Month: September 2021

At the core of successful construction projects, you’ll find clear communication and continuous collaboration. Yet from 2012 to 2015, just 25% of projects came within 10% of their original deadlines. It isn’t uncommon to encounter bottlenecks as a BIM manager, especially during the preconstruction phase. This is especially true when issue identification, assignment, and tracking are managed by a single person. 

In order to accelerate the design and coordination phases, architects, engineers, BIM managers, and trades must have the ability to identify and track issue resolution. Best case, this is all in the same solution when they review designs or create packages. 

Likewise, upfront issue detection is essential to construction project success. Issues that occur during the design and preconstruction phase may only cost a few thousand dollars to resolve, while those discovered in the field can cost tens, if not hundreds of thousands of dollars to mitigate.  

With that in mind, Autodesk Construction Cloud now has Design Issues in Autodesk BIM Collaborate’s Design Collaboration Module. Issues in design collaboration can be tailored to suit your team during the WIP phase or when sharing packages with other disciplines. These issues are accessible across teams, phases, and desktop applications through a common data environment (CDE) to extend the lifecycle of an issue beyond just WIP. 

 

Resolve design discrepancies faster with new Design Issues feature 

Find and assign issues in the design collaboration phase Accelerate content creation Understand an issue and its history in full context Identify an issue, assign who is responsible for its resolution, mark its location, and note the deadline for resolution Resolve issues in a common data environment Access, review, and resolve issues in other connected applications 

 

Key benefits: Design Issues feature 

 

Save time with up-front issue identification 

Instead of having to wait for a coordination meeting, or for a BIM manager to identify issues, project teams can identify and resolve issues as they design. Doing so will save time, as WSP Canada found. The engineering consulting firm used a check-as-you-go method in Revit Cloud Worksharing, which is a part of BIM Collaborate Pro. This saved the BIM manager 20-30% (conservatively) of the time it took to find and assign issues. They have since moved to using this method on over 15 projects. 

In the context of an aggregated model, as you evaluate your team’s designs in a WIP folder, cloud-based issue resolution accelerates the design phase and provides better visibility into the constructability of a model across disciplines. Here’s what you can expect from Design Issues: 

The ability to clearly detail what the issue is, who needs to resolve it, where the issue is, and when it needs to be completedComment capabilities on issues to gain clarity and see the history of that issue for greater context2D Markup tools to pin issues to a model in 3D or 2D sheetDiscipline colorization to more easily identify the responsible teamsDiscovery of new issues through first-person interaction with the aggregated modelQuick resolution in the authoring tool with the free Revit Add-in, connected to the CDE

void time wasting file transfers with a common data environment 

Conducting file transfers from authoring tools to collaboration or coordination tools and back takes up plenty of time and slows down productivity. Some firms use third-party applications to deal with this non-optimal task. However, these applications don’t natively resolve issues and add more cost while the data gets stuck without the use of a CDE.  

That’s why it’s key to be able to resolve issues with a common data environment inherent to the whole eco-system. When issues arise, firms can address them in the tools they already know—like Navisworks and Revit. They also have a running record of issue occurrences and resolution status across disciplines. When an issue gets resolved, the decision details are stored to better predict future builds or provide greater context for field teams. 

By resolving issues in a common data environment, Morgan Sindall Construction found a 78% reduction in synchronization of uploading and downloading models. The firm also generated a 67% reduction in design team meetings by addressing issues in the 3D model. 

With Design Issues in Autodesk BIM Collaborate, you can recapture time spent chasing documents and drafting follow-up emails.  

Speed up resolution with Revit, Navisworks, and Model Coordination 

Consider that 66% of general contractors carry added costs from overtime or second shifts on at least 75% of their projects due to schedule slippage. 50% of these contractors need to extend the project end date as a result.  

When multiple teams can create, assign, review, and resolve issues all in the same place, work is completed faster. With Design Issues, the same issue created in the design phase can be accessed, contextualized, and resolved in other connected applications.  

You can resolve issues in Revit, take a closer look with Navisworks, or use simple automations in Model Coordination to check changes to the model. By surfacing the very same issues in Autodesk Build, a multi-directional link is created between design, coordination and field issues. This makes RFI creation easier and more detail rich.  

