The importance of hard work and thinking big cannot be understated, especially in the world of modern design and construction. These are the very things that lead to growth, innovation, and career success, which is why it’s essential that we strive to embody these traits in our day-to-day lives.

One person who’s doing just that is Justin Lipsey, VDC Technical Leader at SSOE. 

Justin started his construction career as a plumbing engineer, and in 2018, proactively made the transition to a more tech-focused role in VDC. He’s achieved quite a lot in just over three years within the VDC realm, including winning SSOE’s Founder’s Award and landing a speaking engagement at Autodesk University.

Justin credits his accomplishments to positive thinking, dedication, and of course, hard work. 

We recently caught up with him to discuss his construction journey thus far, as well as what’s next.

 

Tell us a little bit about SSOE and what you specialize in.

SSOE is an AEC firm specializing mostly in the “engineering” portion of that AEC acronym. We’ve been around for 70-plus years and have business units that touch pretty much every facet of the industry. So, we range from semiconductors all the way to educational projects.

When working at SSOE, you’re actually able to interface with anything you would like. There are loads of opportunities. In my case, I have over a decade of experience as a plumbing designer/engineer. I was in the automotive and manufacturing business unit, and my specialty was siphonic storm drains. 

But then I switched over to technology. Now, my role is with the Project Technology department and I’ve been here just over three years. I specialize in all things BIM 360 and ACC (Autodesk Construction Cloud). 

I started off just by volunteering and training with pilot projects. And two and a half years later, many of my coworkers call me “BIM Three Lipsey”. 

 

Walk us through your career and what led you to becoming VDC Technical Leader.

I’ve always been into technology and computers, and I like being creative. But sometimes design and engineering projects aren’t creative at all, especially the types of projects I was working on. 

So I started looking for ways where I could get into tech but still remain in my industry. A VDC rotation slot happened to open up, and at that time I didn’t really know a great deal about VDC. I just had a very broad idea of what it was. 

But I took the leap, and that spiraled into registering point cloud data, laser scanner operation training, and all things reality capture technology. I learned really quickly and I get to work with developers now. I can really say that I’m passionate about this work. 

I also got to go to AU in 2019 and just sat with the Forge devs for an entire day. I learned so much just by sitting next to them, talking to people’s managers, and soaking it all up. So VDC led me into the world of construction technology. 

The way I see it, technology is like the wild wild west right now. Depending on your job title, you get to make your salary—you get to decide on your duties and tasks. It’s amazing.

 

What is your proudest accomplishment in your 6 years at SSOE and why?

About a year and a half ago, I wrote down this list of goals. It included things like speaking at AU (Autodesk University) and winning a Founder’s Award, one of our most prestigious awards at SSOE. 

I’m proud to say that I hit those goals in about 6 months. I was given the opportunity to speak at the virtual AU last year, where I discussed the topic of AEC product ownership. 

There was also the Founder’s Award, which was given to the project team who developed training materials to support the rollout of BIM 360. Before the pandemic hit, we were piloting BIM 360 and trying to understand how to best roll it out. Then COVID happened and there were infrastructure issues immediately. That’s when we made the quick decision that every new project going forward starting January of this year would be in BIM 360. 

To make it happen, we needed to develop training materials. I was afforded the ability to utilize all of the beautiful music equipment I have collected over the years and my limited knowledge of video creation and editing. I purchased an iPad app, watched a few YouTube videos, and was able to create over 20 customized training videos for BIM 360. Our team also created a SharePoint site to house all of our training content and other supplementary information. To-date, we have uploaded over 150 pages of tips and tricks, knowledge base articles, and quick reference guides

“One of the most rewarding parts of my job is when I finally get things to click for someone, and they say, ‘Oh, I understand that now! And I’ll share this with my team.’”

Justin Lipsey, VDC Technical Leader, SSOE Group

There were a whole bunch of people who contributed to our training content, so I can’t take all of the credit. Our developers were able to whip up this automation, despite some limitations within the API for BIM 360. They did a bunch of workarounds to get a lot of “ease-of-use” functions out to our users. 

I’m proud of all of that. I knocked all my goals out of the park and I think it’s just the power of manifestation—writing things down, and looking at it every day.

 

As construction evolves, how do you see the role of VDC Leader changing?

Honestly, I think the future is going to be more focused on data analytics, as well as innovation, research, and development. 

I am also hoping for more product ownership because, over the next five years, we’re going to need a team of people who understand computational design, algorithms, APIs—all that fun stuff. We’re trying to build that team of people right now and we’re looking to leverage Power BI and dashboarding. We’re trying to figure out how to harvest the data from BIM 360 and our new ERP Microsoft Dynamics to gain the insights we need to make better business decisions. We also want to better visualize that kind of information in a palatable way for our users. 

Right now, VDC is more of a manual process. I interface with project teams. I’m doing a lot of the training and tons of research and documentation, but I believe that the future would be similar to how Revit developed. Now, you have Revit power users who do a majority of what a BIM manager used to do 10 or 15 years ago, managing templates, setting up models, etc. This allows BIM managers to focus on more high-level important coordination items.

In the future, it should be the same for VDC. Research and development should come from operations. They should be telling us what they need, what they want, and VDC performs the analysis and evaluates how to best fit it into our tech stack. Then empower them through the use of data to visualize the end goal. 

There’s also the learning aspect to the job. BIM 360 and ACC Build have the Insight module, and we’re really trying to utilize that. I think a big part of the future is learning how to use all this data and figure out how to apply it to upcoming projects. Then we can really handpick our clients and projects. That way, we’ll be more profitable and provide the most value. 

I also think that product owners and managers will become more prevalent in our industry. Technically, I’m a product owner of BIM 360 right now. We have this amazing automation process that our developers came up with, where you can create a new project in our ERP system, and it spins up a BIM 360 project. It also spins up an Outlook group so they can track their project email. As a product owner, I helped connect the developers to the business by defining what would be the most valuable automation for our project teams. 

Being a part of the BIM 360 team, I interface a lot with our users and take feedback to the devs and give them improvement ideas for that automation. And in my eyes, that’s the future. If more of our VDC folks would learn the skills needed for product management and the human side of technology, I would welcome that.

 

What are the biggest challenges you face in your role? How does technology help you overcome those challenges?

We’re in this digital transformation phase where we’re no longer attempting to bend technology to fit our processes, we’re revising our project execution processes to fit the technology. This can be a challenging concept for people who have been doing something a certain way for 20 or 30 years. 

But one of the most rewarding parts of my job is when I finally get things to click for someone, and they say, “Oh, I understand that now! And I’ll share this with my team.”

This is what happened with BIM 360. It helps us collaborate a lot better, and certain processes are streamlined now. 

 

When you think about the future, what are your plans to advance innovation and productivity at SSOE?

Our CEO has set a goal for 2025 to improve efficiencies and productivity by 50% organization-wide. This is a large undertaking for us, and BIM 360 was just the beginning. ACC Build is being piloted now on a few projects and we are looking for ways to utilize the new features in the platform. We have partnerships with Autodesk, Microsoft, and Cintoo that we are looking to leverage and assist in the development of solutions that progress our strategic business goals, and advance our industry. I am keeping an eye on a few game changing companies like AVAIL and Bridgit in hopes of partnering with them one day as well. But most importantly for us, automation is the key. Whether it’s through Dynamo, Power Automate, or developing something custom, we are looking for ways to streamline our project execution processes with automation and generative design. Last but not least, we are attempting to break down the silos between design firms, fabricators, and GC’s through the use of Fab Parts in Revit.

 

What advice would you give to the next generation of men and women entering and preparing for the future of the industry?

Something I try to instill in my son is that if you put your head down, work hard, and are respectful, opportunities will present themselves. I have an associates degree in CAD Technology, but I worked extremely hard to get to where I am today. So to all future technologists, don’t focus on getting fancy acronyms that you can add on after your name. Work hard, stay curious, dream big, and build your future without limitations in mind.

The post Behind the Build: Interview with Justin Lipsey, VDC Technical Leader, SSOE appeared first on Digital Builder.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.cmcconstruction.net/?p=1390

Did you know you can cycle from Rotterdam in the Netherlands to the Shetland Isles off the tip of Scotland? Admittedly, there’s a ferry or two along the way. But the two locations are linked by the North Sea cycle route, a 7,050 km path across six countries. Cyclists get to enjoy 18 UNESCO sites, cliff top views and bustling cities – all on a single ambitious trail.

