Innovations from the nation’s largest engineering firms

Of the 100+ engineering and engineering/architecture firms that participated in BD+C’s 2025 Giants 400 survey, 77 firms provided details on their top innovations, technology enhancements, and market moves from the past 12 months. Here’s a roundup of the most compelling updates from the 2025 Engineering Giants (in alpha order):

Above Group invested in manhole cameras to improve project efficiency. This high-resolution technology allows the firm’s engineers to inspect sewer lines, electrical conduits, and other underground infrastructure without the need for confined space entry. This speeds up data collection, enhances design accuracy, and helps minimize construction risks and delays.

Affiliated Engineers Inc. (AEI) is integrating AEI-developed tools with industry standards like Autodesk and Microsoft. Two examples: Design Hub, the firm’s proprietary tool that transforms static documents into dynamic, accessible data, empowering its teams to coordinate in real-time and eliminate delays caused by siloed information; and Microsoft Power BI to generate interactive dashboards for clients.

Barge Design Solutions created a generative AI-based system to assist with the development of Health and Safety Plans (HaSPs), which are “necessary for a significant number of our projects and require input from multiple users, taking hours of effort to develop,” according to the firm. The AI tool takes project-specific input from the user, then guides them through an outline and writes each of the sections of a HaSP individually while keeping the user engaged and working with the agents to ensure the HaSP is as accurate as possible. “This system has reduced our time for HaSP development by an estimated 93%,” said the firm.

In 2024, Bennett & Pless joined the SE2050 Commitment, which aims to reduce embodied carbon in structural designs to net zero by 2050.

Black & Veatch’s BV Con-X modular electric vehicle (EV) charging station is designed to be quickly installed, used, relocated, or made permanent. The EV station was recently installed at the Powell Creek Solar Site in Putnam County, Ohio, for client Avangrid. There, the modular EV charging infrastructure hosts six Level 2 (19kW) Blink chargers and offers compatibility with DC fast charging equipment to accommodate six Chevy Silverado EV trucks. BV Con-X’s load management system allow the team to divert surplus power from the jobsite trailers to the modular chargers. No dedicated power source was required so no cost was added to the project.

BR+A Consulting Engineers is hyper-focused on resiliency due to the critical nature of the majority the projects the firm engineers, including healthcare facilities, higher education buildings, and laboratories. For instance, the new Massachusetts General Hospital Phillip and Susan Ragon Building in Boston will be resilient against future extreme flood conditions and loss of major utilities. Back-up systems and on-site storage will meet all building needs, allowing the hospital to run at full capacity as an “island,” disconnected from all other support systems for 96 hours.

Burns & McDonnell’s new FaciliRate app is designed to assist utilities in meeting the requirements of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission’s (FERC) Order 881. By automating key processes such as equipment data management, real-time weather integration, and ambient adjusted rating (AAR) calculations, FaciliRate helps utilities enhance operational efficiency and maintain regulatory compliance.

In support of Cushing Terrell’s commitment to embed sustainability into every project, the firm’s sustainability team developed and launched its Sustainable Design Excellence (SDX) Framework tool in 2024. The tool offers a better, faster, more streamlined way to assess a project in the early stages of design and provide data-driven recommendations to enhance sustainability. For every SDX analysis, the team creates an initial findings report which contains key sustainability recommendations, high-level energy analysis of potential energy savings opportunities, and references to the latest research for project enhancements.

During the past year, DeSimone Consulting Engineering advanced fabrication-ready modeling (FRM), a design-to-fabrication workflow that delivers a steel fabrication-ready LOD400 model as part of the design package. FRM enables deep coordination between the design team and steel fabricators during the design phase, streamlining traditionally fragmented handoffs, accelerating timelines, reducing construction-phase risk, and improving cost certainty before groundbreaking. “This collaborative approach can save months on schedule-driven projects and has proven especially valuable for complex building types,” said the firm.

In October 2024, Jensen Hughes launched ChatAdvisr, an in-house chatbot platform that leverages the power of large language models and retrieval augmented generation. One of its most significant use cases has been proposal development. “As a company of seller-doers, our technical experts produce approximately 24,000 proposals annually. ChatAdvisr’s generative function allows users to query past proposals and find similar scopes of service, pricing, and schedules. It then creates new proposals based on historical data,” according to the firm.

Kimley-Horn has developed several in-house project tools, including Public Coordinate, an interactive map-based platform where public agencies and developers can share project information with the public to gather feedback, and PV Tune, a solar site analysis app that factors both grading and pile heights to help solar developers enhance decision-making, minimize environmental impacts, and decrease construction costs. 

Mason & Hanger is using augmented reality and advanced building information modeling to elevate the design and review process for complex infrastructure projects. For a recent munitions prototype project, the firm combined data from Autodesk Revit, Autodesk Plant 3D, and Autodesk Inventor to produce a fully integrated, life-size BIM model. This model was loaded into a content manager called Spere and deployed via AR, enabling stakeholders to experience and interact with the digital design directly within the physical project site. “This approach bridged the gap between conceptual planning and real-world application, allowing real-time feedback and design adjustments that improved project accuracy, reduced rework, and enhanced client engagement,” the firm explained.

Mazzetti was the Engineer of Record for the Kaiser Ontario (Calif.) Microgrid, the largest hospital-based renewable energy microgrid in the U.S. The project demonstrated that a renewable microgrid can provide supplemental emergency power to a hospital, a previously unproven concept. “This involved navigating a lack of regulatory framework for microgrids supplying emergency power, requiring the team to present a compelling case to the Office of Statewide Health Planning and Development (OSHPD) to approve the connection as supplemental power,” explained the firm.