Here’s an example of how this plays out

An architect creates an issue in design collaboration. While performing a visual inspection of their design against a structural model, they’re unsure whether the issue will have an actual effect on the constructability of a design, so they assign it to the BIM manager.  

The BIM manager then runs a sophisticated clash test in Navisworks and provides a solution.  

The architect then jumps back into Revit to make the adjustment and double check their work using an easy-to-use, automatic clash detection tool in Model Coordination. They resolve the issue.  

Now, the general contracting firm and its manager can review the closed-out issues using a dashboard and better predict schedule improvements.  

The project manager can now look up the history of the issue and see why certain changes were made to the design and follow the thread of communications.  

Want to see the Design Issues feature in action? 

No two projects are ever the same. Some adhere to traditional ways of working while others look to different delivery models. According to FMI, 58% of owners have used or plan to use design-build, moving away from traditional design-bid-build. As the design-build trend continues, the importance of strengthening your relationships with project partners will continue to grow.  

Communication, accountability, and trust are essential to building upon those relationships. These three qualities are made easier with end-to-end collaboration tools. Case in point: 43% of high trust construction companies make collaboration central to how they work. The new Design Issues feature will help to clearly define problems and provide for better communication to achieve timely resolution. These issues may be as simple as identifying an unintended design element between teammates, or address recurring issues across the organization. In either case, up-front communication has a cascading effect on downstream workflows to prevent risk and consistently deliver quality models. 

You can explore our newest feature and Autodesk BIM Collaborate with a free trial.

Reach out for a demo today

The post Faster Resolution of Design Issues with New Feature in Autodesk BIM Collaborate appeared first on Digital Builder.

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR) aren’t just buzzwords, and these tools are no longer reserved  for construction technologists like BIM and VDC managers. These technologies have come a long way in just a few short years and these days, they have practical use cases that owners and builders alike can benefit from at every stage of the project lifecycle.

Angel Say, CEO and Co-Founder of Resolve, and Dr. Mani Golparvar-Fard, CTO and Co-Founder of Reconstruct Inc., join the podcast to explain what’s possible with AR and VR in construction. They also bust some myths and share practical tips on implementing AR and VR.

Specifically, we covered:

How AR and VR have evolved over the last few yearsWhere these tools fit in the project lifecycle Getting started with AR and VR yourself Potential advances in the technology we may see in the near future

“It’s actually some of the less technical end users who stand to benefit the most from VR and AR.” —Angel Say

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The difference between AR and VR

Before diving into the episodes’ key takeaways, it’s worth exploring how Angel and Mani view AR and VR, particularly when used in construction.

“When I think about these two technologies and what they represent, it really boils down to bits and atoms. Bits meaning those ones and zeros in computers, and then atoms being the building blocks of the physical world,” says Angel.

According to him, virtual reality (VR) is “all about full immersion.” You wear a device on your head, which then uses sensors and a computer to hijack your senses and make you believe you’re somewhere else. “It gives you these superpowers,” adds Angel. “I could put on a headset and teleport from my home office to an unbuilt building.”

On the other hand, augmented reality (AR) is all about “augmenting the world around you, meaning you’re taking bits and you’re overlaying them on the atoms in front of you,” says Angel.

“And so that could be metadata about pipes that you’re looking at or it could be, ‘Hey, I want to bring a piece of equipment into my home office so that when I get to the site I know what I’m dealing with.’”

Mani weighs in, saying that AR in particular has evolved quite a bit over the past five years.

“In the earlier days, it was all about augmenting someone’s view live. But for all kinds of practical reasons, we realized that you can also augment any form of reality capture data. If you have access to a static image from a cell phone device or if you have access to videos that are being provided from job sites and you’re augmenting that with planning information, that’s a form factor of AR.”

3 Takeaways on Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in Construction

After discussing the fundamentals of AR and VR, Angel and Mani shared their thoughts on the myths surrounding the two technologies, as well as how they can be applied in construction. They also discussed the steps an organization can take to implement AR and VR.

Here are the key takeaways from the conversation.

