All 33 of the London’s local authorities have signed up to a net zero carbon route map to retrofit 3.8m homes across all tenures in the capital to achieve an average EPC B rating by 2030.

The plan, which will be revealed in detail at the end of this month ahead of the Government spending review, could bring about a £98bn investment in the green economy in London, say councils.

The Retrofit London Housing Action Plan has been developed by the London Housing Directors’ Group with support from the London Environment Directors’ Network, the GLA, and Enfield and Waltham Forest as lead boroughs.

London boroughs are urging ministers to increase local government’s resources for this work.

They want the government to use the upcoming Spending Review to release £30m of funding for the next phase of the UK Cities Climate Investment Commission work.

Councils argue this is necessary to unlock over £200bn of private investment for delivering net zero across the UK’s 12 biggest cities.

The group also wants to see fresh financial incentives to encourage private retrofitting, such as green mortgages offering lower rates and a variable Stamp Duty Land Tax for more energy-efficient homes.

The cross-party group London Councils warns the country’s retrofit market is highly unstable after serial failures of past green initiatives to tackle housing carbon emissions.

The National Audit Office slammed delivery standards in the government’s £1.5bn Green Homes Grant scheme as “rushed” and noted the scheme’s design failed to “sufficiently understand the challenges”.

Launched in September 2020 and scrapped in March 2021, the scheme was set up to help homeowners retrofit and insulate their homes.

It warns the industry cannot see a rerun of u-turns on the delivery of the £3.8bn Social Housing Decarbonisation Fund and £2.5bn Home Upgrade Grant.

London Councils says that boroughs’ ambitions for retrofitting the capital rely on targeted government investment, facilitating new private financing opportunities, and encouraging funding by landlords and individual households.

Joanne Drew, Co-Chair of the London Housing Directors’ Group, said: “Boroughs are fully committed to the home retrofit agenda and are proud to pioneer a new collaborative approach.

“Our plan identifies the steps needed to turn ambition into reality, setting out the costs involved and measures we will take to work with residents and landlords.”

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

Mark Robinson, group chief executive at SCAPE, one of the UK’s leading public sector procurement authorities, said: “A decline in output highlights a telling loss of momentum across the construction industry, as energy costs, labour shortages and fast-rising material prices continue to paint a concerning picture heading into winter.

“With attention turning to this month’s Budget and Spending Review, the industry will be considering how best to mitigate these challenges when it is handed the baton to deliver more of the community-focused regeneration needed to deliver on the government’s ‘Levelling-Up’ ambitions.”

Mark Markey, Managing Director of civils contractor Akela Group, said: “It is disappointing that the monthly output has fallen, however this is not reflective of what we are experiencing at Akela Group.

“Instead, we are seeing growing levels of demand for a wide range of ground engineering and civil engineering services, and in fact this appetite has been a key driver in our recent expansion into the English market.

“Our new North of England hub in Leeds is well placed to meet this growing demand, especially in the house building sector.”

According to the three-month trend figures infrastructure, industrial and public housing repair and maintenance were the three main sectors to see continied growth.

Latest figures for building materials for all work in August increased by 2.8% compared with July and 23.5% compared with a year ago.

Specific construction materials with the greatest annual price increase in August were imported plywood (78.4%), fabricated structural steel (74.8%), and imported sawn or planed wood (74.0%).

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.cmcconstruction.net/?p=1076

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

And that’s a wrap on ProContractor Summit 2021! Here’s a look into 5 of the top customer takeaways from this year’s conference.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.cmcconstruction.net/?p=1069

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

Forty of the world’s leading cement and concrete manufacturers have joined forces to accelerate the shift to greener concrete by pledging to cut CO₂ emissions by a further 25% by 2030.

The world’s most used human-made material accounts for 7% of total global CO₂ emissions and is a pivotal material in the response to the climate emergency.

The cement producers target marks the biggest global commitment by an industry to net zero so far – bringing together companies from the Americas, Africa, Asia, including India and China, and Europe.

