting on these VDC practices and leadership changes was compiled in an article published on January 8, 2025, and authored by an industry writer and market researcher. Contact emails cited in company announcements include corporate communications addresses for follow-up.
VDC is implemented in some capacity on every project; larger projects typically use the program fully.
Primary tools include Trimble Connect for cloud collaboration and Trimble SiteVision for augmented reality field visualization, along with project management tools for cost, RFIs, daily logs, and drawings interaction.
The VDC staff comprises about 95 people who fulfill roles from senior managers to BIM engineers.
Yes. New executive roles and promotions are intended to align operations across regions and business units, with a new president and COO focusing on execution and corporate alignment.
| Feature | Details |
|---|---|
| Company type | Employee-owned general contractor founded in 1937 |
| Digital tools | Trimble Connect, Trimble SiteVision, iPad-based visualization, laser scanning, drones |
| VDC team | 95 staff members including Senior VDC Managers, VDC Engineers, and BIM Engineers |
| AR adoption | Hundreds of SiteVision licenses; AR used for QA/QC, installation validation, and planning |
| Training | Onsite field training led by VDC personnel; regional sessions to scale skills |
| Outcomes | Reduced rework, improved safety records, better insurance risk scores, national safety awards |
| Leadership updates | Executive promotions and a retirement effective Jan. 1, 2025; new President and COO effective Jan. 1, 2025 |
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