1. AR and VR are more affordable and accessible than you think

Angel and Mani had a lot to say when asked about the common myths and misconceptions about augmented and virtual reality.

For starters, they dispelled the Hollywood depiction of AR, which usually involves people swiping virtual elements in the air.

“There’s a misconception that you would be able to visualize all kinds of information at the right point in time,” shares Mani. But this isn’t the case, as AR involves processing a lot of details, hosting information on the device, and filtering data.

Angel adds, “People always talk about Minority Report as the quintessential example of augmented reality. It’s like swiping through things in the air. We’re quite a ways away from that. It looks a little different today.”

There’s also the view that AR and VR are tools that would only benefit folks working in virtual design and construction. However, this is far from the truth.

“One common misconception that’s more industry-specific is that VR and AR are going to help BIM and VDC teams the most, and I think it’s quite the opposite. Because BIM and VDC teams spend so much time in 3D tools like Revit or Navisworks, they’re pretty good at what they do. They’re really good with 3D controls, and it’s actually some of the less technical end users who stand to benefit the most from VR and AR,” remarks Angel.

Another myth worth busting? AR and VR are expensive. That may have been the case several years ago, but these technologies have become more accessible and far less expensive over time.

As Angel points out, “Now you have VR headsets that are under $500, which is the cost of a tablet. Anybody can unbox it and jump into a virtual environment on their own with minimal help. And that starts to really democratize the use of the technology.”

2. Why AR and VR are a big deal in construction

AR and VR have practical applications that would benefit every stage of a project, from preconstruction all the way to handover and even building operations.

“All of these technologies — AR, VR, AI — are really augmenting people’s workflows. This is especially true in construction because the industry has already moved towards having so much rich data in BIM, which they’re using to coordinate and produce drawings. It’s so much rich data that we can feed into these technologies to help people be more productive,” explains Angel.

On the owner’s side, a key benefit of using AR and VR is they help mitigate the loss of information when a project is being brought to life.

AR and VR “provide the opportunity for the owner to see the end product with a level of detail that matters to them,” explains Mani.

He states, “if we can provide the owner with an opportunity to verify the work by contrasting the scope of the work that was promised from that VR model versus the reality that they’re looking at, we have yet another opportunity to make sure owners are benefiting from it.”

These technologies can also play an important role in helping owners maintain and operate their buildings.

According to Angel, “We hear from a lot of owners that BIM assets end up on hard drives and they don’t get touched until maybe you need to hand them off to a new engineer contractor working on a retrofit. But there’s so much value that you can be tapping into [with AR and VR] even after construction.”

Angel adds that most of the teams running buildings and facilities won’t get a lot of value from BIM assets since these folks don’t specialize in Revit and Navisworks. This is where VR comes into play, as it allows users to view the information in a way that they can understand and engage with.

“With VR, you put on a headset and you can walk through a BIM file. Operators can then start to leverage that asset for procedure simulations, onboarding of the employees — and in the world of remote work — making sure people know what a site looks like before they visit. And so you really start to multiply the ROI of BIM beyond the construction lifecycle,” says Angel.

3. How to getting started with AR and VR

Mani and Angel offered some of their top advice from organizations that want to get started with AR and VR. If you’re looking to implement these technologies in your projects, keep the following steps in mind.

1 – Determine the exact problem you’re trying to solve

Before investing in AR and VR, make sure you know your objectives and understand your end users. By getting clear on what you want to achieve, you’ll be able to figure out the role of technologies in your projects.

2 – Assess whether you have the right type of data to tackle the problem you’re trying to solve

In order for AR and VR to work, your data needs to be able to support these technologies.

That’s why Mani recommends conducting a self-assessment “in terms of how mature your data is” to be able to support AR and VR capabilities. “Depending on what problem you want to solve, you need to make sure your files are at a certain rate of maturity per model discipline, which is really hard to see even these days,” he adds.

3 – Set your KPIs

You need to measure the success of your AR and VR initiatives, so think about the KPIs you need to hit.

Aside from metrics that tell you whether a project is completed on time and within budget, Mani says you also need to design KPIs that measure the impact that AR and VR have on the personas using the technologies.

“Make sure you understand how many personas are being touched by that product and data,” he says.