This is just one part of Europe’s incredible cycling infrastructure. Bring your bike to Holland and you can traverse 4,500 km of long-distance routes specifically for cycling holidays – or try the Elbe cycle route, spanning the incredible sandstone mountains in Switzerland and the beautiful city of Prague.

The popularity of cycling in Europe has increased significantly during the pandemic, with people taking to their bikes for commuting, fitness and relaxation. But the organisations that build and maintain cycling infrastructure have a key role to play in making this a sustained trend.

Here’s how the construction industry can help to create a bigger, safer cycling infrastructure across Europe.

Riding the post-lockdown cycling boom

Governments have long promoted the benefits of cycling: it reduces carbon emissions, lowers air pollution, eases the pressure on public transport and improves physical and mental health. But it was the events of 2020 – including concerns about social distancing and limited train services – that prompted a massive rise in cycling across Europe.

In June, Paris saw its monthly ridership grow by 120% compared to the previous year. Even wintry weather didn’t deter Berlin’s cyclists, with rates in December up by 23% over 2019. Meanwhile in the UK, sales of bicycles and accessories grew by 45% in 2020.

Countries have been eager to take advantage of this interest by introducing a range of measures to promote cycling and help citizens shift their extra lockdown kilos. The UK government introduced pop up bike lanes and corridors during the pandemic to make it easier to get around. Italy’s Covid-19 recovery package includes a 70% subsidy for bike purchases.

But another crucial piece of the puzzle in every country will be creating a safe and appealing cycling infrastructure to keep new riders on the road – and this is where digital construction can help.

Three ways to keep your project in gear with digital tools

1. Use modelling to keep cyclists safe

The right road design can help keep cyclists safe. In fact, research shows that prioritising cyclists in road layouts can result in fewer fatalities for cyclists, motorists and pedestrians too. This means incorporating features like dedicated bike lanes, which can lead to 90% fewer injuries per mile; protected intersections, that physically separate bikes and other traffic; and bus stops, which reduce the risk of injury to cyclists

Digital tools like mobility simulators can help planners to assess how the route would work in real life. With multimodal analysis, it’s possible to simulate how traffic, pedestrians and cyclists would interact with each other in a given design – and optimise for effectiveness, cost and safety. As well as saving traffic analysts time, this helps to ensure that the planned infrastructure will meet the needs of road users for years to come.

2. Bring everyone along for the ride with BIM

Successfully planning cycling infrastructure often involves many stakeholders – and keeping everyone fully up to date can be a significant undertaking. Using BIM models and digital collaboration platforms makes it much easier to share designs for input and approval. With real-time visibility of feedback and suggestions, these tools can speed up the whole process.

Importantly, these models can also be used to share plans with the public during planning and construction. 3D tools can help people to visualise the finished design and likely impact on the area. Local communities can also get the opportunity to offer useful insights on issues like the location of end of trip facilities and bike storage – factors which can have a significant influence on cycling uptake. This engagement can not only raise awareness of planned infrastructure, but ultimately encourage people to take to their bikes when the new routes open.

3. Ensure high quality construction with digital platforms

The road surface is hugely important to the comfort and safety of cyclists. Asphalt concrete’s low friction and smooth surface make it the surface of choice in Denmark, for example; by contrast, gravel and paving slabs can become uneven and potentially dangerous. The quality of the surface construction is critical. Bumps and dents in the road can not only ruin the experience, but contribute to falls and accidents.

Digital construction platforms like Autodesk Build can ensure that everyone on-site has the information needed to build right first time, while quality control tools ensure that any issues are addressed before routes open. This helps to ensure a top-quality cycling route, that will keep cyclists safe for years to come.

Keep riding on

The increase in cycling is one of the few positives to emerge from the pandemic. But to encourage people to stay on their bikes in the years ahead, it will be important to keep improving and constructing new routes to make cycling convenient, safe and enjoyable.

Technology can support everyone involved in delivering cycling infrastructure: from the owners looking to deliver the best value for the public through to the subcontractors aiming to finish on time, on budget and to the highest quality possible. Using digital tools, we can help everyone to get the most out of these infrastructure investments – and enjoy more time on two wheels.

Read how digital modelling can support safer post-Covid commuting.

Or if you’re a cycling fan, check out how the Tour de France and other sporting icons adapted to Covid-19.

 

 

The post Tête de la Course: How Digital Construction Can Grow Europe’s Cycling Infrastructure appeared first on Digital Builder.

The name behind countless successful electrical and mechanical infrastructure designs of building projects in Turkey and across the globe, Anel Group stands out with its expertise in BIM (Building Information Modeling). The organisation uses Autodesk Architecture, Engineering & Construction (AEC) collection including the Autodesk’s Construction Cloud platform. These include an integrated BIM toolkit, BIM 360 Field and Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro cloud services, with the aim to support Anel achieving their global goals that require high efficiency, remote collaboration and coordination capabilities.

 

Passion for implementing complex projects with an environmental approach

Anel Group’s journey began with the establishment of Anel Elektrik in 1986 by Electrical Engineer Rıdvan Çelikel. Established 35 years ago, the company is transforming into a 2,000 people strong group of companies that operates in the fields of panel production, electrical and electronic systems of ships, renewable energy, recycling and operational maintenance, as well as electrical and mechanical contracting.

Since its inception, the company has successfully delivered more than 200 projects spanning a total area of over 13 million square meters in 14 countries across three continents. In addition to its ongoing MEP operations in Qatar, the United Arab Emirates (Abu Dhabi and Dubai), the UK, the Netherlands, Turkey and Azerbaijan, the company is also engaged in operational maintenance services, low voltage panel production, electric and electronic systems of ships (defence industry) and recycling.

Anel Group Tender and Procurement Director K. Serkan Kılıç, who is also an Electrical Engineer, said, “We are a team striving to deliver solutions for the world we dream of” and added: “A single structure has the power to make a big difference in the world: A bridge connecting two continents, an airport that makes the world feel a lot smaller than it is, a hospital that saves lives… We can list a myriad of examples from world history.”

Emphasising that the success of a building project depends on the ability of combining engineering skills from different disciplines in harmony, Kılıç said, “We leverage our engineering skills in designing the electrical and mechanical aspects of a building. We are passionate about realizing large-scale and complex projects in different regions of the world. With a view to contributing to an environmentally, socially and economically sustainable world, we combine our engineering and technology capabilities with our strategic skills and take innovative initiatives.”

“We leverage our engineering power to create solutions and aim to use cutting-edge technologies that we could benefit from the most. Especially in a two-year retrospect, Autodesk AEC Collection and Autodesk Construction Cloud’s solutions have helped us immensely as we seized opportunities around the globe.” —Serkan Kılıç, Tender and Purchasing Director, Anel Group

 

Engineering strength powered by technology

Autodesk’s AEC Collection as well as their Construction Cloud forms the technology backbone that supports Anel Group’s engineering strength and strategic capabilities. This solution package, which includes an integrated BIM toolkit and is designed for the building industry, has also played a pivotal role in Anel Group’s international expansion efforts since 2016.

Anel Group BIM Manager and Mechanical Engineer Ümit Balaban has led the establishment of the BIM infrastructure and the introduction of BIM processes across Anel Group. He said, “The BIM processes need continuous improving to keep up with the ever-evolving technologies and engineering industry.” He is responsible for managing the compliance of the projects undertaken by the company with the BIM processes and provides support to all BIM managers assigned to the projects. He is also the founder of the BIMgenius Community, a not-for-profit made up of professionals who have come together to collaborate to support the digitalization of the architecture, engineering and construction industries.

The Anel Group team can manage electrical and mechanical projects via the AEC Collection in alignment with BIM processes, starting from the tender phase, all the way to the design implementation and delivery phases via the Autodesk Construction Cloud. Anel Group, which started using BIM 360 Field, BIM 360 Docs and made it its primary application following the increasing need for working remotely due to the pandemic, leverages the advantages of savings and efficiency of cloud services in field monitoring and management, documentation management, remote collaboration and coordination activities.

 

Anel Group’s BIM Journey: Qatar Metro Red Line South Project

Pointing out that Anel Group had reached a significantly high level in terms of technology in the last five years, BIM Manager Ümit Balaban said, “The company’s progress in its ERP infrastructure, communication infrastructure and BIM infrastructure sets an example for digitalisation in its area of operation.”

Driven by global goals, Anel Group operates as an electrical and mechanical contracting company undertaking complex projects. Undertaking a BIM-managed metro project in Qatar in 2016, the company took action to create a structure that could support all projects under a BIM umbrella in the future. Senior management was aware of the importance of digitizing and implementing BIM processes in line with their goals.

