AI drawing review for mechanical contractors
Helonic is an AI construction drawing analysis platform for mechanical contractors who review 2D PDF drawing sets.
Detect ductwork routing conflicts, verify equipment clearances, and coordinate with other trades automatically, straight from your 2D PDF drawing set.
What slows down mechanical contractors?
Mechanical contractors find duct, shaft, and equipment clashes after hangers are in when the drawings were never cross-checked.
- Ductwork Routing Conflicts. Supply and return ductwork frequently clashes with structural beams, piping mains, and electrical conduit runs in tight ceiling plenums.
- Equipment Clearance Issues. AHUs, VAV boxes, and rooftop units need service access that drawings often fail to verify against adjacent structures.
- Multi-Trade Coordination. Diffusers, grilles, and registers must align with reflected ceiling plans while avoiding sprinkler heads and light fixtures.
How does Helonic help?
Helonic reviews mechanical sheets against structure and architecture and flags duct, clearance, and controls conflicts before fabrication.
Duct and equipment conflicts are covered by clash detection and ceiling coordination, and penetration analysis flags ducts that cross rated walls.
- Duct Routing Conflict Detection. Automatically identify where ductwork intersects structural members, piping, or electrical systems. Helonic flags conflicts before they become costly field rework.
- Equipment Clearance Verification. Verify that AHUs, chillers, boilers, and VAV boxes have the manufacturer-required service and maintenance clearances shown on drawings.
- Diffuser vs Structure Coordination. Cross-reference supply and return diffuser locations against reflected ceiling plans, structural grids, and lighting layouts to catch placement conflicts.
- Insulation Space Checking. Confirm that ductwork insulation thickness is accounted for in ceiling plenum space calculations and does not cause new clearance violations.
- Control Sequence Verification. Review sequences of operation against mechanical drawings to ensure control points, damper locations, and sensor placements are consistent with design intent.
What issues does Helonic catch?
Helonic flags duct routing clashes, equipment access misses, and shaft conflicts that stall install.
Routing & Clearances
- Ductwork routing through structural beams and columns
- Insufficient equipment access and service clearances
- Return air pathway obstructions and dead zones
- VAV box sizing mismatches with design airflow
Coordination & Controls
- Diffuser placement conflicts with sprinklers and lights
- Insulation thickness exceeding available plenum space
- Missing or mislocated control dampers and sensors
- Exhaust fan duct routing conflicts at roof penetrations
What return do mechanical contractors see with Helonic?
Mechanical teams fabricate and install with fewer field reroutes because clashes are listed before shop drawings go out.
| Figure | What it measures |
|---|---|
| $40K–$250K | Average savings per project from early clash detection |
| 45+ | Mechanical conflicts caught per drawing set |
| 70% | Faster review vs. manual ductwork coordination |
Frequently Asked Questions
What does Helonic verify before mechanical fabrication?
Does it check equipment service and code clearances?
Can it catch clashes with structure and other trades?
Do I need a coordinated 3D model?
Manas Gandhi
Co-founder & CTO, HelonicManas is the co-founder and CTO of Helonic, where he leads engineering and AI research for construction drawing analysis. He works directly with structural, MEP, civil, and fire protection engineers to translate the way they review drawings into AI systems that flag the issues that actually matter in the field. Before Helonic, he built machine learning pipelines for technical document understanding and has spent the last several years interviewing licensed design engineers and discipline leads to ground product decisions in real practice rather than industry assumptions.
- AI for technical document understanding
- Cross-discipline coordination workflows
- Code compliance automation (IBC, NEC, NFPA, IPC, IMC, ASCE)
- Structural and MEP drawing review systems
How this page was researched: Coordination checks reference IMC clearance requirements, equipment service access, and the mechanical-structural interfaces verified before fabrication. Examples are drawn from Helonic's review of mechanical sets against structural framing and other trades.
Last reviewed by Manas Gandhi · August 1, 2026