4 – Acquire the right technology

The next step is to get the devices needed to power AR and VR.

Virtual reality, in particular, requires an investment in headsets, and Angel recommends providing a headset to every stakeholder who needs it, instead of having everyone share just one or two devices.

“It’s a lot more empowering if you can buy a headset and assign it to someone even if it’s just for the length of the project. That way, when they have 20 or 30 minutes to review the model, they can jump in and do it as opposed to having to go and check it out from the IT or the BIM or VDC team,” says Angel.

In addition to headsets, you should also ensure that you have tools that will enable you to leverage your BIM assets and other project data. A common data environment (CDE) like BIM 360 or Autodesk Build can make this process easier.

5 – Run a test pilot

When you have the plans, KPIs, and tools in place, it’s time to put them to the test. Mani recommends going through an experimentation phase that involves using AR and VR in a given project and measuring the results.

You could even work with the AR/VR vendors in designing a pilot. “Engage your team so they would help you measure performance against those KPIs,” says Mani.

6 – Develop a case study

Be sure to document everything that transpired during the testing phase and take note of the results. Use the information you’ve collected to create a case study for your company.

“Once you have that case of study formulated, you can start sharing that and use that as an internal sales tool in your organization, to bring everyone up to speed,” says Mani

When implemented correctly, this case study can increase trust in the new technology and drive adoption.

Listen to the Full Podcast Episode

Hopefully, the takeaways above help you better understand AR and VR and inspire you to utilize them in your projects. And if you need more info on augmented and virtual reality, listen to the full episode of Digital Builder on the following platforms:

Apple PodcastsSpotifyStitcherGoogle Podcastsor wherever you listen to podcasts.

The post Digital Builder Ep. 19: 3 Takeaways on Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) in Construction appeared first on Digital Builder.

Autodesk releases new product enhancements for quantity takeoff and design review workflows to increase collaboration and mitigate risk during preconstruction

San Francisco, Calif. — September 23, 2021Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today announced that more than 350,000 projects across the globe are using Autodesk Construction Cloud to power more effective preconstruction workflows, including document management, bid management, quantification, model coordination and design collaboration. The company also announced a series of product updates, doubling down on its commitment to unify the construction process and empower teams to build better.

Owners, general contractors and specialty contractors alike, across all industry segments around the world, turn to Autodesk Construction Cloud for their preconstruction workflows. DeAngelis Diamond, Windover Construction, Inc. and Granger Construction are three such companies using Autodesk Construction Cloud to supercharge workflows for bid leveling and risk mitigation, model conditioning, quantification, design collaboration, model coordination and more:

DeAngelis Diamond – a national construction management firm specializing in commercial, multi-family and healthcare construction with offices across Florida, Tennessee, Alabama and Michigan.Granger Construction – a Michigan-based construction management firm specializing in education, commercial, industrial, healthcare and the public sector.Windover Construction, Inc – a full service, employee-owned firm that provides comprehensive preconstruction planning, estimating, design-build, virtual design and construction management service in the education, healthcare, commercial, senior living and hospitality spaces.

“Mistakes made in preconstruction become exponentially more expensive when they are discovered in the field,” said Zac Hays, head of preconstruction product at Autodesk Construction Solutions. “Autodesk Construction Cloud arms preconstruction teams with best-in-class solutions to help mitigate risk and reduce rework, whether it’s reducing the total number of RFIs, increasing collaboration between the design and planning phases or using machine learning and predictive insights during the bidding process within BuildingConnected.”

“Any contractor knows that risk mitigation during the preconstruction phase is one of the most critical factors to success, and a big part of that is bid leveling,” said Brett Diamond, CIO and principal at DeAngelis Diamond. “BuildingConnected not only gives us access to a robust network of specialty contractors, but also makes collaboration with our estimating team seamless and provides valuable insight into our historical bidding data. Combined withTradeTapp’s machine learning and AI technology to evaluate and mitigate risk, BuildingConnected allows us to reduce our rework, stay on time, on budget and be more nimble and efficient as an organization.”