“The approach we embraced to address this issue is a pioneering one within our area of operation,” said Ümit Balaban. “Our initial move was to create a BIM Commission that would include representatives from all departments. Thus, we were able to promote an awareness on BIM processes across the entire organization. At periodic meetings, we determined what we could improve in BIM processes and set our standards.”

“70% of the projects we take part in are managed with the BIM infrastructure and all of them are ongoing projects abroad. It was the efficiency boost and savings opportunities of Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro and BIM 360 Docs that has enabled us to achieve this rate in the last two years.” —Ümit Balaban, BIM Manager/Mechanical Engineer, Anel Group

 

Ongoing progress with continuous improvements

The team responsible for the metro project in Qatar had BIM managers on board. Their feedback helped the commission further improve the processes.

Ümit Balaban said, “During the course of this project, we have developed solutions addressing several questions such as how to make cost estimates and measurements, how to transform existing legacy standards within models, how to align operation and maintenance activities with this new structure.”

In addition to the company that manages electrical and mechanical projects, Anel Doğa and Anel Marin are also Anel Group companies. Active since 2003, Anel Doğa was established as the first and only electronic waste recycling plant in Turkey. Anel Marin, on the other hand, has been providing a wide range of services to the shipbuilding industry, including concept and configuration design, equipment, project management and consultancy, manufacture of panels and control consoles, design and manufacture of special military systems, system testing and commissioning, maintenance-repair activities, since 2005. “The know-how and experience of these two companies enable us to broaden our horizon as well as improving our BIM processes,” added Ümit Balaban.

 

Piloting Autodesk BIM 360 Glue and BIM 360 Field for the metro project in Qatar

In addition to the numerous BIM-aligned projects that Anel Group has completed abroad, its ongoing projects include Amsterdam Schiphol Airport New Pier in the Netherlands, the University College London Hospital Proton Therapy Center in the UK, Abu Dhabi International Airport Terminal Building and Dubai – I (Bluewaters) Terminal Building in the UAE, Semaisma Road and Infrastructure Work in Qatar, Lusail Katara Hotel and Lusail Plaza Towers projects.

BIM managers supervise each project and receive support from the head office in Istanbul. Ümit Balaban stated, “During the pandemic, when we could not visit the project locations, we started to transform our head office in Istanbul into a main design office. We started using Autodesk Construction Cloud’s BIM 360 Docs solution in 2019, and it has become our primary platform following the pandemic.”

The metro project launched in Qatar was considered a pilot. First, two tablet computers were purchased. They tested ways through which they could communicate with the field via BIM 360 Field & Glue mobile apps using tablets, monitor man/hour, and devise quality control lists from a small office located at one of the emergency exits on the metro line. Balaban also added, “With a very modest investment, we accumulated valuable know-how and experience even during the pilot phase.” 

 

Know-how and experience shift from being individual assets to being corporate value

“Our BIM approach and the use of Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro enabled us to transform know-how and experience from being individual-centric to being corporate assets,” noted Balaban.

Now, it is possible to easily access to and align our activities with all BIM processes and standards thanks to the document management features on Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro. Even if any BIM manager leaves a project, the successors are quickly onboarded to continue working with the same standards. The BIM platform offers a structure that allows corporate memory creation as well as know-how and experience retention.

 

Contribution of BIM expertise to global business opportunities

As a publicly traded company, Anel Group differentiates itself from its competitors with its transparent structure. BIM processes can help companies with transparent management to achieve significantly successful results. The fact that coding and drawing standards serving global efficiency, such as equipment order codes, have been established within Anel Group, can be cited among the outcomes of transitioning to BIM processes.

Ümit Balaban said, “This is a perpetual process that is an absolute necessity for development. If a project necessitates BIM by design and you do not have your own corporate structure to accommodate it, you can only achieve partial success and will have to deal with low efficiency. Our expertise in this field positions us well to be commissioned by major Turkish and foreign contractors that have a good command of BIM processes.

70% of the projects we take part in are managed with the BIM infrastructure and all of them are ongoing projects abroad. It was the efficiency boost and savings opportunities of Autodesk’s BIM Collaborate that has enabled us to achieve this rate in the last two years.”

 

Autodesk’s BIM Collaborate Pro for the future

Ümit Balaban said, “Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro, which we have used since 2019, is our main application. Firstly, we used BIM 360 Build to track the progress of the field, then utilized the quality checklists. Afterwards, we switched to BIM Collaborate Pro to rid ourselves of the labor and cost burden of installing a Revit Server on-site. This move provided us with a great advantage in design budgets.”

Balaban also added, “This approach delivered significant benefits during the University College London Hospital Proton Therapy Centerproject in the UK. We ensured that the project was delivered with an asset model created,” and noted that the deliveries of the ongoing construction projects in Qatar would also be made with asset models.

Balaban said, “Thanks to the coding standards we introduced with BIM, we integrated this model, which was often overlooked by employers, leading to a costly outcome, into our processes. Seeing the cause-and-effect relationship in these projects first hand, we have achieved a highly significant level of company-wide adoption of the BIM processes.”

 

Productivity boost driven by collaboration and coordination

The document management features of Autodesk BIM 360 Docs further consolidates collaboration and coordination capabilities while also ensuring efficient use of teams.

Ümit Balaban said, “We used the Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro approach in nearly all the stages of our airport project in the Netherlands. We use the Review Process feature of Autodesk BIM 360 Docs very effectively. With the Review & Approval feature, you can track all the steps and tasks of a project on an individual basis. It ensures transparency in every step. Engineers, who used to only look at the survey of the sheets, have to look more carefully at the label within the sheets and the dimensions of the channels and really focus. User experience is really evolving. It is safe to say that this a true evolutionary process for the construction industry.”

With the integration of Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro into the business intelligence platform PowerBI, it is also possible to turn the results into charts and present them to the top management.

 

Saving time, paper and labour costs

Anel Group ensured that sheet revision notes were recorded on Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro. Draftspeople began to read those notes through Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro and apply them. With the possibility to track the steps, which could not be monitored with the previous method, unnecessary repetitive work, unmeasurable loss of time, and the need for sheet printouts have been eliminated.

The field management features of BIM 360 Build have also delivered significant benefits. Ümit Balaban describes them with an example: “Depending on project locations, some construction projects may be halted due to weather conditions or the employer may ask us to proceed regardless of the conditions. In such cases, you or your subcontractor may need to charge a fee for extra costs. “

Since everything is recorded on BIM 360 Build, you can easily monitor whether the employer received a revised quote and whether the extra cost has actually been incurred. The result can be reached by looking at the number of workers in the field, weather conditions and other data. Being able to record the process in its entirety ensures transparency.”

This structure also allows for an accurate evaluation of the subcontractors. The company name, number of workers, total time and progress are all recorded with the document management feature of BIM 360 Field. With the integration of BIM 360 Field Management into the business intelligence platform PowerBI, it is also possible to turn the results into charts and present them to the top management. These charts also show which subcontractor would be the best to work with in the next stage.

 

Labour savings in the Quality Control process

Using BIM 360 Field Management also offers benefits for the quality control process. With the legacy methods, it would take 80-100 minutes to prepare an average quality checklist. BIM 360 Field Management saved us close to 50 minutes in each checklist. We owe this time saved to the fact that BIM 360 Field Management allows you to instantly add the relevant document while devising the checklist as the documents are also on the same platform. Similarly, it is possible to link the list to documents or to put dots on it and link them to the equipment.

Ümit Balaban said, “Considering that a project is completed with 2,000 to 5,000 checklists, we can achieve a significant level of man/hour savings. One of our current projects was completed with 3000 checklists, saving us a total of 800 man/hours. This is just the tip of the iceberg as it has only been a few months since we started using the checklist function of BIM 360 Field Management. Once we start using the material approval checklists, we expect to see a further increase in our savings. Especially when you have operations abroad like we do, it is possible to get the return on your initial investment within a very reasonable time and manage more projects with the same teams.”

 

Accelerated improvement process with Forge and Dynamo

Ümit Balaban pointed out that there were many experts both within Anel Group and among Autodesk users who coded using Dynamo and that they were always on the lookout for codes that could be useful for them.

He said, “For instance, one of our BIM managers in Qatar wrote a code on Dynamo that allowed for the scaffolding system of a 40-meter tunnel to be automatically placed according to the data received. It was a code that helped us to significantly reduce the man/hours and to streamline our work.”

