About BRW Architects

BRW Architects is an architectural firm serving clients across Texas, with expertise in K-12 education, civic, federal, higher education, and public sector projects. George Fahim joined the firm's K-12 team in 2022 with a dedicated focus on construction administration, while also contributing to quality assurance during design by bringing lessons learned from the field back into project delivery. 

The challenge

Construction administration at BRW Architects was never disorganized; it was simply manual.

Like many architecture firms, the team had developed detailed processes using Excel, Bluebeam, email and owner platforms such as Procore and Owner Insite. Every project was meticulously tracked through spreadsheets, formulas, folders and templates. The process worked, but it depended on significant administrative effort to keep every moving piece synchronized.

Every submittal required downloading files, updating logs, distributing documents to consultants, tracking review dates, and documenting every step of the process before the actual technical review could even begin.

Over time, George realized the administrative workload had become one of the biggest drains on construction administration.

"We spend a lot of time on processing. A submittal comes in, you download it, log it, email it to the consultant, follow up, download it again, review it yourself, log it again... there's a lot of time in logging and distribution that doesn't get accounted for in construction administration."

The result wasn't just inefficiency. It meant more time managing paperwork and being squeezed for time solving construction problems.

The solution

Rather than changing how BRW reviews projects, Part3 changed everything surrounding the review process.

By centralizing submittals, RFIs and consultant collaboration in a single platform, many of the repetitive administrative tasks simply disappeared. Instead of downloading documents, manually logging activity, sending emails and updating spreadsheets, George can assign reviews, communicate with consultants and maintain a complete project record directly inside Part3.

That shift allows him to spend his time where architects create the most value—reviewing technical information, coordinating consultants and resolving construction issues.

"This cuts a lot of that time out where we can just focus on the actual work, not the administration part of it."

George also notes that the faster workflow has improved communication with contractors. Because less time is spent managing documents, he's able to respond more quickly when issues arise and spend more time collaborating with project teams.

AI speeds reviews without replacing professional judgment

George admits he wasn't immediately sold on AI.

Like many architects, his biggest concern wasn't whether AI could find information — it was whether people would trust it too much.

Today, after using Part3's AI-assisted Submittal Review across active projects, he sees AI differently. Rather than replacing the architect's judgment, it accelerates the repetitive research that traditionally slows every review.

Part3 compares contractor submissions against the project specifications, identifies potential discrepancies and highlights relevant specification sections automatically. Instead of searching hundreds of pages manually, George can immediately focus on verifying constructability, design intent and coordination.

"It definitely cuts the review by 50%."

Just as importantly, George believes AI should never become the reviewer itself.

"Use it as a tool — not the review itself. It saves you time, but you still need to cross-reference everything yourself. At the end of the day, it’s your name on the review."

For BRW, AI isn't replacing professional expertise. It's eliminating the repetitive work that gets in the way of applying that expertise.

The results

The biggest impact of Part3 isn't a single feature—it's the cumulative time saved across dozens of everyday construction administration tasks.

Administrative work that once happened around every submittal, RFI and consultant review has largely been automated or centralized. That means less time spent downloading documents, updating spreadsheets and chasing email threads, and more time spent moving projects forward.

There is a learning curve as teams become familiar with a new workflow, so those efficiencies aren't necessarily immediate. But once up to speed, George estimates Part3 can save approximately 20–50% of his CA time, depending on project workload.

Approximately 50% faster submittal reviews

With AI surfacing specification requirements and comparing documents automatically, George estimates individual submittal reviews now take roughly half the time they once did.

Potential to reclaim 20–50% of weekly CA time

Once users are up to speed, George estimates Part3 can save between 20–50% of his construction administration time by eliminating repetitive downloading, logging, distributing and tracking.

Faster responses for project teams

Because reviews move through the process more efficiently, contractors receive answers sooner, consultants collaborate more easily, and project communication stays centralized.

More capacity for higher-value work

Instead of spending hours documenting construction administration, George is able to devote more time to contractor coordination, resolving field issues and supporting additional projects.

"We're able to focus a lot more on the actual issues rather than the administrative portion."

Recommendation

George admits he wasn't convinced when BRW first introduced Part3. With established processes already in place, he was skeptical that another platform would make a meaningful difference.

That changed as he became more familiar with Part3 and began using it on active projects. As repetitive administrative work decreased and tools like AI-assisted Submittal Review proved useful in his day-to-day workflow, he became an advocate for the platform. The responsiveness of the Part3 team reinforced that confidence, with questions answered quickly, feedback taken seriously and improvements continually making their way into the product.

Today, he actively recommends Part3 to other architecture firms.

"I was skeptical at first. I definitely advocate for it now after diving into it and seeing how it works. It's very smart, very efficient. Anyone handling construction administration should have this as a tool to assist with projects."