Category: Construction Services

Construction Keynote highlights from AU 2021

For many years, construction was among the least-digitized industries. Now, technology on site is a given. There’s an app for everything including bid management, estimation, quantity take-off, RFIs, submittals, monitoring cost, etc. The question remains, how do you use all that technology to your advantage? And more importantly, how does it help you focus on achieving the outcomes you want?

The Construction Keynote at Autodesk University this year revealed the answers—pointing out three key factors that show Autodesk’s commitment to customer success. We’ve distilled the highlights below.

Top 3 Highlights from Construction Keynote at Autodesk University 2021

1. Autodesk is connecting your data

Project data has doubled in the last three years. According to Jim Lynch, Senior Vice President and General Manager of Autodesk Construction Solutions, “If your data isn’t connected, you’ll only be able to see a fraction of what your business is capable of.” In other words, how you connect data is fundamental to successful project decisions and outcomes. Getting there requires all team members to work from a single source of truth.

Acknowledging the challenges of disconnected data, Lynch continues, “I spoke with a customer who had thousands of separate systems in play across their enterprise. Now, I’m sure each tool serves a purpose. It just isn’t sustainable because the real value that technology brings to your business is the ability to learn from each piece of data.”

This is true of any project, and good decision-making relies on good, connected data.

“If your data isn’t connected, you’ll only be able to see a fraction of what your business is capable of.” —Jim Lynch, SVP & GM

Lynch elaborates, “As your business transforms with an ever-changing industry, these disparate solutions won’t make your job easier, they’ll slow you down.”

A quick customer story came out of the Construction Keynote as well. Lynch shares, “Consolidating data was what ultimately drove one of our customers, The Boldt Company, to rethink their project management technologies.

“Prior to deploying Autodesk Build, [Boldt had] been using five different project management platforms. With business goals of accelerating time to value, reducing safety incidents, and improving quality, they needed one platform that connected all their data. And they wanted that data accessible not only to their team, but to the owners and subs on each project, who accounted for two thirds of their users.”

So, Boldt turned to Autodesk as a partner in this transition to a unified data platform.

Lynch continues, “Autodesk Construction Cloud’s ability to connect all project stakeholders with the data they needed when they needed it was exactly what the Boldt team was looking for to propel their business forward. In fact, the access to their data inside Autodesk Construction Cloud was unlike anything their team had ever seen before.”

utodesk Construction Cloud stats:

Over one million construction professionals in our Builder’s NetworkOver two million projects to date supportedFive million bid invites every monthNearly 250 product innovations and enhancements this yearCustomers in over 140 countries

Showing his optimism in support of Autodesk customers, Lynch reveals, “What excites me about what our team is working on now is how the data flows within your ecosystems, across teams, across geographies, and across owners. The information you rely on, available when you need it. It brings your project teams together, from design to turnover, to collaborate securely from a single source of truth. It is a level of resiliency that we’ve never seen before in the construction industry, and I know it’s going to be a game-changer.”

In short, Autodesk is committed to connecting your construction data so you can focus on reaching your business and project goals with minimal risk and greater profitability. Autodesk Construction Cloud supports every phase of construction, from planning to building by connecting every part of a model and its relevant dependencies, like schedule and cost, to a single source of truth.

2. Autodesk enables collaboration at every phase of construction

Sameer Merchant, VP and Global Head of Product Development for Autodesk Construction Solutions says, “Construction is a relationship business, and as my wife always reminds me, the foundation of every good relationship is communication. For everyone in the building lifecycle, from the architect to the owner, to contractors and suppliers, it’s our job to strengthen your relationships with better collaboration.”

Autodesk recognizes that behind every piece of data is a person, and that’s why Merchant says, “We’re not just making construction software, we are building tools for people—a VDC manager refining models, a project manager orchestrating schedules, a contractor sending in submittals.”

VDC managers, for example, can now offer specific stakeholders a view of parts of a design rather than the entire building model, to help resolve design issues.

Last year, in pursuit of significant collaboration improvements, Autodesk focused on the launch of Autodesk Build, Takeoff, and BIM Collaborate. Out of that came Autodesk Docs, a common data environment (CDE), bridging data across these best-in-class solutions.