Stating that they also had an application which was written on Dynamo and which they used for cost estimation and quantity surveying, Balaban said, “In line with the volumes indicated in the planning, we wrote a code for the location of the objects that corresponded to those volumes, and we determined the costs and quantities based on this code. We have also started using Autodesk’s cloud-based development platform Forge. We are using Forge to ensure that the data extracted from BIM 360 Docs is well integrated into the applications on our platform called ‘Digital Anel’ and smoothly communicates with PowerBI.”

Anel Group Tender and Purchasing Director K. Serkan Kılıç said, “We leverage our engineering power to create solutions and aim to use cutting-edge technologies that we could benefit from the most. Autodesk has always been a trusted companion. Especially in a two-year retrospect, Autodesk AEC Collection, BIM 360 Docs, BIM 360 Field and Autodesk BIM Collaborate Pro cloud solutions have helped us immensely as we seized opportunities around the globe. These technologies provided us with the agility to quickly adapt to remote working conditions, enabling us to use our teams in the most effective way possible, boost our operational efficiency and drive our costs down.”

The post A Connected BIM Approach Helping to Achieve High Levels of Productivity for the Anel Group appeared first on Digital Builder.

POB is a building contractor focusing on turnkey projects where they work in collaboration with their clients to find the best possible outcomes. With a work culture which mixes professional pride and outstanding results, the team has expertise which covers the entire value chain of a construction project. POB delivers new build projects, rehabilitation projects, concrete work, smaller service projects as well as repair services to their varied client base in Norway.

The company started in 1992 with just three employees and in the nearly thirty years it has been operating, the company has grown significantly in size. They now have approximately 120 employees and offer support and services to small and large projects simultaneously. Over the years, the company has expanded quickly. With their rapid expansion, the teams still mainly relied on verbal communication as their main method for collaboration on their projects. These ways of working were not only risky but also meant that email soon became the primary way in which important project data was being shared. This was not reliable and left the company vulnerable when it came to data security.

As POB grew rapidly, some teams started using smaller digital collaboration tools and solutions. However, there was no common platform and no central storage place for all important project documents. Various levels of functionality for these platforms were being used in different ways, so POB could not establish clear and defined digital workflows for the company despite the fact they had slowly begun using digital solutions. Different projects all had different workflows and different priorities when it came to what was important to do, to document and to store. Collaboration with partners and clients was still unreliable and employees struggled to find the information they needed at any given time.

 

Standardising solutions to support a more unified company

During the annual POB Christmas party in 2019 the CEO and part owner Morten Vilhelmshaugen announced that POB was starting their journey into digitalisation with a direct challenge. Earlier that same year, Roger Feste, BIM Coordinator and IT Manager, and Hege M. Paulsen, Quality Manager, had been asked to explore how POB could improve their ways of working and improve the quality of their projects through improved and enhanced collaboration practices. “Email was our main way to share project data which brought a level of unnecessary risk to POB,” says Hege, Quality Manager at POB. “There were potential huge financial consequences when information was not shared in the right way and at the right time to our partners and clients. We wanted to use a solution that helped us distribute the responsibility and accountability on our projects to our supply chain partners too.”

For Roger, this wasn’t a simple fix that any technological solution alone could solve. “The digital solutions POB was using when we started working there didn’t meet the quality standards required by regulations in Norway on our projects,” affirms Roger, BIM Coordinator and IT Manager. Employees struggled to get an overview of the current stats of the projects due to fragmented workflows and processes. “Our server remained the same from when the company was first created in 1992. Some people stored project documents on their personal drives, some on the server, some on multiple different platforms – there was no common and standardised ways of working,” says Roger.

For the building, concrete and construction teams at POB, finding the latest and most up-to-date documents related to their projects was time consuming, complex and frustrating. “It soon became obvious to us that a more standardised approach could improve our efficiencies and give us greater results,” reflects Hege. We saw the need to renew the way we worked and to join the digitalisation wave in our industry. Due to earlier experience POB was mindful of the need to completely implement a whole solution, and not only parts. They also prioritised making ‘life easier’ for employees on their building sites. To simplify, POB decided they would adopt one solution for all of their projects moving forward. Many different solutions were researched but after a great presentation and excellent follow-up from Symetri AS, Autodesk Construction Cloud’s BIM 360 platform was chosen as the most suitable solution to meet the needs of POB.

 

Reducing time lost searching for documents

To get started, POB implemented BIM 360 with one department, the subcontracting concrete team. Roger reflects: “We used BIM 360 for the first time on smaller projects that weren’t as long in length so that we could develop some learning points to help us with our wider rollout of the solution.”

“We used BIM 360 for the first time on smaller projects that weren’t as long in length so that we could develop some learning points to help us with our wider rollout of the solution.” —Roger Feste, BIM Coordinator and IT Manager, POB

This approach helped POB realise that they would need to prioritise their folder structure conventions and permission settings throughout their rollout. “We learnt that it’s really important to take time at the start of your project defining the structures and workflows you want to use in BIM 360,” says Hege. For Hege and Roger, visualising how the solution would look and work before implanting it was difficult, so using an iterative rollout approach helped to refine the technology to suit the needs of POB and their projects on an ongoing basis.

 

Intuitive navigation resulting in requests to use the solution

Within the subcontracting department, many of the teams on site were using BIM 360 for the first time. The feedback received was around ease of use and how intuitive the solution was to learn quickly from a project site. “Before we implemented the technology, I was told that I’d really struggle to get our teams on site engaged with using it, but I found the complete opposite,” says Hege. “Once we implemented using BIM 360 on one project, I had site team members of other projects asking me when they would get to use it as they had heard how beneficial it was to project execution,” reflects Hege.

“Before we implemented [BIM 360], I was told that I’d really struggle to get our teams on site engaged with using it, but I found the complete opposite.” —Hege M. Paulsen, Quality Manager, POB

The construction teams on site liked the functionality that BIM 360 offered and many of them used the solution through the app on their mobile phone or device. “Using BIM 360 on site replaced several separate systems that our teams were previously using,” says Hege. When it came to implementing the technology further, Hege showed the benefits of each feature and functionality one at a time building iteratively so that project team members did not become overwhelmed. Hege also worked with site project team members to understand the pain points they faced when it came to executing tasks on site and showed them which features in BIM 360 would help them overcome each problem.

 

Building solid foundations

For POB, BIM 360’s document management capabilities is the foundation on which other digital workflows are built on. Having a solid and collaborative way to share documents means the project teams can remove the complete responsibility of information management on a project to a joint responsibility between all project stakeholders. “It’s now very easy for us to share documents with our subcontractors and supply chain partners in BIM 360,” says Roger. “Prior to using BIM 360, we really had no overview on the health of our projects as we lacked the information and data we needed about our projects,” continues Roger.

Spending hours trailing through various documents trying to ascertain whether it is the latest and most up-to-date version is a thing of the past for employees at POB. “BIM 360 supports our team to feel confident in the status of a project. Navigating and implementing version control is now much easier as all project collaborators know where the most accurate and up-to-date documents are and can see the versioning history,” reflects Roger.

POB’s on-site teams link documents and drawings into their checklists with BIM 360 to support with build activity. The issue handling functionality is also actively in use to track progress when it comes to resolving challenges within the project. “Automating the issues management functionality using BIM 360 has revolutionised the way in which we approach this important project activity by speeding up the managements and allocation of issues. We mark the exact location of the issue on our drawings in BIM 360 which also helps our team navigate our construction sites easily.” Says Hege

 

Better insights lead to better outcomes

Better insights captured from project data can not only improve the construction process, but it can support the health of a business and improve the way POB interacts with its partners and clients. “Complying to government regulations, simplifying everyday tasks, as well as delivering better quality for our clients is a big priority,” says Hege. “We now also have a standardised way of reporting and get better use of our data,”. Transparency on projects and better data has meant that POB’s previous manual ways of reporting that were lengthy and not wholly accurate have been replaced by dashboards in BIM 360.

Looking to the future, POB plans on ensuring all their teams across the entire company are getting the most from BIM 360 using the functionality available. They continue to actively work with digitalisation and aim to integrate Power BI with BIM 360. This will provide even more detailed analysis which will help manage and monitor project progress and proactively identify concerns. POB believe that all construction companies are responsible for driving the digital agenda. “Working with more digital workflows is not only more sustainable and timesaving, but they will also help us to create a more productive and efficient industry” says Hege. “With better project insights and a more collaborative industry we get more content and engaged employees, a more open supply chain and ultimately happier clients.”

If you’d like to see how BIM 360 connects your workflows, teams, and data so can you build better, please contact us. We’d love to show you how it works.

The post One Source of Truth Enabling Better Collaboration and Quality for POB in Norway appeared first on Digital Builder.