Autodesk Construction Cloud is a cloud-based construction management solution that offers an end-to-end platform to manage every phase of the building lifecycle, from design and plan, to build and operate. For the design and plan phases of construction projects, Autodesk Construction Cloud supports:

Bid management and qualification – bidding teams can access the largest real-time construction network with an easy-to-use platform that streamlines the bid and risk management process, while utilizing machine learning to help identify, quantify and provide risk mitigation insights.Design Collaboration — multi-disciplinary teams can update designs in the same place, at the same time. With controlled package sharing, team WIPs, issue identification and design change notifications, teams will always be up to date with the latest design content.Model coordination – designers, engineers, BIM experts and trades can easily contribute to model coordination using automatic clash detection, clash grouping and tolerances, an issues solution that connects tools like Navisworks andRevit to the cloud and an aggregated model that can be reviewed by discipline, relevant sections or a first-person walk through.Model conditioning – teams can easily add custom data to a given model and classify and organize project data, turning a design into a construction-ready model that can be easily broken down into relevant scopes for downstream activities.Quantity takeoff – estimating teams can perform 2D and 3D quantification workflows from a common data environment to increase collaboration, speed and accuracy during the estimation process.Document management – Autodesk Construction Cloud provides a common data environment that helps teams organize, distribute, and share files on a single, connected document management platform, ensuring all team members have access to the information they need.

New Takeoff API allows users to leverage quantities from Autodesk Takeoff externally

Autodesk Takeoff has released a beta API that allows estimating teams to leverage quantity takeoff data and project information directly from Autodesk Takeoff and integrate it into existing solutions. With this new API, teams can now extend the life of takeoff data to inform project decisions and power downstream workflows while breaking down barriers and providing added flexibility.

“Along with being able to visualize our takeoffs in both 2D and 3D, Autodesk Construction Cloud’s common data environment gives our team a big advantage when it comes to quantification,” said Amr Raafat, vice president of VDC and technology at Windover Construction. “Knowing that our team is working from the most up to date information, from a single source of truth, allows us to enhance our collaboration and deliver more accurate and complete quantity takeoffs.”

utodesk BIM Collaborate adds functionality to better identify design and constructability issues

Autodesk BIM Collaborate, a solution that enables project teams to easily manage coordination and design review workflows from the cloud, has also announced new updates that will help teams be able to quickly identify and resolve design and constructability issues throughout the building lifecycle. These updates include:

A new clash tolerance filter, which allows individuals on the project team to check their work using dynamic clash tolerance filters—making it easier to focus on larger clashes at first, while getting more detailed as you go.Issues in Design Collaboration for architects, engineers and BIM experts to identify 3D issues in the design phase—adding relevant issue details, assignments, comments and due dates to be resolved in Revit or passed on to the coordination phase. 2D issues are also available for digital markup of 2D sheets with shapes, text, measurements, photo references and issue pins during design review.

“Information siloes between general contractors and trades have historically been a massive challenge for those of us working in preconstruction,” said Darrah Leach, VDC Manager at Granger Construction. “Building a bridge between the two with collaborative features allows us to work not only cross functionally, but with partners outside of our own organization. This helps connect us in ways that simply were not possible before and, at the end of the day, helps us speed up our delivery time. Autodesk BIM Collaborate acts as that bridge between project partners and allows us to work in lockstep as broader team.”

ssemble now supports publishing directly from Autodesk Docs

In line with offering a model conditioning solution that allows BIM and VDC Managers to organize, customize and share model data with key stakeholders for downstream workflows,Assemble users can now publish Revit models directly from Autodesk Docs and BIM 360 Docs to Assemble without using Revit or any publisher add-ins. This greatly reduces duplication of efforts by leveraging the common data environment and helps ensure everyone is working from the latest project documents.

“As technology pushes the envelope of what’s possible in construction, preconstruction has truly become a secret weapon that allows teams to improve their margins, speed up delivery times, reduce risk and deliver projects with more precision,” said Jim Lynch, senior vice president and general manager, Autodesk Construction Solutions. “Autodesk Construction Cloud delivers a suite of preconstruction products that are bound together by a common data environment – making collaboration seamless and breaking down siloes that lead to costly mistakes and rework. We’re excited to be powering the future of preconstruction and look forward to continue delivering on our promise of building better, together.”
About Autodesk

Autodesk is changing how the world is designed and made. Our technology spans architecture, engineering, construction, product design, manufacturing, media and entertainment, empowering innovators everywhere to solve challenges big and small. From greener buildings to smarter products to more mesmerizing blockbusters, Autodesk software helps our customers to design and make a better world for all. For more information visit autodesk.com or follow @autodesk.