The firms have affirmed their commitment to net zero concrete by 2050 and agreed to a more ambitious intermediate goal of preventing 5 billion tonnes of CO₂ emissions by 2030.

This is equivalent to the CO₂ emissions of almost 15 billion flights from Paris to New York.

The roadmap to get there is built around a seven-point plan that seeks to cut the amount of CO₂intensive clinker in cement, significantly reduce fossil fuel use in manufacturing, and accelerate innovation in products, process efficiency and breakthrough technologies including carbon capture.

Cement industry net-zero plan

The Global Cement and Concrete Association has also called on governments, designers and contractors to play their part by assembling the right public policies and investments to support the global scale transition of the industry.

These include greater development of critical technologies such as carbon capture and storage, and reforms to public works procurement policy to encourage the use of low-carbon cement and concrete products.

Thomas Guillot, GCCA Chief Executive, said: “We now need governments around the world to work with us and use their huge procurement power to advocate for low carbon concrete in their infrastructure and housing needs.

“We require their support to change regulation that limits the use of recycled materials and impedes the transition to a low carbon and circular economy.”

The association counts companies such as CEMEX, CNBM, CRH, HeidelbergCement, Holcim and Votorantim as members.

Click for full cement and concrete roadmap to net zero report.

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.cmcconstruction.net/?p=1061

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

On the heels of Autodesk University, including dozens of engaging sessions from industry-leaders about the importance of data, the term “platform” came up often. But what does that concept really mean? A true platform is more than just a list of APIs connected to a SaaS solution. It provides a single experience where designers, engineers, and builders can harness the data and tools they need whenever and wherever they need them.

So, how can you ensure you’re getting a true platform experience? We cover top takeaways from the podcast below, including how to evaluate construction platforms and technology, and what to expect from data and digitization in the future.

Jim Lynch, Senior Vice President & General Manager, and Sid Haksar, Head of Construction Strategy, both with Autodesk, join the show to answer that question. Plus, they share pivotal moments from Autodesk University, discuss how to evaluate platforms and construction technology to ensure alignment to your business needs, and offer predictions on where construction is heading.

“The fact of the matter is that almost every SaaS product today has APIs that let you exchange data with other applications; but a true platform really plays a more active role in coordinating how products work together.” —Jim Lynch, SVP & GM, Autodesk Construction Solutions

New Episodes Every Two Weeks

Digital Builder is hosted by me, Eric Thomas. Remember, new episodes of Digital Builder go live every two weeks. You can hear more episodes like this one by subscribing to Digital Builder on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, Google Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts.

You can also subscribe to our email list with the form below so you’re the first to hear when new episodes are released:

How to evaluate construction platforms and technology (5 considerations)

A key point of discussion in this episode is the importance of platforms in modern construction, and how AEC professionals can evaluate solutions that best fit their needs. As you’ll learn below, Jim and Sid both share actionable steps to help you do just that. 

But before we get to those tips, it’s worth defining what a platform actually is. 

“Everybody talks about platforms and there are many out there that seem to think that just because they have APIs, they have a platform,” says Jim. 

However, an open API doesn’t necessarily mean that the provider offers a solid platform.

“The fact of the matter is that almost every SaaS product today has APIs that let you exchange data with other applications; but a true platform really plays a more active role in coordinating how products work together.”

Jim continues, “A true platform ensures that data flows seamlessly and bidirectionally across all the capabilities in that platform.”

Sid agrees and adds that those using solid platforms have a more seamless and powerful experience, as it enables “high fidelity connections across teams, workflows, and data.”

So, how can construction professionals ensure that they implement a true platform? Jim and Sid recommend the following steps to help you find and evaluate vendors and solutions for your business. 

1. Make sure you know where data is stored and who has access

Getting a proper handle on construction data is essential for every firm. You need to have accurate and up-to-date information in order to execute on your projects. Data is also critical for measuring success and making business decisions.