The Latest Across Autodesk Construction Cloud Unified Platform, Autodesk Build, Autodesk BIM Collaborate, Autodesk Takeoff, BuildingConnected, BIM 360, and Pype 

With construction’s busiest season in full swing, our product teams have been hard at work—rolling out new features and updates to make Autodesk Construction Cloud even better. We’re thrilled to share more than 40 releases and enhancements across Autodesk Construction Cloud products. 

From enhanced meeting views ensuring critical action items don’t get missed to smarter clash tolerance tools and more, read through for details on the latest product updates for Autodesk Construction Cloud. 

Jump to releases for: 

• Autodesk Construction Cloud Unified Platform 
• Autodesk Build 
• Autodesk BIM Collaborate 
• Autodesk Takeoff 
• BuildingConnected 
  • BuildingConnected Pro
  • TradeTapp
• BIM 360 
• Pype

Autodesk Construction Cloud Unified Platform   

*=features on both Autodesk Construction Cloud unified platform & BIM 360

Data Connector | Reviews Data & Document Management Power BI Template* 

Both BIM 360 and Autodesk Construction Cloud platform users can now extract document review data using Data Connector. This release adds to the document management related data extractions, including previously released sheets and transmittal data. This way teams can create custom dashboards in their own BI tools to better optimize document management workflows including driving better review processes. 

Data Connector | Schedule Daily Refresh* 

Both BIM 360 and Autodesk Construction Cloud platform users can now schedule extracts using Data Connector on a daily basis. This allows teams to get new data — refreshed every day — for use in other BI tools to ensure they always have the most up to date information.  

Data Connector | Power BI Connector on EU Servers*

Both BIM 360 and Autodesk Construction Cloud platform users can now use the Power BI Connector in both US and EU accounts. Previously the connector early access was available only for US accounts. 

Reports | Report Automation by Company 

Autodesk Construction Cloud platform users can now automatically generate Issue Summary and Issue Detail reports that are specific to individual companies. Prior to this release there was not an easy way to see an overview list of which companies had open issues. Now project leaders can run issue reports and distribute specific reports to each company to better manage issues and improve resolution rates.  

Reports | Issue Status Summary 

A new Issue Status Summary report is now available in BIM 360 and will be coming out shortly for the Autodesk Construction Cloud platform. This new report highlights a list of issues by company and gives an overview of how many are unresolved, overdue, open, answered, closed, etc. This helps teams get better visibility into issue status for each company and promotes resolution.   

Insights | Additional Partner Cards* 

Several new partner cards have been added to the card library in both BIM 360 and Autodesk Construction Cloud platform. The Box, Progess Center, Aespada, Sitekick, Daqs.io, Join.Build, OneConstruct, AgileHandover, and Novade partner cards will have their own branded card. The following list of partner cards are accessible through copying and pasting links into the generic partnercard; Airtable, Embneusys, Hoyst, OpticVyu Construction Camera, and Quickbase. 

Document Management | Custom Attributes in Project Templates 

Setting up a common data environment on the Autodesk Construction Cloud platform is now easier and faster with the ability to add file custom attributes to project templates. 

Autodesk Build  

* = features in both Autodesk Build & BIM 360  

** = features in both Autodesk Build & PlanGrid 

*** = Autodesk Docs feature (available across all unified products) 

**** = features in both Autodesk Build & Autodesk BIM Collaborate 

***** = features in Autodesk Build, BIM Collaborate & BIM 360

Cost | Custom Tax Calculations* 

With the new custom tax calculation feature, teams can now easily calculate taxes in all cost processes, such as change orders and payment applications, and display the tax in the generated cost documentation to comply with requirements. 

Handover | As Built Export [coming soon] 

The As Built Export feature in Autodesk Build improves the handover process by giving teams the ability to easily filter, find and export all relevant as built information including Sheets, RFIs, and Submittals, as well as carrying over any links to other related documents — like files or photos. With the elimination of manual processes used in the past, this feature not only speeds up the handover process, but it also improves the accuracy of handover documentation and increases overall client satisfaction.  

Assets Enhancements 

The latest Assets releases for Autodesk Build allows project teams to bring more visibility into their asset workflows to improve decision-making. With these enhancements, teams can standardize asset tracking and commissioning and better understand historical data when it comes to an asset:  

• Assets | Submittal Linking 
• Assets | Configuration Data in Project Templates 
• Assets | Activity Log

Meetings | Edit Meeting – General Information on Mobile 

Autodesk Build users can now edit general meeting information on mobile including meeting title, date, time, and location. Additionally, users will be able to change the meeting status from Agenda to Minutes on their iOS or Android devices through the mobile application. 

Meetings | Enhanced Meeting Views**** 

Autodesk Build and BIM Collaborate users now have a new, enhanced view of meetings to help better manage and address critical meeting items. In Project Home, users will have a snapshot of open, ongoing and overdue meeting items assigned for the project as well as to them as an individual. In the Meetings tab, users will have two enhanced views. The Meetings view will group all meetings by series, making it easier to manage and track all relevant meetings. The Items view pulls out items from all meetings and allows users to filter by flagged items, status, assignee, and due date, ensuring that critical action items get addressed and resolved. 

Learn more about Enhanced Meeting Views here. 

Meetings | Create Issue from a Meeting***** 

Autodesk Build and BIM Collaborate users can now create an Issue right from a meeting instance. When adding an Issue as a reference to a meeting item, users will have the option to create an Issue, streamlining the process and ensuring that all issues are addressed. 

Meetings | Reorder Meeting Items & Topics***** 

Autodesk Build and BIM Collaborate users can now easily reorder meeting items and topics, making it easy to customize and organize all project information within meetings. 

Photo Enhancements 

The latest photo enhancements for Autodesk Build improve efficiency when adding, viewing, linking, and searching for photos:  

• Photos | Autotags for Photos [beta] 
• Photos | Photo Viewing Enhancements [coming soon] 
• Photos | Reverse Referencing  

Project Lifecycle | Sheet Sharing Across Accounts 

Autodesk Construction Cloud platform users can how easily share sheets across different accounts. This helps gives teams the ability to share sheets with other external team members, like subcontractors or owners, who need access but are not a part of the main account. Sharing data across the entire project team is a critical part of ISO 19650 compliant workflows, and this release is the start of building out more data and file sharing functionality across the platform.  

RFIs Enhancements 

The latest RFI enhancements for Autodesk Build help to improve visibility to critical project information. With these releases, reduce manual work, improve customization, and enhance company and project data standards: 

• RFIs | Custom Fields 
• RFIs | Embed PDFs in RFI Reports 
• RFIs | RFI Settings – View Closed RFIs 
• RFIs | Project Templates 

Submittals | Custom Types 

For each project, Autodesk Build users can now add in custom submittal types or remove the preset types that are not required. This ensures all submittal information is correctly classified. 

Learn more about this month’s product releases specific to Autodesk Build in our blog.

Autodesk BIM Collaborate 

**** = features in both Autodesk BIM Collaborate and Autodesk Build 

Model Coordination | Clash Tolerance Filter [coming soon] 

BIM/VDC managers, designers, and specialty contractors can now organize their automatically generated clash results with greater control, using the tolerance filter. Set a distance in millimeters or inches to filter out clashes beneath the tolerance value. This easy-to-use filter empowers each user to prioritize major clashes first and refine more as the project progresses.  

Model Coordination | NWC & IFC Support in Automatic Clash Detection [coming soon] 

Support for NWC and additional IFC file exports enables quicker and broader automatic clash detection in model coordination. 

Meetings | Enhanced Meeting Views****

Autodesk Build and BIM Collaborate user now have a new, enhanced view of meetings to help better manage and address critical meeting items. In the Meetings tab, users will have two enhanced views. The Meetings view will group all meetings by series, making it easier to manage and track all relevant meetings. The Items view pulls out items from all meetings and allows users to filter by flagged items, status, assignee, and due date, ensuring that critical action items get addressed and resolved. 

Learn more about Enhanced Meeting Views here. 

Autodesk Takeoff 

2D Takeoff Enhancements 

Autodesk Takeoff users can now rotate and mirror takeoffs as well as resize takeoff markers. 

Read Only API [coming soon] 

In order to enable our customers to integrate their internal workflows with quantities in Autodesk Takeoff, we are enabling authenticated access to the Autodesk Takeoff inventory as read-only data through API. 

Publish Revit Models to Sheets and Models From Files [coming soon]  

Autodesk Takeoff customers will be able to publish Revit models directly to the Sheets and Models area in Autodesk Takeoff from Autodesk Docs. This creates a more streamlined process. 