“This year, we are expanding on this success with more customization, more integration, more data collaboration,” says Merchant. “We know how to engineer new capabilities and integrate existing tools to deliver a robust, seamless experience that serves all parts of construction, not just one phase.”

Just this week, we made a major announcement revealing we have over 200 partners that have built powerful integrations connecting your data from otherwise disconnected sources. Each integration works seamlessly with our applications via APIs and Partner Cards. The solutions support every phase of construction, including cost and scheduling tools, to progress tracking and more.

“We’re not just making construction software, we are building tools for people.” —Sameer Merchant, VP & Global Head of Product Development

Now, with Autodesk Bridge, collaboration between general contractors and specialty contractors has become more robust. It offers a significantly better experience for specialty contractors, empowering them to own whatever they’ve contributed to the project through sheets without fearing they’ll lose that hard work. ​This can happen by sharing just the data, not the full project. Data that should stay within one firm’s walls never gets shared, but critical information like drawings, issues and documents are immediately available ​across all linked projects, ensuring that critical documentation isn’t disconnected and ​fragmented.​

Collaboration is fundamental to our now tech-forward industry and building resilient products to support customer success is a mantra baked into Autodesk’s ethos. “A construction solution built for just one stakeholder, one center of gravity, is brittle,” says Merchant.

“At Autodesk, we build resilient systems—anti-brittle systems that are engineered from the ground up,” he continues. “Systems that allow all stakeholders to access, manage, and own exactly the parts they need to get the job done. Resiliency means the right people are getting the right information at the right time, and the feedback loop is traceable, and resiliency is a key priority in our roadmap. It’s how we’re executing on our promise to meet everyone’s data needs, from the office to the field and back.

3. Autodesk is a technology partner, not just a technology provider

Having the right technology is no longer enough. It’s about having the right technology partner. A partner that works with you to solve challenges and improve the processes needed today, while continuing to support your long-term goals.

The truth is we can’t solve all the problems. Especially those which we can’t control like a crushing labor shortage or volatile supply chains. But, we’re really good at helping customers find solutions to the problems we can address.

Brandon LaCourciere, Director of Customer Success for Autodesk Construction Solutions, makes that sentiment clear by saying, “No matter your company’s size, your role, or where you’re located in the world, we’re here. We’re here to ensure you’re focusing on the outcomes you want to achieve, while our team sorts through the products and workflows that help achieve them.”

“A streamlined technology experience brings all your data together so you can use it in a meaningful way,” says LaCourciere. “So you can discern and apply learnings to your business.”

But that’s not enough. He continues, “Point solutions have taken analog processes and put them on an iPad, and that’s great, but if you stop there, you have missed an opportunity. The data collected in your RFIs, issues, and change orders tell a much bigger story than each incident on its own.” Your technology needs to paint “a complete picture about [the] business.”

This is where Autodesk’s commitment to customer success shines.

“We can look at all your solutions and help simplify, working with you to create processes that are easy for your teams to both adopt and execute.” —Brandon LaCourciere, Director of Customer Success

An important thing to understand is that there is no one-size-fits-all construction software solution. Every project is unique and will have its own set of technology needs. That’s why Autodesk gives access to advanced APIs, allowing partners and customers to develop the exact solution required to connect their workflows, data and teams.

In our commitment as a technology partner to your success, “We can look at all your solutions and help simplify, working with you to create processes that are easy for your teams to both adopt and execute.”

There is a lot of noise in construction today—with so many new tools and technology, it’s hard to keep track and understand what’s right for you. This is where you have to look beyond the technology offered, as the real value is the partnership that comes with it.

“You need solutions that work today and grow with you into the future,” according to LaCourciere. “We build technology partnerships that help overcome the problems we can control. You don’t have to tackle your challenges alone. Over the past year, we’ve worked with almost 20,000 customers around the globe to help streamline, discern, and enable a new path, and we have seen incredible results. Together, we’re not waiting for progress, we’re making it.”

Wrapping up

It seemed that one major theme was clear from this year’s Construction Keynote, and that’s that Autodesk’s goal is to help you focus on the outcomes you want to achieve. By connecting your data, enabling strong collaboration, and empowering successful teams, you will no longer wait for progress. You’ll make it.

If you’d like to watch the Construction Keynote in full, it’s available throughout the month of October here.

