The Philippines is known for call centers and customer service. Its outsourcing industry also supports architectural work, including drafting and design.
The country has an established business process outsourcing (BPO) sector. Local and international providers are expanding beyond call center work into other services.
With its strong and steady growth of 30% in the last decade, which is equivalent to $24 billion in size and almost 2 million talents, the country is continuing to dominate the industry.
Outsourcing has become a critical strategy for businesses looking to remain competitive.
Architecture firms can hire skilled professionals in other countries to support their work. This can lower costs while keeping quality standards in place.
Some business owners are still unsure how outsourcing would help their firm.
One useful place to start is the drafter, also called a draftsman. This article explains the role and how a drafter in the Philippines can support an architecture business.
What is a Draftsman?
A draftsman turns architectural and engineering designs into technical drawings and plans.
Their expertise in services like drafting, rendering, and navigating local building codes provides valuable support to US firms.
In the United States, Indeed reported that a Drafter’s salary has an average annual amount of $65,939, while in the Philippines, GlassDoor reported that the same role has an annual salary of $7,028.
Professional organizations support architects in the Philippines. They help members learn new methods and keep up with changes in the industry.
Outsourced Draftsman Services
An outsourced draftsman may also create realistic renderings. These images help clients see how a proposed home could look.
Jerick is a draftsman at Clark Staff, an American-owned outsourcing company with an office in the Philippines. He shared his experience of working with a startup architecture firm in Montana, USA.
Jerick said that Clark Staff and his team follow Montana residential building codes in their work. This helps their US partner address local project requirements. He also said clients praise the realistic way his team presents its designs.
Outsourcing employers provide computer hardware to support this work. Suitable equipment, technical skills and care for the project help drafters deliver their designs.
Outsourcing gives Filipino architects experience on international projects. It also gives US firms another way to find design skills at a lower cost. Both sides can benefit from the working relationship.
Jerick’s experience shows how a remote drafter can support a US architecture firm. For firms considering this approach, skills and quality matter alongside cost.
Some of the software that Outsourced Draftsmen utilize are:
For Design and Drafting Tools
- AutoCAD: Industry-standard for 2D and 3D CAD design.
- Revit: BIM tool for planning, design, and construction.
- SketchUp: User-friendly 3D modeling and visualization.
- 3ds Max: For 3D modeling, animation, and rendering.
- ArchiCAD: A BIM software for efficient building design.
For Collaboration and Project Management Tools
- Asana: Task management for teams and project coordination.
- Slack: Communication tool for real-time team collaboration.
- Trello: Visual project management and workflow organization.
- Basecamp: Comprehensive project organization and team collaboration.
For Simulation and Analysis Tools
- EnergyPlus: Building energy simulation for performance analysis.
- ANSYS: Structural analysis and engineering simulation.
- Ecotect: Environmental analysis tool for sustainable design.
For Rendering and Visualization Tools
- V-Ray: Photorealistic rendering engine.
- Lumion: Real-time 3D visualization and interactive rendering.
- Rhino: 3D modeling with rendering capabilities.
- Cinema 4D: 3D modeling, animation, and rendering platform.
- Blender: Open-source 3D creation suite.
- Octane Render: GPU-based rendering engine for speed and quality.
- Corona Renderer: Realistic rendering with a user-friendly interface.
- Fusion 360: Integrated CAD, CAM, and CAE with 3D rendering.
- Maya: Industry-standard in 3D animation and rendering.
- Mental Ray: Versatile rendering option for various 3D applications.
- KeyShot: Real-time 3D rendering with immediate visual results.
- Chief Architect: Residential design with powerful rendering tools.
- Twinmotion: Real-time visualization for immersive 3D architectural rendering.
Advantages of Outsourcing Architectural Services
Outsourcing architectural work offers several potential benefits.
A specialist provider can fill gaps in your team. It may bring experience in a design niche or a building technology that your staff do not yet use. It can also add capacity when your workload grows.
This can help a smaller firm take on more work and compete for larger projects.
Outsourcing adds people when a firm needs extra capacity. Teams can use that support to handle workload peaks or take on more projects. A GlobalData report cited a $180 billion engineering services outsourcing market and projected annual growth of more than 24% over the following years.
Cost savings are a key factor driving outsourcing, too. With lower labor costs overseas, outsourced design can cost a fraction of domestic services. Routine tasks can be outsourced, freeing in-house staff to focus on high-value work. Estimates suggest 30-50% potential cost reductions compared to domestic resourcing.
Teams can divide tasks and work on them at the same time to shorten project schedules. A partner with local code knowledge and industry contacts can also help a firm work in another market.
Quality checks and oversight remain essential, even for routine outsourced work. Poor management can lead to disputes over intellectual property, missed messages or extra costs. Careful partner selection and regular review help manage these risks.
Conclusion
Firms can look to the Philippines for skilled drafting and design support.
Its outsourcing sector connects firms with architects, drafters and designers. These staff can add specialist skills or extra capacity. Shared workflows also let teams work on separate tasks at the same time.
The cost savings from outsourced architecture can be significant, often 30-50% less than domestic services, without sacrificing quality. This is achieved through the lower labor costs available in the Philippines.
Demand for specialist skills and better workload management has helped architectural services outsourcing grow.
Choose a Philippine provider whose skills and working process fit your firm. Assess the likely return alongside cost, quality and communication needs. The right partner can help the teams work across language and cultural differences.
Experience on international projects can help build the reputation of Philippine architectural teams.
For a firm seeking more capacity or specialist skills, the Philippines is one option to assess. The choice should fit the work, budget and quality standards of the project.