Also, Mazzetti earned its first Just label from the International Living Future Institute (ILFI), a major milestone in its dedication to social justice, equity, and transparency. The Just label is a voluntary, transparency-focused tool that evaluates an organization’s social performance, emphasizing accountability over certification.

Meyer Borgman Johnson was one of the 10 original signatories of the Structural Engineering Institute’s SE 2050 Commitment, an initiative to eliminate embodied carbon in structural systems by 2050. Since joining in 2020, the firm has implemented low-carbon design strategies such as performance-based concrete mix optimization, the use of high-recycled-content steel, and early-stage embodied carbon assessments.

O&S Associates is the Architect of Record and MEP Engineer of Record for one of the first multi-story relocatable parking garage projects in the U.S.—a 1,384-space garage under construction at Reagan Washington National Airport, Arlington, Va. The structure makes use of hybrid steel and concrete construction—galvanized steel for beams and columns and prefabricated precast concrete for planks, walls, and stairs. “The hybrid solution accelerates the construction schedule when compared to traditional methods and allows for the removal and re-use of individual structural components in the future,” the firm stated. The use of bolted joints in lieu of grouting will further simplify the removal process and minimize collateral damage.

PAE Consulting Engineers developed the MEP Embodied Carbon Tool, a solution for estimating and tracking embodied emissions from mechanical, electrical, plumbing, and technology systems—which are often overlooked in carbon analysis studies. “Research indicates that MEP systems can account for 20-40% of a building’s upfront carbon emissions. This percentage increases when factoring in equipment replacement cycles and refrigerant leakage over the building’s lifespan,” said the firm.

Shumate Engineering’s Hybrid-Dry/Adiabatic Cooling (HD/AC) solution for data centers provides two temperatures of cooling fluid from a single closed loop, giving data center operators more flexibility in deploying both at varying percentages and saving money in the process. HD/AC uses 94% less water than a chiller-cooling tower system and 60% less energy than an air-cooled chiller.

SK&A Structural Engineers has invested to develop its in-house rope access team to conduct façade and structural inspections. “Unlike swing stages, which can cost $2,500–$3,000 per day per swing stage and provide access to limited areas at a time, our rope access team can cover larger areas more quickly and at a lower cost, without being constrained by roof capacity or needing building-mounted infrastructure,” said the firm.   

Sorba Engineering has invested in upgrades to its information technology and security infrastructure to meet the rigorous cybersecurity standards for Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance. “This initiative reflects our commitment to protecting sensitive data and remaining a trusted partner for federal clients,” said the firm.

In 2024, Spectrum Engineers implemented a shadow board as part of an overall team development and business operations strategy. The shadow board is made up of a group of less-senior employees who work alongside Spectrum’s senior leadership to offer fresh perspectives, challenge traditional thinking, and contribute innovative ideas. An early outcome of the initiative is the implementation of a Team Lead Development portal for team development.

SSOE’s AI Governance Team has been instrumental in driving AI initiatives within the firm. The team, which spans a wide range of professional experiences, has set the project protocol and governance for selecting and implementing AI initiatives. More than three-quarters of the firm has voluntarily taken training and received a license to use an enterprise large language model. Among the firm’s AI innovations is an AI-driven knowledge retention and transfer application. “As our current senior subject matter experts seek to retire, we are able to train AI using our SME’s curated bodies of work to retain and rapidly recall their expertise,” explained the firm.

Stanley Consultants launched Stanley Solve, a Web-based innovation hub created to leverage the intelligence of employees, industry partners, and clients to address common issues faced by the industry, from artificial intelligence to resilient infrastructure.

Syska Hennessy Group’s Syska Innovations division launched DigiDuct, a free duct sizing app designed to streamline field verifications and complex calculations. Built on ASHRAE standards, it is available on Web and mobile platforms. Syska Innovations also introduced InnoPoints, an internal point-based system designed to award great ideas. Innovative actions by Syska team members are awarded points based on complexity, effort, and impact.

Members of TLC Engineering Solutions’ leadership team supported the MEP 2040 Commitment and Carbon Leadership Forum in the development of the Beginner’s Guide to MEP Embodied Carbon (May 2025). The guide helps project teams measure MEP whole life carbon. It includes detailed MEP BIM takeoff methodologies; material selection guidance for high-impact systems like piping and ductwork; default embodied carbon values for data-poor categories; category-specific decarbonization strategies; and life cycle calculation breakdowns with uncertainty guidelines.

Woolpert’s next-gen Lidar sensor system, Zeus, integrates patented dual-technology—combining single-photon-sensitive detection with linear waveform capture—to deliver hyper-dense, high-precision topographic data. Operating at default settings of 10,000-feet AGL and 180 knots, Zeus captures approximately 150 points per square meter, far exceeding conventional standards. “Zeus is transforming how we collect, process, and deliver airborne Lidar data—shortening the processing, exploitation, and dissemination cycle and enhancing mission critical decision-making,” said the firm.

WSP developed Cero, a Web-based decarbonization tool designed by the firm’s Energy and Carbon Analysis team in Canada. Cero harnesses Big Data and multi-scenario analysis to project long-term emissions based on building type, ownership, and location. It enables clients to identify optimal decarbonization strategies through life cycle costing and financial analysis.

In other news, WSP formed a multi-year, $1 billion-plus partnership with Microsoft to redefine digital transformation in architecture, engineering, and construction through enhanced integration of AI and digital technologies.

In addition, the firm is partnering with the American Institute of Steel Construction (AISC) and the University at Buffalo to conduct validation testing and develop industry design guidelines for Modified SpeedCore—the next iteration for the revolutionary alternative to traditional reinforced-concrete shear walls.