If you’d like to request a demo of Autodesk Construction Cloud, or any of our products, please contact us. We’d be happy to show you around.

The post Construction Keynote: Autodesk Backs Customers as Solid Technology Partner [AU 2021] appeared first on Digital Builder.

Ellis Air Conditioning is an Australian company with a reputation for excellence in the air-conditioning and mechanical services sector of the commercial building industry. Established in 1964, Ellis Air has a long history of successfully completing a wide range of projects including multi-story apartments, offices, sporting facilities, education facilities, hospitals and clean room facilities.

Ellis Air works with developers, general contractors and building operators to design, fabricate, install and maintain mechanical services. Notable projects include $100M mechanical HVAC installations at Brisbane’s Queens Wharf, Collins Arch @ 447 Collins Street Melbourne, University of Queensland’s ANL building, an 11-storey mixed-use teaching and chemical engineering research facility, and Australia 108 in Melbourne’s – the first “Super Tower” in Australia.

 

holistic approach was the way forward

The in-house design team offers tailor-made heating, ventilation and air conditioning solutions to suit the requirements of each individual project and generally work in a D&C environment, which means they are constantly updating modelled information. This calls for specialised software that can meet ever-changing demands of each and every project.

Accordingly, in 2017, the team turned to Autodesk to transition to full Revit modelled workflows. Ellis Air took a ground-up, holistic approach to embracing BIM-led strategies and today they use AEC Collection 2022; BIM Collaborate Pro (BIM360 Design), Docs, Build, Coordinate and Field; Assemble; and Navisworks Manage with BIM 360 integration across every stage of their planning, designing, constructing and maintaining process.

This strategic partnership with Autodesk allows Ellis Air to tackle a variety of projects and challenges, not least of which is building a pathway to BIM Level 3 maturity and LOD 500.

They can now go from full design to install using Revit design parts throughout the whole process to protect the lifecycle of the model. Their cross-team collaboration and spatial coordination has improved thanks to BIM Collaborate Pro (BIM360 Design), by eliminating isolated documentation and data, and maintaining a single source of truth.

Additionally, they have been able to implement connected workflows across departments internally and externally allowing collaboration with suppliers and other contractors via BIM 360 Docs and Assemble Systems. In this way there are connected workflows with estimation and programming using the early design models to increase accuracy and efficiency thanks to Assemble Systems with Excel integration.

They have also enhanced their data management, with Revit Scheduling now managing equipment, field-to-model and procurement scheduling, to maintain a central database for the whole supply chain.

Autodesk allowed the Ellis Air team to introduce mobile devices that let them access essential information in the field and, as a bonus, means they no longer print anything – reducing information risk and environmental footprint.

 

The benefits of a connected solution

Ian Pearse, Ellis Air’s National Digital Services Manager, cites several features in particular that are pivotal to the team’s workflow, including the cloud worksharing and the CDE collaboration, which allow the team to work seamlessly despite being spread out in many locations and this is highly valued.

“Revit Scheduling with included metadata is “a revelation”, leading the team to the realisation that they no longer create drawings, they build databases. Having all the information for the constructed assets in one place means that the days of keeping different documents aligned are over.” – Ian Pearse, Ellis Air’s National Digital Services Manager,

He also appreciates the bi-directional data via Assemble Systems Revit Link, saying it “removes a vast amount of double handling, and dealing with emails and spreadsheets,” and the ability to produce construction-ready sections for work areas as needed.

“As we keep the design model alive throughout the lifecycle, from PIM to AIM, we needed a way to produce construction-ready sections for work areas,” Pearse says. “Keeping this as a ‘just in time’ activity means we can allow for design changes right up until the critical path, reducing rework and waste.”

Pearse is also impressed by the way that implementing connected workflows using Autodesk has reduced risk across the entire project.

“Many people talk about cost and efficiency benefits in isolation, but what we have learnt is that the biggest contributing factor to this in construction is risk mitigation,” he says.

“Mistakes cost time and money. Double handling of information, poor timing and inaccuracy of data, or broken workflows increase risk substantially. If the choice of solutions, and their use, are built around reducing risk in the business, everything else becomes a beneficial by-product.”

Ellis Air’s General Manager (Qld), Ashley Robinson, feels that the relationship with Autodesk has exceeded all expectations.

