597

17

Instructor Training Program @ Washtenaw Community College, instructed at UA Local 597 for several years, and significantly contributed to the growth of skilled trades in the VDC industry

UA Local 597 Apprenticeship - 5 years
Associates in Construction Management - Washtenaw Community College

Chasing Disney dreams while my twins sprinkle the real magic

Christmas

597

17

Ted Blount is an experienced leader in the mechanical and BIM industry. With over 17 years of experience as a union trained pipefitter through local 597 Ted brings deep field knowledge and technical expertise to each project. He has successfully led major initiatives for large-scale mechanical contractors and now plays a key role in driving Built3d's growth and operational excellence.

Before co-founding Built3d in 2022, Ted was a general foreman for a large-scale mechanical contractor in the Chicago area, where he managed and analyzed labor, coordinated design deliverables, and ensure milestones were completed on time and under budgets. His ability to bridge field operations with digital modeling has made him a trusted leader across multiple construction industries.

In addition to his leadership and Built3d, Ted is committed to mentoring the next generation of tradespeople and advancing technology in construction. His strategic vision and dedication to quality have helped position Built3d as a leading BIM-only contractor within the Mechanical Contractors Association. Ted continues to set high standards for performance, innovation, and collaboration across the industry.

597 Apprenticeship Program 08-2013
Associates Degree in Occupational Studies - Washtenaw Community College

Playing Chess

Halloween

Chicago

24

Promoted to North American Manager, successfully overseeing operations across multiple sites with up to 600 employees, spearheaded global safety initiatives as the Global Safety Leader for a multi-billion-dollar enterprise, Integrated and trained standardized systems across 22 manufacturing facilities, lean Six Sigma and 6S methodologies,

Colorado Tech - Business Management
Lean Six Sigma

Traveling, Gambling and Camping

Halloween

286

6

Buying my home

BS of Architectural Engineering at the University Of Hartford

Hiking

Christmas

130

23

My plumbing career started in High School with me helping for a family friend nights and weekends, leading me to enter the 130 apprenticeship program in 2004. I was a plumbing installer for Fire Restorations, Remodels, New Construction Residential, New Construction Commercial and High-rise for 6 years. I started plumbing 3D Modeling and Coordination in 2011 for Ewing-Hauck Mechanical. In 2018 I took over managing the BIM Department at Ewing-Hauck Mechanical and worked mainly on Design Build projects like One Chicago, a two tower high-rise with the podium that is a full city block. I joined the Built3D team to lead their Plumbing Department in June of 2024.

I am the proud father of 4 wonderful but very individual children, that keep me busy with practices, activities and family time when I am not working.

Graduated Bartlett High School 2003
Became Journeymen Plumber 2008

Camping and Home Projects

4th of July

Sheet Metal Workers Local 20 Gary Area

14

Becoming a father.

Associates in applied science. 5 Year apprenticeship through local 20

Shooting guns and lighting fireworks

4th of July

Project Manager

10

10 years of experience in construction management and estimating working on projects ranging from $10K to $20 million in value. Spent most of this time working in exterior glass and glazing but moved to BIM and VDC project management in 2025.

5 year bachelors of Architecture

Reading, Playing Guitar, and Painting

Halloween

130

8

I got my start in MEP plumbing systems early, during the first year of my apprenticeship. I bounced between field installs and design, learning how drawings turn into real world systems and how every fitting, hanger, and connection plays its part. That back and forth taught me a lot because I saw where design meets reality. As I grew in the trade, I moved fully into MEP design and drafting, taking on complex projects like hospitals, high-rises, and manufacturing facilities. I bring that field experience into every drawing I produce, aiming to make designs that not only look good on paper but work smoothly in the field. For me, it's all about making systems that make sense, from the first sketch to the final valve turn.

2013 Lincoln-Way East graduate
Local 130 apprenticeship graduate

Offroading

Christmas

597

13

Managing large-scale coordination across multiple trades and disciplines for a multi-floor laboratory facility within a major refinery.

Completed UA Local 597 Apprenticeship and finishing up Construction Management Degree

Off roading with family and friends

Memorial Day

597

7

Planned and managed multiple critical lifts Coordinated mechanical piping for projects ranging from schools to laboratories to prisons.

Morris Community High School
Completed five year apprenticeship with local 597
UA Industrial rigging certification

Cooking and tabletop strategy games

Thanksgiving

597

15

Restoring and racing classic cars. Being competitive in the local short track scene. Being a good friend.