For this reason, data must be the first factor you consider when evaluating solutions.

According to Jim, a good platform centralizes your data and makes it easy for teams to collaborate. 

“Some solutions limit access to the data. They only allow the license holder to have complete control and ownership of that data.” —Jim Lynch, SVP & GM

“Having a single source of truth is paramount. It is a core pillar in the strategy of really creating ways for companies to work from the same documents while respecting the data ownership aspects of it.”

Speaking of which, ownership and accessibility of information should also be considered, says Jim. 

“Some solutions limit access to the data,” he warns. “They only allow the license holder to have complete control and ownership of that data.”

PRO TIP

Before getting too far along with a technology provider, make sure you’ve asked them about how their platform handles data and how you and your team can access the necessary information. 

2. Discuss how the technology provider defines the project lifecycle

“A true construction platform supports the entire project lifecycle—from design, through reconstruction, out to the job site, out to operations and maintenance,” states Jim. That’s why the question of how a vendor defines the project is really important. 

If a vendor’s software only supports a single phase of the project, then it’s not truly a platform.

“I think a lot of providers define a construction project from the point they start on the project site, ending when they push it to operations and maintenance. But that’s not a real platform, that’s a point solution,” he explains. 

3. Ask about the solution provider’s customer success and training initiatives

In today’s increasingly competitive and complex construction landscape, you don’t want just any vendor on your side. You need a partner who’ll support you and your team throughout all your projects. 

Jim says that before selecting a technology provider, you need to ask them about the customer support, training, and resources they provide. 

“Do they have the expertise and skillset to support you? Do they have the teams necessary to really help you adopt, embrace, and in fact, get the most from your technology investment?”

These are just some of the questions that you should ask, he says. 

The key is to find a vendor who can support your entire business, not one that’s focused on how fast they can deploy their technology and quickly move on to another customer. The right vendor is there, “to help you take advantage of and collaborate better with the design team, with the team on the job site, with the pre-construction office, and ultimately, with the owner of the project.”

4. Explore their ecosystem of partners and integrations

The next step is to look into the other companies and providers that the vendor works with, and explore the depth of their partnerships.

Bear in mind that not all integrations are created equal. As Sid puts it, “Having partner logos on a website does not really mean much if those integrations are weak and limit the customer’s ability to utilize their existing solutions in an efficient and seamless manner.”

He adds that weak integrations that lack data interoperability and require manual processes “can ultimately lead to greater risk on a project.”

As such, properly vetting the vendor’s integrations and figuring out exactly what information is synced will lead to smarter decisions on which solution providers to choose. Autodesk, for instance, has deep integrations with the industry’s top solutions and also makes it easy for users to create flexible integrations through ACC Connect. 

“One of the exciting pieces of news that we announced at AU was that we now have over 200+ integrations leveraging both forge and partner cards,” shares Sid.

“We also have ACC Connect, which enables customers to build their own custom integrations over 100 workflows that we offer, in a no-code environment.”

5. Talk about their pricing model

It’s best to go with a vendor that offers flexible licensing. The best solutions don’t limit the way the customer can purchase technology.

As Sid points out, “being a platform comes with a lot of responsibility to customers. We are essentially asking companies to standardize their core processes on one platform.”

“Construction professionals need to ask if these platforms really offer flexibility in how they can purchase software, rather than deploying a one-size-fits-all approach.” —Sid Harska, Head of Construction Strategy

“To that end, construction professionals need to ask if these platforms really offer flexibility in how they can purchase software, rather than deploying a one-size-fits-all approach.”

Sid adds that you should also determine if the vendor has price certainty so you’re not left with uncomfortable surprises during the terms of your contract. 

“In listening to the industry and our customers, [Autodesk] offers multiple ways for people to consume our offerings, whether it’s user-based or account-based. We also strive to offer price certainty and really be a partner to them,” he shares. 

The importance of data, digitization, and the future of construction technology

When asked about the future of construction, Jim and Sid both agreed on the importance of data. 