Media Contact

Paul Chalker
Autodesk
[email protected]

Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, Assemble, Autodesk Construction Cloud, BIM 360, BuildingConnected, Navisworks, Revit, TradeTapp are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc., and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates in the USA and/or other countries. All other brand names, product names or trademarks belong to their respective holders. Autodesk reserves the right to alter product and services offerings, and specifications and pricing at any time without notice, and is not responsible for typographical or graphical errors that may appear in this document.

© 2021 Autodesk, Inc. All rights reserved.

The post Over 350,000 Projects Turn to Autodesk Construction Cloud for Preconstruction Workflows appeared first on Digital Builder.

When it comes to data in construction, there’s good news and bad news. The good news is, construction professionals recognize the value of data and are collecting a tremendous amount of information. In fact, research from FMI Corp shows 2.5 quintillion bytes of data are produced daily

The bad news? The vast majority of that data — 95.5%according to FMI — goes unused in the E&C industry. And for the data that does get used, “bad” data may contribute to over $1.8 trillion in global construction industry costs. That’s a startling figure to come out of the recently released report, Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction, made in partnership between Autodesk and FMI.

So while data can be powerful when generating insights, failing to harness it properly can do more harm than good. For a single contractor doing $1 billion in annual revenue, our research shows that bad data could cost them upwards of $165 million yearly. With so much on the line, you can see how good insights, based on good data, are a practical necessity.

Issues like wasted time and diminished productivity often arise. In fact, research shows that 13% of construction professionals’ working hours are devoted to looking for project data and information.

This tells us that while we have a lot of data, we don’t have much insight.

But don’t worry, there’s hope. If your construction firm is data-rich but insight-poor, know that there are a number of actions you can take to effectively leverage all the information you have.

Let’s explore the data issues that construction pros are facing and how to address them.

Data Challenges in Construction

Data overload and difficulty with connecting data points are two of the biggest challenges we face today.

A good question to ask yourself is, “What’s so bad about ‘bad’ data?” The problem is that when it gets used, it harms insights, enables poor decision-making, and opens you up to unnecessary risk. A downstream consequence of poor decision-making is the often understated erosion of trust in the same data you need. This directly impacts your team’s ability to make decisions confidently with data in the future.

Our research shows that data has actually doubled in the last three years alone, yet only about 55% of organizations have a formal data strategy in place to make good use of all that data. For the other 45%, as you can tell, making confident decisions with bad data is not only risky, but costly.

Travis Voss, Leader of Innovative Technology at Helm-Mechanical shares, “The two skills that will be paramount in the future are understanding how to connect and relate data from disparate sources.” In other words, to get to those high-value insights, how do we connect disconnected data?

More expert insight comes from an Autodesk University session in 2020 Manu Venugopal, Group Product Manager at Autodesk, says that most of what’s collected is stored in data silos, making it even more difficult to derive insights. 

It’s no surprise then, thatForrester found that while 74% of firms want to be more “data-driven,” only 29% are successful at turning data into insights and actions. 

“Unless we break down the silos, we can’t fully leverage all this data and get insights from it,” said Venugopal.

Recognizing the Difference Between Data, Analytics, and Insights

There are three key components to effective data utilization: data, analytics, and insights. Overcoming the challenges mentioned above starts with understanding these three things, and making sure that everyone in the organization shares the same definition of these concepts.

Only then can you effectively determine the tools, people, and processes you need to collect, analyze, and draw conclusions from data.

Let’s look at these components individually in the context of the construction industry. 

Data refers to quantitative and qualitative measures collected in raw form. In construction, this could be things like the number of defects, safety incident rates, time spent dealing with change orders, observations on the jobsite, etc.

Data collection specialists and data engineers are usually the types of professionals in charge of handling these measures. People in these roles clean, aggregate, and enter the information to be analyzed. 