“Autodesk has been a partner rather than a supplier; this is the key difference in how the level of relationship and trust has been built to enable evolution of solutions,” he says.

“Being involved in new product testing has allowed us to feel like we have a voice in the inception of new products and updates.”

The post How a Leading Australian HVAC Contractor Met the Ever-Changing Demands of Tailor-Made Solutions appeared first on Digital Builder.

New Schedule tool in Autodesk Build and an expanded partner ecosystem supercharge project management across construction teams

San Francisco, Calif., October 5, 2021 – Autodesk University – Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) has announced powerful new capabilities across Autodesk Construction Cloud and an expansion of its partner ecosystem, delivering new ways for construction teams to connect their workflows on one platform. Advancements to Autodesk Build, including a new Schedule management tool, further connect office and field teams and data across the construction lifecycle. Project teams can now also integrate construction data from over 200 partners on Autodesk Construction Cloud to streamline construction management in one centralized location.  

“In today’s increasingly digitized construction industry, connecting project stakeholders and data is critical for the collaboration and insights teams need for their competitive edge,” said Sameer Merchant, vice president of product development, Autodesk Construction Solutions. “Consolidating data from various project workflows into a common data environment gives team members access to the information they need when they need it and empowers project leaders to make informed decisions. Since we launched Autodesk Construction Cloud, we have been focused on connecting office and field teams and enabling easier collaboration from a single source of truth; we have introduced nearly 250 product innovations just this year. Our newest developments are another milestone for connected construction.” 

New Schedule tool in Autodesk Build bolsters project management

A new Schedule tool in Autodesk Build empowers teams to centralize schedule management and work from the most up-to-date activities and milestones to keep their projects on track. Office and field teams can instantly share digital schedules, collaborate on updates as they happen and link documents, sheets, photos, issues, assets, RFIs and submittals to their communications for reference. Teams can also filter and search their schedules and view them in calendar or chart formats to see activity status in real time. Additionally, Schedule integrates with the Cost tool in Autodesk Build to simplify budgeting and planning for schedule-related expenses including general conditions such as material handling and clean-up. The Schedule and Cost integration delivers project-level data analyses, enabling teams to accurately forecast cash flow.  

“Distributing schedules across the team and ensuring everyone is on the same page is often time-consuming,” said Bryan Nuckolls, project manager, Boldt. “Traditional and siloed schedule management requires updating spreadsheets, publishing them as PDFs and emailing them around to the team. By automating schedule communication in Autodesk Build, we save valuable project time and keep our team updated on the latest, while remaining in the same solution that houses our other critical project information.”  

dditional recent updates to Autodesk Build include: 

Sheet sharing across accounts – Customers can now connect data across their entire project teams. Linking sheets across different accounts gives teams the ability to share the latest sheets with other external team members including owners and other contractors who need access but may not be part of the main project account. Pype AutoSpecs integration Pype AutoSpecs automatically generates submittal logs to deliver efficiency, automation and accuracy to the submittal process. Its integration with Autodesk Build enables teams to transfer draft submittals and entire logs directly and seamlesslyinto their project management base for simplified submittal management.  Microsoft Teams in MeetingsCustomers can now set up Teams meetings directly in Autodesk Buildwithout having to switch between other applications. Data extraction & analysis Support for sheets, transmittals and design review data extractions using Data Connector, plus new Power BI templates, lets teams analyze and optimize document management workflowsfor improved design review processes.As-BuiltsTeams can easily filter, find and export all relevant as-built information such as Sheets, RFIs and Submittals, and carry over links to other related documents like files or photos from within Autodesk Build

To continue Autodesk Construction Cloud’s momentum, additional capabilities coming to Autodesk Build include: 

Progress Tracking – Teams can track the percentage of work completed on their projects and quantify the materials installed to update plans accordingly; Work Plan – A new collaborative space, based on BIM 360 Plan, where teams can build their roadmaps, track commitments, manage constraints and view progress towards key performance metrics; Closeout – Automation of handover document collection and review workflows, supporting project lifecycle data management in Autodesk Construction Cloud;Bridge – New collaboration capability that lets teams share key project data between firms without having to share an entire project, and gives each team agency over their own project data archive. 