The most successful firms will be the ones who can effectively manage and harness the data that they have—something that many companies are struggling to achieve. According to a recent study by Autodesk and FMI, the majority of construction teams don’t have a formal data strategy in place—and many don’t trust the data they do have available. 

Data management is clearly a challenge that we must overcome, and the first step in doing that is to digitize systems and processes. 

“Embrace digital technology to capture project information from early on in the project through to handover and operations.” —Jim Lynch, SVP & GM

Jim encourages teams to “apply or embrace digital technology to capture project information from early on in the project through to handover and operations.” Taking this step, he says, enables you to amass digital information, which you can integrate into your project management and financial systems. 

“This then leads to the optimization stage, the idea of actually using technologies like machine learning to be able to look back at that information, extract key insights, extract key learnings, and drive better outcomes on future projects.”

In line with this, Sid points out the value of standardization. 

“Getting access to the data is exceedingly challenging, and it’s really a prerequisite in order for companies to start driving actionable insights from that information,” he remarks. 

“I would say standardizing on an open and integrated platform enables that first part of the journey in capturing data in one place. Then subsequent to that is really the ability to surface information in a highly consumable manner so you can make appropriate business decisions.”

The bottom line: data and digitization are the future of construction. The sooner you organize and manage these components in your business, the better positioned you’ll be in the market.

Listen to the Full Episode of Digital Builder

Can’t get enough of platforms, data, and construction tech? Catch the full episode of Digital Builder to hear more from Jim and Sid. You can listen to it on:

• Apple Podcasts 
• Spotify
• Stitcher
• Google Podcasts
• or wherever you listen to podcasts.

The post Digital Builder Ep. 20: Evaluating Construction Platforms and Technology appeared first on Digital Builder.

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

DSM Demolition successfully demolished on Sunday morning the last four cooling towers at the former Eggborough power station plant in Goole, North Yorkshire.

The landscape changing demolition was the next key milestone in the redevelopment of the site, earmarked for mixed-use regeneration in a joint venture between St Francis Group and Marshall Commercial Development Projects.

The implosion took place at 9am within the perimeter of a secured 350m diameter exclusion zone to safeguard the public.

Over 50 DSM staff implemented the localised road closures and the exclusion zone employing heat-seeking drones to ensure the zone was completely clear in advance of the works.

The 90m high towers were only 60m from the National Grid sub-station open switch gear and overhead lines, this was a challenging aspect of the job and meticulous planning and protective measures were required to ensure that works did not impact on their continuing operations

DSM Project Manager, James Fincham said: “18-months of planning and work on site to achieve what has been accomplished on Sunday is a testament to the demolition team on site and all involved with the project.

“Plans and preparation are now well underway for the further demolition works to be undertaken in 2022.”

St Francis Group Director of Operations, Simon Dale said: “The team have worked diligently over the past few months to ensure the event was planned, co-ordinated and implemented safely.

“The removal of all eight cooling towers is a significant milestone for the development, and we look forward to working further with DSM and others to regenerate this site and create economic development for the region.”

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.cmcconstruction.net/?p=1021

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

Sellafield’s project delivery team has fired the starting gun on race to find two key delivery partners for a combined concrete structures, groundworks and blockwork package worth £1bn over 18 years.

The tender is the largest to hit the market from a new pioneering procurement model that uses Project 13-style integrated collaborative teams.

The big procurement shake-up is being delivered the Programme and Project Partners (PPP) that are driving forward the clean-up of the Sellafield site in West Cumbria.

This overarching integrated team is made up of a Kellogg Brown and Root (Integration Partner); Jacobs (Design and Engineering Partner); Morgan Sindall Infrastructure (Civils Construction Management Partner) and Doosan Babcock (Process Construction Management Partner), and Sellafield.

Under the new multi project procurement process, key delivery partners will be appointed by the PPP team to carry out the main elements of construction works across the programme.