Lincoln-Way Central High School

Fishing, boating, exploring, road trips, gaming.

Fourth of July

286

11

Tom is currently the recording secretary for both UA local 286 and the Central Texas chapter of the American Society of Sanitary Engineering. He is an board member of State Power Generation Foundation. Tom is a delegate to the Austin Central Labor Council representing his local in a 5 county area. In the past Tom has served as the Executive Director of the Texas State Building and Construction Councils, a member of the Texas AFL-CIO executive board, and co-chair of the Austin Young Active Labor Leaders.

-Licensed journeyman with the state of Texas with medical gas endorsement.
-ASSE 12020 Infection Control and Water Quality certified.
-EFRI rigging certified.
-OSHA 30

Cleaning and Audiobooks

Election Day

597

13

Becoming an AutoCAD/Tech instructor at Local 597 training facility as a 2nd year apprentice. Using the experience I have had with AutoCAD and mechanical drafting since I started working with it in 1998, being able to convey it to field tradesmen in an understandable manner. Teaching members who had extensive hands on knowledge of how different systems were installed and guiding them on how to take that knowledge to programs like AutoCAD/Plant3D/Revit and Trimble. In this time is where I met and worked with one of the owners of Built3d who had aspirations of owning his own BIM contracting firm, Jason Ashburn.

1998 - When AutoCad was first released, our high school had a small mechanical drafting class that I had taken level 3 at that point. We were the first ones to get hands on access to this program on 1 of 4 computers in the entire school.

2001 / 2008 - Worked with various weld shops and cabinet manufacturers using AutoCAD, 2020, CabnetWare as well as mechanical drafting and welding

2009 / 2011 - Transitioned into management and training rolls for these shops on the computer programs and welding aspects of the business.

2011 / 2012 - Enrolled in welding school to fine tune my skills and advance myself. While enrolled, learned about the trades side of blueprints, isometric shop drawings and welding. I was guided to apply with the Local 597 Pipefitters by one of the instructors at the school.

2013 / 2017 - Tested into the Local 597 apprentice program and began learning the deeper aspects of the trade with talks that technology was going to be a huge part of our industry. Passed all of the weld requirements for the apprentices and started taking any night class I could get into. CAD/TRIMBLE/BIM were the ones that had open spots, which allowed me to get in them as an apprentice. Right place, right time for getting pushed into a night instructor roll as I was very familiar with the program and had teaching experience.

2017 / 2023 - Left the instructor position, and the building trades side of the trade to go pursue the pipeline welder. Travelled all over and gained a ton of experience in the oil and gas sector.

2023 / Current - Left the pipeline sector to come back building trades to take on supervision positions in our local and traveling to other UA call outs for battery plants, data centers, refinery jobs. Gaining experience in the field as well as continuing to take night refresher classes for UA Supervision/BIM/etc. I reached out to Jason Ashburn at the beginning of 2025 after finishing the BIM night classes just to reconnect, which in turn led to working for Built3D and doing BIM full time

Home remodeling, horse shows, race cars, traveling

Halloween

SMART 359

26

Starting in the trade right out of high school to take care of the family I had already started. Then being able to get my 3 brothers and 2 sons into the trade so they could take care of their families.

5 year apprenticeship

Riding my horses, camping, 4 wheeling

Thanksgiving

469

18

Training Coordinator - Construction Technology: Developed Plumbing/Mechanical Detailer apprenticeship program for UA Local 469.

AAS - Construction: Plumbing
AAS - Admin of Justice
AA - General Studies
WLC - US Army Leadership Development Course
Faro - Train the Trainer certification

EoD/Detonation - post-apocalyptic events

Taco Tuesdays

597

20

Father to an amazing 11 year old daughter

B.S. in Farm Management from Western Illinois University

playing Tabletop RPGs

May Day

SMART 73

29

I started out serving an apprenticeship, working in the shop and field. Then I attended night school taking AutoCAD classes. I took a drafting job and learned to coordinate on a light table. Over the years I have worked with numerous types of software, constantly evolving and learning. I have been part of and have lead 3D coordination efforts on numerous high-profile jobs. I take pride in being able to provide the customer, shop and field a product they can submit, fabricate and build (install) from, using my past experiences.

Associated in Arts
Local 73 Apprenticeship
AutoCAD Basic, Intermediate and Advanced (Local 73)
ITI Benchmark, certified coordinator
Revit 40-hour certification

Exercising (running long distance) and playing guitar.

Thanksgiving is probably my favorite. Any holiday when family gets together is good with me.