Expanded integration partner ecosystem streamlines data across workflows

Autodesk Construction Cloud now features over 200 partnersleveraging Partner Cards and APIs,including Forge APIs, to deliver strong and meaningful integrations for customers who want to simplify data management and boost their ability to make more informed project decisions. With the expanded partner ecosystem, customers can integrate data from their safety, mixed reality, analytics and reality capture solutions, for example, to Autodesk Construction Cloud and maintain a centralized view of their project information to make decisions with more context. Among the latest integrations are Build.Works, Cupix, eFiler, NTI and RealWear, as well as hh2’s integration between Autodesk Construction Cloud and Sage 300 Construction and Real Estate

“Financial accounting in ‘real time’ is critical to providing project teams with accurate cost information,” said Dennis Stejskal, director, construction and real estate, Sage. “We are excited to come together with hh2 and Autodesk to deliver an industry-leading integration between accounting and operations. Our partnership can help construction teams increase collaboration and data visibility between field-facing teams and accounting so project managers can make timely informed cost decisions.” 

New integrations also include 3D Repo, Aespada, Airtable, ArcGIS GeoBIM, Arkio, BIM HoloView, DAQS, Embneusys, Geometrid, GoFormz, Google Workspace, Join, Novade, Oculo, OpticVyu, ProNovos, Safe Site Check In, Shepherd, SiteKick, Stevenson Systems, StructShare, Tomorrow.io, UpKeep, vGIS, viAct and WakeCap. 

The App Gallery is also now available, making it easy for account administrators to connect Autodesk Construction Cloud platform products with third party partner applications such as augmented reality solutions and jobsite cameras. Teams can explore a range of direct integrations that leverage the Forge open platform and quickly activate integrations to further simplify data management with automated and seamless data flow.   

Additionally, Autodesk Construction Cloud Connect now supports Autodesk Takeoff, so customers can customize integrations to export information including quantities, property definitions, model mappings and classifications into a variety of software applications such as Smartsheet, Airtable, QuickBase and Microsoft Excel. 

To learn more: 

Join us for Autodesk University 2021, a global, digital conference with no cost to attend Watch the Construction Keynote on October 6th at 10:15am PT / 1:15pm ET Read the Digital Builder blog for more on how Autodesk Build keeps projects on track.  

bout 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. 

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Autodesk, the Autodesk logo, Autodesk Construction Cloud, 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. 

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Autodesk 
[email protected]

 

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Nmcn is going into administration after the board decided the contractor is no longer able to continue trading as a going concern.

A notice of intention to appoint Grant Thornton UK LLP as administrators has now been filed with the courts.

The company was in the middle of a protracted £24m refinancing deal with Svella plc which was being held-up by the late publication of nmcn’s latest results for last year.

A statement said: “The Board, its advisers and Svella have worked tirelessly in the intervening period. However, as previously notified, completing the preparation of the group’s accounts has revealed further underlying contractual issues with expected losses rising to £43 million.

“It has now become apparent that the company will be unable to approve the audited financial statements in a timely manner to allow the Proposed Transaction to complete within the required timeframe.

“This in turn has led to significant liquidity issues for the Group and particularly the company, which unfortunately is now considered to no longer be able to continue trading as a going concern.”

The Enquirer understands that rival firms were being offered parts of the business over the weekend.

Nmcn said: “Indicative offers have been received from certain parties for the acquisition of certain of the trading operations and/or subsidiaries of the company on a going concern basis, and discussions are ongoing with further parties which may lead to indicative offers on a similar basis.

“Following discussions with its advisers, it is expected that this process will be conducted out of administration, to safeguard the continuity of operations and employment, and consequently the consideration receivable by the company is unlikely to result in any value for equity shareholders.

“The board of nmcn wishes to thank all of its shareholders, customers and suppliers for their support over the years and particularly Svella and those who had intended to participate in the equity subscription that formed part of the Proposed Transaction, which has had to be cancelled.

“Further announcements will be made by the company as appropriate.”

A spokesperson for Grant Thornton UK LLP said: “I can confirm we are working with the Directors of the Group and parties who have expressed an interest in the business in an attempt to maximise the position for its employees and creditors. We will provide a further update on these discussions when we are able to.”