Contests are already underway for sheet piling partners and building interior fit-out and finishes.

PPP anticipates that two KDPs will be appointed for the concrete structures, groundworks and blockwork package.

Tenderers will be required to set out a predetermined supply chain for the work they will deliver and requiring just over a third to comprise of SMEs.

As part of the process, PPP has enlisted the Swimming with the Big Fish SME Matchmaker Service to broker and develop relationships between those bidding for KDP packages and high performing SMEs able and willing to invest in West Cumbria.

This introduction service is being delivered by quantity surveying and procurement specialists Solomons Europe.

Successful KDPs will be expected to help PPP meet its five ‘Critical Success Factors’, which include cost savings on project baselines, certainty of delivery and rewarding supply chains that achieve agreed outcomes.

Emphasis is also placed on local employment and upskilling the local workforce, along with financial and social investment in West Cumbria.

A full strategy paper outlining the procurement approach, commercial model, timeline, and other important information will be made available to businesses who register their interest by 12pm on Thursday, October 14 by email.

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

Agreement has been reached for the sale of the last of four stalled Elliot Group schemes after the developer collapsed into administration following the arrest of founder Elliot Lawless.

Administrators for the company’s £70m hotel scheme on Norfolk Street in Liverpool’s Baltic tech district have exchanged contracts with the scheme’s original investors.

HBG Insolvency Ltd will now put the sale proposal before the High Court for final ratification.

The 306-bedroom property had secured planning permission and construction had commenced, before ceasing when investors decided not to continue funding the project following Lawless’s arrest in December 2019.

Lawless said: “When my schemes were placed in administration I made a promise that I would work ceaselessly to help secure each site’s sale and protect the interests of investors, so I am delighted that my final stalled scheme is to be acquired by its original investors.

“The process, as with the other administrations, has been handled by a third party under strict rules and I sympathise with investors whose bids for The Residence and Infinity weren’t successful.

“It has not been easy but with flexibility and good will on all sides the administrators have been able to ensure that all of my stalled projects will now be placed in the hands of new owners and move forward to completion.

“What this latest deal reinforces is that my projects were always very good schemes in prime locations.  I’ll take considerable satisfaction from seeing them completed.  If you take a look at the outstanding job done by the investors who bought Aura in Liverpool, for example, you can see that the original vision for each project can still be delivered in the right hands.”

No charges have ever been brought against Lawless and he says he “looks forward to Merseyside Police concluding their investigation.”

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

“Get used to learning and unlearning.”

What drives innovation and change in our industry? Market changes and customer demands are certainly at the top of the list. But there’s another driver required, the power of curiosity. Curiosity pushes us to understand how and why things work while giving us the opportunity to make improvements and enhancements.

Gabriela Celi leveraged the power of curiosity to drive her career advancement at SEMAICA from Junior Architect to Head of Innovation, Research, and Development in less than six years. We recently spoke with Gabriela to discover why curiosity, as a character trait, has had such a positive impact on her career and SEMAICA as an organization. Read her story below.

Tell us a little about SEMAICA and what you specialize in.

Sevilla y Martínez Ingenieros (SEMAICA) is one of the leading construction companies in Ecuador. We’ve been in the market for 65 years. We execute all the stages of a development project (one-stop-shop) in diverse areas of expertise. From construction to renovation and restoration of infrastructure projects, industrial plants, institutional, commercial, residential, and non-residential buildings. In addition, we have expertise in civil engineering, demolition, and earthworks.

At SEMAICA, we have a strong company innovation culture that’s been passed down from the DNA of our founders Gonzalo Sevilla and Ernesto Martínez. We’re one of the most innovative companies in Ecuador. For example, we were the first ones to bring an engineering computer here. It was an IBM and almost the size of a room. The first time it broke, we had to send it back to New York because it was the only one of its kind in the country.

We love to say, give us a challenge, and we’ll solve it. That’s one of our slogans; the other is that SEMAICA is built to last. The reason why we invest so much in innovation and new technology is because we wish to provide our clients the best quality they can have for their project.