BuildingConnected 

BuildingConnected Pro 

Builders Network | Suggested Edits Improvements 

BuildingConnected users that “suggest an edit” to another user’s profile can (1) see the status of the suggested edit (whether confirmed or declined) and (2) see or use the suggested edit throughout parts of the platform while the status is pending. This adds a layer of transparency and continues to showcase the power of the crowdsourced Builders Network.   

TradeTapp  

Exportable Blank Questionnaire 

Whether a qualification questionnaire needs to be internally reviewed, a risk manager needs to guide a sub through a specific question on their custom form, or a trade partner needs a reference for document preparation — blank versions of all questionnaires in your TradeTapp account are now readily available to you anytime. Simply select the one you want, and export it to your computer.  

Custom Email Templates 

When communicating with subcontractors in TradeTapp, you can now use pre-built email templates to save you time. Create and store as many templates as you’d like in your TradeTapp account and easily access them when you need them. 

BIM 360 

Admin Console | Limit Company Creation to Account Admins 

BIM 360 users now have the option to limit the ability to create new companies to just account admins. This will eliminate the accidental creation or duplication of companies and standardize the company directory so that it is consistent and easier to manage.  

Reports | Document Log – Adding Approval Status 

BIM 360 users will now see a new field for ‘approval status’ within the Document Log report. This will help teams quickly understand what phase each document is at in the review cycle and quickly take action to push any delayed reviews forward. 

BIM 360 Design Collaboration | Watch Groups 

Design and construction teams can now monitor changes to elements of a Revit model most important to them by creating “Watch Groups” in the Change Analysis tool. Teams are automatically notified when items in watch groups change throughout the project.  

This workflow enables users, especially project leads and designers, to stay informed on the most critical items they need to keep an eye on, saving time by eliminating tedious manual model queries and helping teams work smarter. Teams can also track unexpected changes within watch groups, helping to reduce risk and improve model quality overall. 

Pype 

AutoSpecs | Autodesk Build Integration 

Pype AutoSpecs brings efficiency, automation, and accuracy to the submittal process by automatically generating your submittal log. And now, with the Autodesk Build integration, teams can further streamline the submittal process by seamlessly transferring data from AutoSpecs directly into Autodesk Build for submittal management. Be more effective and efficient with AutoSpecs, an Autodesk Build integration. 

Learn more about AutoSpecs here. 

Stay in the Know for More Autodesk Construction Cloud Product Updates  

The post 40+ New Product Updates for Autodesk Construction Cloud  appeared first on Digital Builder.

There have been warning signs in the construction sector for years. The industry creates high levels of physical and digital waste, with 10-15% of materials wasted on every build.

Construction and the built environment account for nearly 38% of all energy-related carbon emissions around the world. And what’s more, we’re battling low productivity and a growing skills shortage. From an environmental, social and economic perspective, it’s simply not sustainable. 

But crucially, there’s greater appetite for change in construction than ever before. At two events, London Build and the Festival of Digital Construction, panellists came together to discuss the opportunities for change in the industry.

7 key takeaways on the future of sustainability in construction

1. Incremental change won’t cut it: we need a paradigm shift

The construction industry has been doing the same things for a long time. According to Dale Sinclair, Director of Innovation, EMEA at AECOM, you have to look to the beginning of the twentieth century for the last major innovations like steel and drywall. “If you think about the Empire State Building and the speed it was constructed, that would still be impressive today,” he noted.

Many of the recent improvements in the industry have focused on optimising traditional approaches – but with pressures like the climate crisis and population growth, we need more radical change. As Jaimie Johnson, Head of Global Systems at Bryden Wood put it, “We can’t use traditional techniques to meet population growth. We’ll kill the planet before we house the planet.” 

The construction industry will have a huge impact on the future of the build environment, affecting the lives of people hundreds of years from now – as Emilia Hagberg, Senior Sustainability Manager at Skanska, explained. Whatever lens you use, it’s time for construction to do something fundamentally different.

2. There’s a carrot, as well as a stick, for improving sustainability

Companies are facing very real commercial pressures to become more sustainable. Investors want to know that companies are dealing with the risk of climate change, by adapting their business models. There’s greater public and government pressure, which may result in binding regulations. 

And critically, owners are beginning to demand greater sustainability, from construction through to operations. Tom Blankendaal, Project Manager, Circular Economy at BAM, shared a story of working with a Dutch bank to create a more sustainable design. “We eventually redesigned the whole project with a trade-off matrix on different sustainability factors, such as energy usage, circularity and total cost of ownership. In the end, we made some very radical design decisions.”

There are also commercial benefits. As Dr Bonahis Oko, Sustainability, Carbon and Environmental Lead at Bouyges Energy Services explained, companies should recognise this “carrot” as well as the “stick.” “Sustainability measures often drive greater efficiency on projects: for example, reducing mistakes also reduces waste. It’s important to look ahead too. Think of sustainability as a factor in the future of the business: an R&D investment rather than just an obligation to fulfil.”

3. True sustainability accounts for the whole life of an asset, so adaptability matters

For a meaningful view of an asset’s sustainability, owners have to consider its whole life emissions – which can open up new ways of thinking. As Dale at AECOM explained, “The construction of a building only accounts for 20% of its whole life costs. If you make it 20% more operationally efficient over its lifetime, you effectively get the building for free.”

Adaptability is essential for maximising a building’s usefulness, prompting a move to long life, loose fit assets. “The most sustainable building is the one that already exists,” explained Az Jasat, Senior Industry Manager, Industrialised Construction, Autodesk. 

Jaimie at Bryden Wood recommended we take inspiration from the Victorians, who built incredible overengineered brick buildings which have been converted to many uses over the years, from water stations to climbing walls to offices to flats. “Let’s be the modern Victorians and create the kind of infrastructure that’s superbly well-built for a 150-year lifecycle,” he said.

4. Industrialised construction and design for manufacture and assembly (DFMA) will be critical

By applying manufacturing techniques to the built environment, industrialised construction and DFMA can increase the efficiency and reduce the emissions of projects. According to Az at Autodesk, “these two movements are our best chance of turning this ship around.”

Going one step further, some organisations are exploring the potential of platforms in construction: using consistent components and processes to construct a wide range of buildings, in a similar approach to furniture designs at IKEA.

Jaimie at Bryden Wood explained how the Construction Innovation Hub examined the UK’s public sector construction pipeline across every department. The project found that 70% of the total pipeline could be constructed with the same structural kit of parts, the equivalent of £35bn of assets.

“More than half of the space in schools, hospitals and prisons isn’t sector specific; it might be hallways, toilets, storage or bedrooms,” he said. “If you use the same products and processes across these platforms, there’s much more scope to optimise the components to make them as sustainable as possible.” By using common components on a project called The Forge in London, Bryden Wood saved 20% of the embodied carbon on the build.

5. Both old and new materials have huge potential

Re-evaluating which materials are used in construction – and how – will be critical. As Frank Blande, Senior Sustainability Manager at Multiplex, highlighted, concrete and steel are the two biggest emitters in construction’s carbon footprint. 

Innovations in materials science could help to solve this issue, as could the renaissance of older building options. Tom at BAM advocated the potential of engineered wood, as a means of not only reducing carbon emissions but capturing them. The largest timber tower in the world was recently completed in Norway, reaching 18 storeys.

There are many elements that impact the sustainability of materials, so better data will also help teams to make more informed decisions about pay offs. Tools like the Embodied Carbon Calculator are already supporting client dialogues. Tony Saracino, Senior Sustainability Success Manager at Autodesk, advocated harmonised ISO standards for material profiles, to take the industry away from rule of thumb estimations. 

Better data also creates the opportunity for materials passports, so that components can be re-used; given that currently 54% of demolition materials go into landfill, this could have a substantial impact.

6. Data will be the force behind all of these changes

Creating a more sustainable industry must start with data. As Frank at Multiplex explained, “Clear and accurate data helps us to better understand where we actually are – our sustainability baseline. It’s then possible to put data-driven strategies in place. As a sustainability team, we’re working with other disciplines across the business to get accurate data in place and set minimum data requirements that cover the business, supply chain and collaborators.”

Making this information available to project decision makers will help to improve design management, planning and quality. Data can also support closer collaboration with clients. AECOM is currently working with Autodesk on a viewer that simplifies information into a really intuitive interface: allowing everyone to get to grips with the data and understand the implications of the design.