Analytics, on the other hand, involves processes and technologies that help translate the raw data into formats that people can understand — typically reports and dashboards. Effective data analytics requires a robust construction platform as well as data analysts who can help with inspecting and transforming data into the best format. 

Then we have insights, which are the meaningful realizations and actions that the organization implements based on data and analytics. While there are official roles designed for deriving insights (one example is the role of insight analysts), extracting insights from data and analytics is something that many people in the organization can do. 

For instance, field managers and general contractors who regularly monitor metrics like incident rates, rework costs, or waste can use all that information to come up with processes thatimprove profits and productivity on the jobsite

Key Pillars to Move from Data to Insights

Now that we’ve covered the fundamentals of data, analytics, and insights, let’s discuss how construction firms can put all of the above to good use. Here are the pillars of effective data management and analysis. 

Digitization. With so many metrics and data points to be collected and analyzed, it’s simply impossible to do things manually. That’s why the first pillar of moving from data to insights is digitization.  

Do note that going digital isn’t simply about replacing pen and paper with technology; it’s about reimagining your processes to make data collection and sharing more efficient. 

As Venugopal put it, digitization “isn’t just about moving off of paper although that’s an important first step. It’s about enhancing the way information is shared, often in ways that weren’t even possible before and leveraging connected devices in the office and field to expand access to project information and help everyone make faster and better decisions.”

Workforce upskilling. With so much riding on the quality of your data, having a workforce with data skills may give you a healthy competitive edge.

Digital transformation is inevitable in the construction industry worldwide. How and when you choose to embrace it will affect your team’s ability to make great data-driven decisions when they count most.

Workflow integration.You may be using digital tools, but if your systems and workflows aren’t integrated, becoming more data-centric will be an uphill battle. 

So, strive to run your workflows on a tightly integrated system.Connected construction workflows open up several benefits, including higher levels of efficiency, reduced risk, and better collaboration. 

As such, your construction platform should enable the smooth data transfer from one project phase to the next and enable all stakeholders to be in sync.

Open and connected data access. See to it that you’re using an open platform that allows you to quickly find, access, and retrieve data. This openness is critical, particularly in a fast-paced environment where you need to get your hands on the right information ASAP.

Closely related to this is having connected datasets. Your workflows should be linked so that any updates or changes to your data are automatically synced across your systems. This way, you’re able to access the right information at any given time. 

Flexible visualizations. Raw data by itself is hardly useful. Your team should be able to view data in a user-friendly format — hence the need for visuals like graphs, tables, and reports. 

The manner in which data is presented can make all the difference, so get yourself a system that supports user-friendly and flexible visualizations. There are data platforms that offer templates or pre-built dashboards for things like resolution workflows, RFI management, etc. 

The best-in-class solutions come with configurable visualizations that let you tailor your reports to fit your needs. This flexibility is essential because there are many cases when you need to slice and dice the information to fit a specific project or situation.

Streamlining intelligence. Data-backed insights are the bedrock of good business decisions, so you want to optimize your data analysis for success. While team members can certainly put their heads together to gather intel, it doesn’t hurt to use technology to automate your data efforts. 

Adopt construction technology that uses AI and machine learning to provide real-time and automatic insights from the data you’re capturing. The right solution, said Venugopal, can help “flag any riffs, improve the accuracy of your workflows as well as help standardize and structure the data” — ultimately streamlining your operations and helping you deliver projects quickly, and in the most cost-effective way possible. 

Data and insights go hand-in-hand in construction

The future of construction will be a lot more insightful. In order to thrive, your firm needs people, processes, and tools that can help you unlock the valuable insights within your construction data. 

To do that, start by making sure that your organization understands the ins and outs of data, analytics, and insights. It’s important to establish the key pillars discussed above so you can have a solid foundation on which to build and implement your initiatives. 

If you’d like to learn more about how to turn data into insights, learn more aboutAutodesk Construction Cloud to find out how our platform keeps your workflows, teams, and data connected at every phase of construction. Additionally, if you’d like to learn why a formal data strategy may be the game changer you’ve been needing, download Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction, a report made in partnership between Autodesk and FMI.

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