“We have tripled the projects we work on, getting important multinational clients for the excellent product that we show we can reach.” —Gabriela Celi, SEMAICA

We take good care of our client relationships. For example, we’ve been working with the same production factory for 12 years. They’ll come to us when they need to extend operations, adjust, or build another industrial warehouse. So as the client’s business grows, ours does as well, which only strengthens our relationship, becoming strategic allies.

Walk us through your career and what led you to becoming Head of Innovation, Research, and Development?

Everything started back in college. I’ve always been really curious, and thankfully I attended San Francisco University in Quito, which has a deep liberal arts philosophy. You’re able to sign up for diverse types of classes. So, besides my bachelor’s degree in architecture I got a minor in universal history and took, for example, art, language, and administration courses. This forced me to study and understand different topics rapidly. I took 313 credits out of the 145 needed to graduate as an architect.

Then, after I defended my thesis on a Wednesday, I began working at SEMAICA the following Monday on a construction site as a construction resident of the T6 Building. Even while studying architecture, I didn’t receive many construction classes, but I still learned a lot. They were tough times because I had to manage a group of personnel and different production fronts, but we completed a magnificent building that is now the project that I am most proud to have taken part in.

Meanwhile, one of my bosses saw that I learned Revit at the university. For this reason, at the end of the project’s construction, they transferred me to the central office. After 6 months of hard effort, we developed the manuals and protocols as a plan to implement BIM in the design and development department.

“Get used to learning and unlearning. The scenarios you encounter are highly variable, so be versatile in applying your knowledge in the same way you search for solutions.” —Gabriela Celi, SEMAICA

In the beginning, I was the only person in the architectural division. Later, we hired more colleagues and got more projects because the novelty of the methodology attracted people. My boss had the vision to provide clients with this method to solve most of their pain points during construction. On the other hand, we empowered the change of mindset of our collaborators because BIM is more of an attitude focused on collaborative work. You can invest in hardware and software, but if you don’t have the right mindset to learn and adapt to fresh technologies, you won’t increase your BIM maturity level. 

Since we already had a solid architecture division, this year we decided to face a distinct challenge. Thus, after being in the design and development department for about four years, I commenced my new position as Head of Innovation, Development, and Investigation in which I am carrying out studies and transformations in multiple departments of the company.

I’ve experienced both worlds, being on-site and off-site. I know that despite having great communications on-site, there are invariably problems to figure out. If you don’t monetize them at a certain point, you may generate problems for your clients. That’s why my first big project in this role was to implement Autodesk Construction Cloud to improve the relationship between the office and the construction site.

What is your proudest accomplishment in your career?

My greatest professional achievement was starting and expanding the architectural design department of SEMAICA. After 4 years, we have tripled the projects we work on, getting important multinational clients for the excellent product that we show we can reach. As said before, we started only with me as an architect but thanks to a lot of perseverance and hours of work invested in growing, today we are 6 architects.

I also led the implementation of BIM in the design department, of which we have achieved a high level of maturity by integrating models that already include all specialties (architecture, structure, and MEP). Methodology that I took to be a process for SEMAICA, now allows them to comply with section 8.3 in design and development of its ISO 9001 certification. Tools that have been key in satisfying my company and our clients.

Tell us about the Hotel Le Parc project your team is working on.

The Le Parc project is one of the largest hotel investments this year in Ecuador. The project is nearly $30 million and will revolutionize the architecture of the city of Quito. Le Parc is an existing hotel, so the project is an expansion. Sort of second phase. It will be completed by July 2023 and has been certified with the international Edge Advanced certification (Excellence in Design for Greater Efficiencies). This certification recognizes sustainable construction focused on efficient use of resources and zero carbon emissions.

