How to “Be in the Know as You Go” – an Interview with Hilly Lichtenstein of Newstone AECC
Have you ever experienced the frustration of having repairmen break down walls in your home or commercial property, as they attempt an expensive trial-and-error process of trying to discover where exactly your broken pipes or faulty wiring is located?
After working a decade and a half in the construction and building management industry, Hilly Lichtenstein, COO of Newstone AECC, had seen too much time, effort and money wasted on such unnecessary exploratory destruction. And he decided to come up with a solution.
His extensive research into virtual reality technology used in other industries led him to develop his revolutionary 3-D laser scanning system for construction documentation. And the service quickly proved so successful that in just four years since Newstone AECC’s founding, it’s seen exponential growth. The company currently services clients up and down the East Coast of the U.S. (including a large team in the Tri-State area and a full crew in Florida) as well as in Israel.
In a recent interview, Lichtenstein explained to us what he does and what makes his service so unique.
How does your construction documentation work and at what point should a client call you in?
I come in towards the end of the construction process, prior to insulating and closing up the walls. We scan every inch of wall, ceiling and floor space with our high-precision 3-D laser photos, so that you end up with a 3-D virtual rendering of your entire structure behind the walls.
No more guessing, no more headaches. You know the exact placement of every single one of your mechanicals, and can easily take measurements for furniture, electrical wiring, plumbing and more.
Here’s an example of how much benefit this can give you. We once had a client whose building burnt down in a fire. The insurance company was arguing that there must have been something wrong with the way the electrical wiring was originally installed. Luckily, our client was able to go back to their documentation and prove that it had, in fact, been installed properly – and the insurance company was forced to pay.
As our slogan puts it: Be in the know as you go!
What other services do you provide?
Aside from documenting new constructions, we also provide architectural renderings of existing structures. Say you just bought a house from a couple that’s lived there for the past 50 years. Their original architectural drawings are obsolete, since many changes have been made to the house in half a century. Our 3-D virtual blueprints will give you a fully-immersive experience, enabling you to plan your furniture design or renovations with 100% accuracy.
What kind of customers do you service?
Our clients range from properties, buildings, construction sites, homes, businesses, and resorts. We’ve even done skyscrapers! Basically, any customer who owns a property and is looking for top-of-the-line documentation to insure his peace of mind. As I like to put it, I’m not a car dealer who sells all brands of cars; we only deal with Rolls Royce.
What makes you unique in your field?
Over the past four years, we’ve proven that no one else provides the level of customer service that we do. Our response time, our turnaround time, and our availability whenever our clients need us have made us top in our industry.
In addition, the quality of our product has no comparison. When you hire us for your documentation or architectural blueprint, you can have full confidence that you’re receiving a fully accurate, high-resolution rendering to which you’ll have lifetime online access.
You were a sponsor of our recent OJBA expo. What was that experience like?
This was my third time exhibiting at the OJBA, and my second time as a sponsor. I love coming to the OJBA show. In my field, we don’t get to see our client much; we get best results when we work in an empty site. As a sponsor, I make sure to send out an invite to all of my clients, since the OJBA is the perfect opportunity to greet and speak with our existing clients – and we always meet new clients as well!
This past show was the best yet; we had a crazy turnout and success. The sponsorship definitely paid off for us. In fact, I’ve already signed a contract to be a sponsor for next year’s show!
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