However, organisations can encounter challenges with data management: currently lots of sustainability managers’ time may be spent collating siloed information manually, so automating data capture and analysis will be hugely valuable. Going forward, creating feedback loops about the real-world operations of buildings – through tools like digital twins – will also be key. 

7. All the stars are aligned: now it’s up to the industry

Sustainability presents significant opportunities for construction, but there are widespread cultural barriers to overcome. Construction is an incredibly risk-based industry, with many companies trying to protect thin profit margins. According to Frank at Multiplex, that can make innovation and new approaches unattractive – as organisations often can’t look to people that have tried it before. 

But as Rachael Atkinson, Construction Solutions Executive at Autodesk, highlighted, “Children have been brought up to understand the importance of the environment. Future generations will enter the industry with this whole new mindset – so maybe it’s us that need to change.” This is a collective effort, and transparency – and learning from one another – will be critical. As Tom at BAM explained, “Rather than copyright, we see it as the right to copy.” 

All of our panellists are clear on the need to change, right now. As Dale at AECOM said, “We’re dealing with a significant time gap. In five years’ time, the aspirations from owners and occupiers will be completely different. Owner need to shift their thinking into the future today.”

Jaimie at Bryden Wood concluded, “All of the stars are aligned: the climate crisis, the business imperative and government policy. Plus the financials: if you make a building that’s 20% more sustainable, the construction is essentially free. What else are you waiting for? Now is the time for every business to engage and accelerate the move to sustainability.”

Check out our recent report on the path to sustainability for construction business leaders.

You can view the panel discussions in full here:

• London Build: Industry Sustainability and Productivity – Unlock the Benefits and Impact of Industrialized Construction

• The Festival of Digital Construction: The importance of data and how it is impacting the construction industry

 

The post 7 Things to Know About the Sustainable Future of Construction appeared first on Digital Builder.

Find the people that are going to support you, help answer questions, and mentor you. Those are the teams you want to be on and the type of team you want to build.

To see the greatest results from technical solutions, you’ll need to get all users and stakeholders on board. While there are many factors that play into successful technology adoption, there’s one component that every initiative must have: a fearless champion. Enthusiastic, committed champions help drive the buy-in you need from stakeholders while getting support from the people who will use the new technology. Building internal advocacy ensures full-scale adoption. 

As a Senior Project Manager, Jacob Freitas is one of those fearless champions, pushing innovation and productivity forward at Level 10 Construction. We recently spoke with Jacob about his experience with planning and construction, how the project manager role is evolving, and how Level 10 leverages technology to solve challenges. Read his story below.

Tell us a little bit about Level 10 and what you specialize in.

We’re headquartered in Sunnyvale, California with a few more offices in San Francisco, San Diego, and Austin, Texas. Level 10 Construction was actually founded in 2011 by industry veterans with this shared vision of delivering construction projects at the highest level. And we’ve been able to deliver successful projects across several market sectors thanks to our different regional offices. Our projects have run the gambit—advanced technology, corporate, education, housing & mixed use, biotechnology, entertainment, healthcare and gaming & hospitality.

Walk us through your career. What led you to become Senior Project Manager?

I started back at Cal Poly in the summer of 2005 studying city-regional planning. My first summer after Cal Poly, I had an internship with a home builder, which was when I realized I wanted to go into construction. 

So, I pursued internships in the field and worked with Rudolph and Sletten for six months doing co-op. That was all around 2008 when the economic downturn happened and new construction opportunities dried up. I ended up getting more work experience related to my planning background. From 2009 to 2011 I worked on energy management and greenhouse gas mitigation for Mazzetti, an engineering firm out of San Francisco.

A lot of what I focused on during those three years were energy-related projects such as efficiency upgrades, solar installation and fuel cells. The primary client I supported was Kaiser Permanente, with the goal of reducing their environmental footprint, primarily focused on the greenhouse gas emissions associated from their facility operations. 

In 2011, a former boss of mine reached out to me to see if I was still interested in the construction space. This November will be nine years for me here at Level 10 Construction.

As construction evolves, how do you see the role of Project Manager changing?

Today, I see a lot of the same mistakes being repeated, and it’s due to a lack of knowledge sharing. Hopefully, in the next decade, sharing lessons learned will become easier with the advent of new technology. 

Looking forward, I’m excited to see how our industry shares information, not only internally in organizations but peer-to-peer, and how we can try to be more effective at it.

In terms of existing work products, I want to leverage that existing work product. I don’t want to reinvent the bid package or the spec section or this or that detail. There’s no reason to reinvent it if it’s already been figured out; however, many times it comes down to not knowing where that information resides. 

Looking forward, I’m excited to see how our industry shares information, not only internally in organizations but peer-to-peer, and how we can try to be more effective at it.

What project are you most proud of working on in your career?

I would say the Facebook west campus job we worked on from 2012 to 2014. At that time, we were still relatively small as an organization. That was around a $400 million project. As a senior engineer, I was managing all the MEPF trades, which was a $100 million dollar scope. That project felt like the equivalent of two or three projects rolled into one, and we delivered. 

The project was super cool, especially considering its size, scope, and complexity. That’s part of the reason I’m here doing what I’m doing today is because of that experience. Not everyone has the opportunity to manage mechanical, electrical, plumbing, food service, fire protection trades early in their careers. The project allowed me to advance faster.

What are the biggest challenges you face in your role? How does technology help you meet these challenges?

Having a centralized platform that the whole team can be on. That has always been a challenge. Recently there’s been a number of platforms that check that box.

Autodesk Build is taking the right approach with getting the whole project on board. I think that model is what we’ll continue to see moving forward. 

At Level 10, we also don’t print many drawing updates anymore. The only drawing sets we have are pretty much just the permit sets. It’s key to have the most recent version of all the information on hand, whether it’s an RFI or submittal or drawing. I can carry it around on my iPad and in my safety vest.

You just couldn’t do that 20 years ago, right? Instead, everyone would just be working with incomplete information. Now, one person can basically manage to keep the whole set current for the entire team—for 100 or 200 people. 

The concept of reality capture from 360 video walks has also become really beneficial. Companies like OpenSpace, StructionSite, and DroneDeploy allow users to quickly capture current site conditions and share project information with various stakeholders for coordination. Think Google Street View for the jobsite. 

Aside from just doing reality capture, some of these companies use photogrammetry to create 3D models of the site conditions. These can be used for things like soil stockpile quantity tracking and, more recently with OpenSpace, progress tracking of TI trades such as framing and drywalls. At a high level, eventually, you’ll be able to walk through the project and capture 360 video then upload it. The software will take that walk-through video and generate a point cloud, which is a geometrically accurate digital version of the built environment you’re looking at in real life. That point cloud then gets compared to your BIM models and schedule. This will give you percent complete by trade, trade-specific scope items, and how the completion of those items are tracking against the project schedule. That’s something that’s always hard to do on larger projects.

When you think about the future, what are your plans to advance innovation and productivity at Level 10? 

Internally, everyone’s definitely supportive of these things, but part of it is my own internal quest to be better at things because I see it could be better. The owners of our company are all very knowledgeable, and they’ve been doing this for 30, 40 or more years. So, sometimes it’s scary to face questions like, “We’re going to do what? How? We never did it like that. How are you going to do this?” 

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I constantly ask questions. Don’t be afraid to be the idiot in the room. Raise your hand…understand why you’re doing things. Don’t just do things because someone told you to.

Right now we’re tracking layout with a Dusty Robotics Field Printer robot, using all of our coordinated BIM models and shop drawings. The framers are going to do a Level of Detail (LOD) 350 model in Revit and coordinate with all the MEPs. The grand plan is to export all that information into a single layout file. Each trade will still be responsible for their own layouts, but the bulk of the layout will be exported by trade, given to Dusty, consolidated into a single layout file and multi-trade layout completed through Dusty Robotics Field Printer. 

For example, rough openings in walls, bottom track locations, drops for lights, etc., you stack it all in the system and it lays it out. Some of the framers are already enjoying it and some of the MEPs are already seeing the value in it. It should greatly improve the speed at which a project can complete layout and provide additional opportunities to spot problems before things are built out. We had a demo of it out in the field and it seemed effective.

What advice would you give to the next generation of men and women entering and preparing for the future of the industry?

Don’t be afraid to ask questions. I constantly ask questions. Don’t be afraid to be the idiot in the room. Raise your hand and ask questions a lot. You need to understand why you’re doing things. Don’t just do things because someone told you to do them. Figure out why you’re doing it because there’s usually a reason why you’re doing it. If you don’t understand the “why”, it’s not going to click a lot of times. That’s true with anything in life, but you have to ask questions and figure it out. Find the people that are going to support you, help answer those questions, and mentor you. Those are the teams you want to be on and the type of team you want to build.