Gabriela Summerfield, one of the most respected executives here in Quito, is leading and developing the project. The project is called I Am Beyond the Stars. It will turn the hotel into the first sustainable multi-use building in Quito, combining hospitality, residences, and corporate offices. The work will include 18 floors in a construction area of 25,000 m², 30 hotel suites, 17 corporate offices, and 108 residences. 

At SEMAICA, we’re using Autodesk Build, Autodesk BIM Collaborate, and Autodesk Takeoff on the project. It’s incredible to see the potential. Right now, we’re working on our learning processes and taking classes to learn how the tools work and how to structure information. We’re going to teach and give our subcontractors classes. I’m thrilled with the tool and ready to see what comes next. 

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

We currently have 6 ongoing studies in a space called SEMAICA Lab. In which, with the development team, we investigate various paths to solve challenges for both our external clients and the company internally. Some topics that are being developed are visualization and augmented reality, parameterization and standardization, off-site construction and connected construction. We expect that soon these pilot projects will have their implementation plan and go live. I think that as a team we have a great deal of potential ahead of us to implement new things in SEMAICA.

“We love to say, give us a challenge, and we’ll solve it.” —Gabriela Celi, SEMAICA

Likewise, I see potential for the general improvement of the construction industry in the use of big data for decision making. A lot of information that could be useful for projects just stays stagnant and archived, and sometimes is even thrown away. If instead this data were processed and analyzed adequately, it could give us interesting perspectives on efficiency, performance, productivity, or really any other improvement that could be used in subsequent projects.

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

I think I can focus my advice on two keywords. The first is versatility. Get used to learning and unlearning. The scenarios you encounter are highly variable, so be versatile in applying your knowledge in the same way you search for solutions.

The second is purpose. Purpose gives direction to our path and meaning to our effort. For example, spending time training on the use of new software and spending money on new hardware always serves a higher purpose. For me, in this case, our strong innovative nature is in the DNA of SEMAICA. We always want to give the best to our clients.

Want more stories like this?

I regularly interview construction leaders to promote knowledge sharing. We cover what works, what doesn’t, and what the future holds. Check out our entire series of Behind the Build interviews, featuring some of the best in construction.

The post Behind the Build: Interview with Gabriela Celi, Head of Innovation, Research, and Development, SEMAICA appeared first on Digital Builder.

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net

In June 2021, we released our Zoom integration with the Meetings module in Autodesk Build. 

Now, Autodesk Build and BIM Collaborate users will have the ability to choose between launching a Zoom or a Microsoft Teams meeting. This provides companies with a wider choice of conference platforms as well as more flexibility for your project teams.  

This free integration gives meeting organizers the ability to automatically generate a Microsoft Teams meeting directly from a meeting record. When meeting participants access the agenda within Autodesk Build, they can simply select the MS Teams link to join the meeting. Not only does this integration make it easier for participants to access and join meetings, MS Teams video and audio-conferencing capabilities increase engagement during the meetings. 

Key benefits of the Microsoft Teams and Meetings Integration 

• Greater flexibility related to the ability to choose the video conference tool of company preference based on IT requirements  
• Integrated workflows between Autodesk Construction Cloud & Microsoft Teams 
• Improved speed and productivity  
• Enhanced collaboration across project teams 
• Single source of truth: enhanced track record of meetings in one common data environment 

Key features of the Microsoft Teams & Meetings Integration 

• Add Microsoft Teams Link to a Meeting
• Choose between Zoom & MS Teams  
• Join Teams meeting from the browser, Teams app or by downloading the app to the PC  

Note: Generating the link is only possible from the web interface, however, the link will be visible on the mobile device within the app.  

More Product Updates Across Autodesk Construction Cloud  

We have released over 40 new features & enhancements across our unified offering this month. Make sure to stay up-to-date and read about all the latest product releases in this announcement.

If you’d like a demo of the new integrations or any product within Autodesk Construction Cloud, please contact us.

The post Quickly Generate Microsoft Teams and Zoom Meetings in Autodesk Build appeared first on Digital Builder.

Tayla Matthews

www.cmcconstruction.net