If you have ever worked with SolidCAD’s building services team, chances are you have crossed paths with Drew Jarvis. Perhaps in a workshop, a training session, or one of those conversations where a technical question slowly unfolds into a much larger discussion about process, standards, and where a firm is trying to go. With more than 25 years in the industry, Drew has lived the full arc of digital transformation in building design, from CAD cubicles on hospital construction sites to guiding entire organizations through modern BIM strategies.

Today, Drew is a BIM Technical Consultant at SolidCAD, and the person MEP firms turn to when they are ready to move forward in earnest. He helps teams transition from CAD to BIM, set up cloud collaboration, and build Dynamo automations that quietly remove hours of friction from everyday work. While MEP is his primary focus, his experience spans architecture and structural workflows as well, making him something of a generalist with a clear affection for the complexities of MEP.

Over the years, Drew has led projects as large as 900,000 square feet, authored BIM standards and execution plans, and built automation tools that spare teams from repetitive tasks and unnecessary rework. But when asked what motivates him most, he does not point to scale or complexity. He talks about the challenge itself.

“I love when a client throws me something tough, like ‘how can we automate this.’ That’s when the fun starts. I get to build the solution from the ground up.”

This profile is part of SolidCAD’s TechProfiles series, where we take a closer look at the subject matter experts and thought leaders guiding digital transformation across industries. These are not product spotlights. They are stories about experience, judgment, and the human side of technology. In Drew’s case, they are also about curiosity, adaptability, and knowing how to keep a team moving forward.

From Jobsite to Consulting 

Drew’s career began far from strategy decks and cloud platforms. In the late 1990s, he was working in a CAD office on a hospital construction site in the UK, where he first encountered computer-aided design.

“My uncle got me a job on a hospital site when I was young. That’s where I first discovered CAD, and it just stuck.”

That early exposure turned into a lasting interest in design and technology. Drew went on to study mechanical engineering at university and earned his LEED accreditation. As his skills deepened, so did his interest in teaching and standardization, eventually leading him to become an Autodesk Certified Instructor.

In the early 2000s, Drew moved to Canada and found himself starting over professionally in a new country. The transition was not without its challenges.

“I was at a job-seeker workshop, and they told us to go out and knock on doors.

Terrifying. But I saw a company named Autodraft in the building directory and thought, maybe they are in my field of expertise. I walked in, introduced myself, and they just happened to be looking for someone with my exact skills to help clients with Autodesk Building Systems.”

That chance encounter led to a role at Autodraft in 2004 and marked the beginning of his career in CAD and BIM technical consulting. In 2010, Drew stepped back into industry for 18 months to experience life on the other side of the consulting relationship.

“It didn’t take long for me to realize I wasn’t cut out for sitting in a cubicle doing the same thing every day,” Drew admits. “I missed the variety, the problem-solving, and being exposed to different challenges.”

By 2011, he returned to consulting, where he has remained ever since. More than a decade later, Drew continues to thrive on the pace, diversity, and creative problem-solving that come with helping clients navigate change.

Helping Clients Work Smarter

Drew is known for a consulting style that feels conversational rather than prescriptive. He does not arrive with all the answers neatly packaged. Instead, he works through problems alongside his clients, treating each engagement as a shared learning process.

“When I’m working with clients, that’s my learning time. If I don’t know something, I’m honest about it, go learn it, and bring it back to them.”

With long-standing clients, that relationship often evolves into what Drew calls informal “fireside chats.” These sessions are open-ended conversations where teams bring questions, explore workflows, and sometimes simply test ideas out loud.

“Even if a client doesn’t have a list of questions, we pick a topic and dive in. Those chats are where we unlock the most value.”

It is in these moments that Drew’s experience shows. He understands that digital transformation rarely follows a straight line. Progress happens through dialogue, experimentation, and trust built over time.

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Spotlight Project: AME Consulting Full Transition to BIM 

One of Drew’s most notable recent projects is his ongoing work with AME Consulting, a firm that made the decision to move almost all new projects from CAD to Revit. The transition, which began in 2023, represented a significant cultural and technical shift.

“Seeing them go all-in on BIM was huge,” Drew says. “They are using Revit with all disciplines, as an example, their fire protection team just finished a project completely in Revit, from modeling to 2D detailing. No CAD at all. That kind of commitment is rare in MEP, and it was amazing to see.”

Beyond the technical migration, Drew supported AME in documenting standards, building workflows, and training teams so that everyone was aligned. The result is not just a successful transition, but a scalable system that will support AME’s work for years to come.

Advice for Clients

When asked how clients can get the most value from consulting time, Drew’s advice is refreshingly simple. Come prepared to ask questions.

“I get the most value for clients when we can sit down and have a true Q&A session. Even if they don’t have a list ready, we’ll pick a topic and dive in, it always leads to great conversations and practical solutions.”

He encourages teams to be open about what is not working, whether that is a slow model, a clunky process, or uncertainty about when to adopt a new tool. Those moments of honesty are where meaningful progress begins.

Life Beyond SolidCAD 

Outside of work, Drew’s competitive and collaborative instincts find an outlet on the football pitch (soccer field). He has been coaching his daughter’s team for more than five years and also plays in a recreational over-45 league. Recently moving up from the over-35 division, he jokes about the unexpected benefit.

“Now I’m one of the young guys again, which feels pretty good.”

Music is another constant. Drew recently saw Oasis live and is looking forward to taking his daughter to see Dua Lipa. For him, concerts are less about the setlist and more about creating shared experiences he never had growing up.

And then there is coffee. Despite his UK roots, Drew is firmly on the coffee side of the debate.

“You would think because I’m from the UK it would be tea, but no, it’s coffee.”

His oversized mug has become something of a signature on Zoom calls.

“Sometimes it’s so big it blocks my whole face on camera,” he laughs. “But it gets me through the morning and the day.”

Why Clients Love Working with Drew

Drew combines deep technical expertise with an easy, collaborative presence that puts clients at ease. He is not there simply to configure software or enforce standards. He listens carefully, teaches patiently, and ensures that technology serves real-world needs.

For firms navigating the shift from CAD to BIM or building a long-term digital strategy in the MEP space, Drew is the kind of partner who understands that transformation is not about a single win. It is about sustained momentum.

Game On

Drew Jarvis approaches BIM transformation the way a seasoned midfielder approaches the match. He keeps his head up, reads the field, and understands that progress is rarely about a single spectacular move. It is about positioning, timing, and making the right pass so the whole team can advance together. He knows when to slow things down, when to press forward, and when to step in and solve a problem before it becomes a breakdown. For the teams he works with, Drew is not just implementing tools or enforcing standards. He is helping them learn how to play the long game, building systems that hold up under pressure and strategies that carry them forward, season after season.

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