The post Behind the Build: Interview with Jacob Freitas, Senior Project Manager, Level 10 Construction appeared first on Digital Builder.

Don’t shy away from learning opportunities.

Learning and development (L&D) opportunities are incredibly valuable, especially when starting out in your career. In fact, a survey by LinkedIn found that the majority of professionals agree that learning is key to their success. This is even more pronounced among young professionals—76% of Gen Z respondents consider L&D as an essential component in their career growth. 

What’s more, LinkedIn’s research found that learning is more effective when combined with social elements like being able to connect with instructors and fellow learners. Ninety-one percent of L&D pros believe that teams are more successful when they learn skills together.

These findings highlight the importance of learning and development in your professional life. If you want to accelerate your construction career, it’s well-regarded to continuously pursue new knowledge, skills and challenges. 

At Autodesk, we want to help you do just that, which is why we regularly hold Autodesk Construction Meetups—a virtual series that gives you the opportunity to learn and connect with other construction pros. These events take place on a bi-monthly basis, and they cover three key areas: BIM, Preconstruction, and Project Management. We’d love for you to join our meetups, and you can do so right here.

 

Career advice for those new to the construction industry

During recent Autodesk Construction Meetups, customers shared the advice they wish they’d been given when starting out in their construction careers. Here’s what they said:

1. There are no stupid questions

“Be curious, speak up, ask questions, and document the answers. Someone else is probably wondering the same thing you are.” —Melissa Schulteis, Virtual Construction Lead, Miron Construction

 

The statement, “There are no stupid questions” might sound trite, but it rings very true in construction. A lot of people hold back from speaking up or asking for clarification out of fear of looking foolish. However, this behavior could be holding you back from discovering new things and ultimately, advancing your career. 

So, get curious. Keep asking questions and always share the knowledge with your peers.

2. Plan, plan, plan

“Proper prior planning prevents poor performance.” —Camille Hardin, Project Manager, Flint Builders

 

Planning ahead is one of the biggest lessons Camille has learned in her career, and she encourages everyone to take the planning stage seriously. She also recommends using technology and tools like BIM to aid the planning process. 

By planning for different contingencies, you’re able to prevent issues before you have to disruptively react to them.  Thoughtful planning helps you minimize scrambling to put out fires. 

3. Plan some more

“Plan the work, then work the plan.” —Spencer Mullaney, Project Engineer, Shimmick Construction

 

Like Camille, Spencer emphasizes the importance of planning. He advises ironing out as many details as you can before the project breaks ground. According to him, it is more cost-effective to plan everything in the office instead of dealing with issues out in the field. 

And while you should certainly be flexible in the event of unexpected circumstances, you must still go into a project with a plan and a solid idea of what you intend to do. 

4. Training your workforce is key

“We can provide as many resources as we want, but if someone doesn’t know how to use them, they won’t use them.” —Melissa Schulteis, Virtual Construction Lead, Miron Construction

 

In construction, we utilize numerous tools and processes. And while these things are essential, they won’t provide a lot of value if people don’t know how to use them. 

Team members, particularly those who are just starting out, need adequate training to do their jobs well. Whether it’s showing them how to use different technologies or walking them through your organization’s project management procedures, investing the time to educate workers is a must. 

5. Always ask why

“[When] it comes down to a project’s success and trying to figure out how to do it, you’ve got to understand the ‘why’ first.” —Camille Hardin, Project Manager, Flint Builders

 

“Why?” is a powerful question, as it helps you uncover the reasons, motives, and underlying factors driving a project. This seems fundamental, but bears repeating as it supports #1. Get curious and get answers. Asking “why” helps you figure out better ways of doing things. In some cases, the answer can tell you whether or not something is worth doing. 

Understanding the “why” for every aspect of a project can give you a major advantage in achieving a great project outcome. So don’t shy away from asking those questions.  

6. Don’t overextend yourself

“Think about what a healthy balance for your work, for your life, for everything means to you, and then go build it for yourself.” —Spencer Mullaney, Project Engineer, Shimmick Construction

 

At the beginning of your career, it’s tempting to say “yes” to everything and demonstrate that you’re willing to learn and work hard. Spencer points out that while there’s a lot of value in this, you also need to draw the line to make sure that you’re not overextending yourself. 

Being overextended could jeopardize the safety of the team and the quality of the work, so be mindful of your capacity. Don’t take on tasks or projects if you don’t have the bandwidth to do so. 

7. Get buy-in

“When all the team members are on the same page, you will be successful.” —Melissa Schulteis, Virtual Construction Lead, Miron Construction

 

Melissa is a firm believer in keeping everyone aligned. After all, a company won’t achieve its desired outcomes if team members can’t agree on what needs to be accomplished. Getting top-to-bottom buy-in on projects, objectives, and other crucial decisions will ensure that everyone is working towards the same goals. 

8. Make cost-based decisions

“Simplify the problem, determine how big of a deal it is, then use that as a gauge of how much time to spend on it.”  —Spencer Mullaney, Project Engineer, Shimmick Construction

 

Some decisions require more time, while others can be made quickly. If you’re buying $25,000 pumps, for example, then you’ll need to carefully weigh your options. But not all decisions require a huge time investment. If you’re purchasing $50 shovels, you don’t need to take too much time deciding what to get. 

Spencer says it’s important to weigh the different decisions you have to make throughout the project, and determine how much time to allocate to each one. This ensures that you’re spending your most valuable resource (i.e., time) wisely.

9. Never assume

“It’s always best to ask as many questions as you can. It’s an easy phone call, just to make sure if you’re assuming correctly or not.” —Camille Hardin, Project Manager, Flint Builders

 

Assumptions can lead to misunderstandings and costly mistakes. These are things we want to avoid at all costs, particularly in a tight-margin industry like construction. Fortunately, it’s fairly easy to prevent incorrect assumptions. 

As Camille puts it, all you have to do is ask and clarify. If something is vague or confusing, talk to your team to confirm the details. This often takes just a few minutes, but it can save you costs (and headaches) over the course of the project.

10. It’s ok to not have all the answers

“You don’t need to know it all.” —Melissa Schulteis, Virtual Construction Lead, Miron Construction

 

Knowing everything isn’t necessary to succeed, says Melissa. It’s far more important to be aware of the resources you have available and where to find them. 

It’s ok if you don’t have all the answers right from the get-go. Recognize that learning is a continuous process. As long as you know how to tap into your available resources (e.g., other people, a knowledge base, etc.) you’ll be able to find the information you need.

11. Learn when to wing it  

“It’s important to know when to build or design a system for what you’re going to do, and when to just wing it.” —Spencer Mullaney, Project Engineer, Shimmick Construction

 

Systems and processes are important, but not all situations call for a formal procedure. As Spencer puts it, sometimes you can just wing it. 

How do you decide when to wing a situation and when to systematize? According to Spencer, you need to look ahead. If it’s a one-off situation, it probably doesn’t need a process or system. On the other hand, if it’s a task that needs to be repeated in the future, then you’ll want to design a procedure for it. 

12. Get to know your teammates personally

“It’s a little easier to work through a problem if you can do it with a friend.” —Melissa Schulteis, Virtual Construction Lead, Miron Construction

 

Melissa recommends cultivating personal relationships with your colleagues, as this will enable you to build trust with other team members. Needless to say, when there’s trust, you’re far more likely to have a pleasant and harmonious relationship with your peers. This leads to a better and more productive working environment.

13. Learn the difference between high-quality work and high-quantity work

“You don’t want to just produce for the sake of producing. You want to produce for a reason.” —Spencer Mullaney, Project Engineer, Shimmick Construction

 

When someone is busy or overloaded, they may have the tendency to just go through the motions of their job and simply do tasks to check things off their list. Spencer cautions against falling into this trap because when you’re completing tasks just to show that you did them, you’re not doing quality work. 

It’s important to catch yourself during these situations and ensure that you’re being thoughtful with what you’re doing.

 

Final words

There are plenty of things to learn about the construction industry. Fortunately, we have industry professionals like Melissa, Spencer, and Camille who are more than willing to impart their wisdom.

If you want to continue learning and advancing your career, don’t miss Autodesk’s Construction Meetups. These bi-weekly events give you the chance to hear from other industry pros, ask questions, and network with your peers. 

Sign up today and we’ll see you at the next meetup!

 

The post 13 Things “I Wish I Knew About Construction When I Started” appeared first on Digital Builder.

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