Interview with AMECTech Co-founder and CEO Amit Maimoni

Following the completion of his BSc and ME in Civil Engineering at Technion Institute of Technology, and nearly a decade of professional experience as an engineer, Amit Maimoni started his own business in 2013. Amit Maimoni Engineering & Consulting (AMEC) was a one-man operation aiming to support the introduction of BIM to Israel. In practice, however, Amit spent his time predominantly on MEP coordination, as that was the extent to which BIM was used at that time. By 2017 AMEC had grown to a team of five, with a wider scope of work, as construction projects in Israel slowly started to integrate more BIM. Today, in 2022, with a growth of more than 600% in 5 years, AMEC has 35+ employees and is the country’s leader in the field of BIM. AMEC is a leading provider of BIM consultation services with expertise in underground and aboveground large scale construction and infrastructure projects. In 2020, Amit co-founded AMECTech with AMEC CTO Yaniv Stoliar and software development director Guy Hareuveni. 

Hi Amit! You have nearly a decade of professional experience with BIM in construction. How has the industry changed in that time?

Well, it has changed a lot! But also not that much….

When I first started AMEC, BIM was rarely used in Israel, except for MEP coordination. Over the years BIM started to become more common for visualizing construction projects as a whole, although Israel still lagged behind the USA, Europe, and Southeast Asia. However, the past 3-5 years have seen a significant rise in the use of BIM in construction in Israel. More consultancy firms have started, and larger engineering companies have created in-house BIM departments. The ministry of defense now uses BIM as standard, and many of the largest projects in the country, including infrastructure, have also adopted the process. There is still a long way to go, as BIM is still largely used as a visualization tool and the industry is not yet taking full advantage of the potential of having so much data at its disposal. However, we are reaching the stage where the Israeli market is ready to move to the next step and fully incorporate BIM into its workflow – we just need to make the leap!

Can you tell us the future? How do you envision a day in the life of a site engineer?

This is so exciting to me. I can’t wait to see the industry’s development in the next few years. I hope within the next 5 years we will see the end of 2D printed plans, with BIM as standard. However, that isn’t enough in and of itself. I would also like to see an industry where the data in BIM is used to create a holistic workflow for a project, integrating all the departments involved. For example, a site engineer would arrive in the morning, log in to their dashboard, and immediately see who is at work and what their tasks are for the day. They would be able to manage logistics easily, making sure that all the deliveries are going to the right place at the right time, and in just a few clicks be able to calculate quantities and check invoices. Everything would synchronize with the project model, which in turn would update the budget and timeline. 

 

My dream is for tech to connect all aspects of a construction project from start to finish, be it structural, logistical, or financial. There is no reason why in this day and age the construction industry shouldn’t be more holistic, with collaboration across all departments. It is just a matter of time, and innovation.

Thank you for your insights. Last question: what are your tips for future engineers?

Get involved with BIM as soon as you can. Learn to use the software and model projects, including using simple and effective tools such as BIMSearch, which makes calculating quantities (amongst other things!) really quick and easy.  Don’t forget to follow companies such as Autodesk and the Institute of Civil Engineers (and of course us, AMECTech) on social media and keep up to date with new developments in the field. Most importantly: get excited! The world of construction tech is just getting started! During your studies and your work experience you should always be asking yourself “how can tech improve this?” Don’t take anything for granted; if you think it could work more efficiently and/or more sustainably, do it! Come join us in the world of construction tech, the more the merrier!