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.dennis-construction.com/?p=549

Construction union Unite is raising safety concerns after it claims a spate of serious accidents have hit the HS2 section being delivered by the Skanska/Costain/ Strabag (SCS) joint venture in London.

The union has been involved in a long running dispute with the contractors over worker representation on the job where it said Unite officials are not allowed “to freely speak to workers during their breaks in its welfare facilities.”

Recent alleged accidents include a worker suffering arm injuries after clay fell from height onto them, a lorry overturning into a ditch, a skill saw blade came off its mooring, a hammer breaking a worker’s wrist and a digger bucket hitting a worker’s foot.

Unite national officer for construction Jerry Swain said“Workers operating on the Costain/Skanska/Strabag joint venture, will be rightly worried and concerned for their safety.

“This project is crying out for union safety reps who play a unique role in protecting workers and preventing accidents.”

An HS2 Ltd spokesperson said:“The safety of our workforce and the public is HS2’s number one priority. We have an open and transparent reporting culture, and all health and safety incidents are fully investigated, key learnings and actions for HS2 and our contractors identified, and these are then shared across the project.

“All those who work on HS2 have the right to go home unharmed, and we continue to work with and challenge our contractors to provide the highest levels of health and safety standards.”

An SCS JV spokesperson said: “The health and safety of our teams and the public is always SCS’s first priority and we have offered Unite access to our sites, which exceeds levels usually seen across the industry.

“This enables them to meet our team at inductions, work sites and our welfare area. We first offered this to Unite in 2018 and on numerous occasions since.

“We continue to make contact with them to reiterate this offer as we seek to maintain an open dialogue with Unite and to allow them to carry out their activities.  To date they have not taken up this offer, however it remains open to them.”

 

 

Eric Wright Group battled through the pandemic to deliver a 24% rise in pre-tax profit to £9.5m last year despite also wearing ongoing small losses at the construction arm.

Overall group turnover decreased from £223m to £204m, with construction accounting for most of the fall as revenues at the business dropped 28% to £81m.

Losses at the construction arm were contained to £650,000 last year, improved from losses of £2.8m in 2019 and £2.5m in 2018.

The construction business entered 2021 with clear books after negotiating away further commercial risk on two loss-making contracts.

It is now run by John Hartnett, who was promoted to managing director at the start of this year, and is back on track to return to profit this year after a strategic decision now to avoid risky single-stage design and build jobs.

Profits at the group, which now employs nearly 700 staff, were largely driven by continued growth of commercial and residential property, and a resilient performance from water and FM operations.

Eric Wright Group key trading divisionsTurnover 2020/2019Profit 2020/2019Construction£81m£113m-£0.6m-£2.8mCivil engineering£29m£26m-£0.4m£0.1mWater£47m£50m£0.4m£0.7mCommercial property£15m£6m£2.2m£1.8mResidential property£12m£11m£1.1m£0.7mFM£19m£17m£0.9m£1.1m

Group managing director, Jeremy Hartley said: “The strength of our underlying business and the commitment and determination of all our staff has enabled us to trade through the pandemic and look to the future with a cautious optimism.”

Did you miss our previous article…
https://www.dennis-construction.com/?p=523

Covid-19 has changed the way we live and work across the globe. For the construction sector in Europe, the pandemic has brought about a big shift in attitudes towards digital innovation and traditional ways of working. In this series, we explore how the Covid-19 pandemic has affected the industry in Europe and what this means for the outcomes delivered.

It’s clear that the Covid-19 pandemic has impacted – and continues to impact – each country in unique ways. As well as contending with different waves of the disease, every government has set their own regulations for construction industry activities.

For example, in Ireland non-essential construction sitesremained closed throughout much of early 2021; by contrast, sites have been allowed to open in the UK, but due to self-isolation measures, some projects are nowbeing delayed by staff shortages

In the Nordics, construction industries have been less severely impacted by the pandemic than some other European countries. Although some people have worked remotely at times, there have been a smaller number of lockdown closures.

As a result, between February and April 2021, construction activity in Denmark and Swedenactually increased. Despite a year of challenges, by April Finnish companies hadreturned to pre-crisis activity levels

In fact, construction in the Nordics is now growing rapidly, to the point of becoming overheated. Construction professionals in both Denmark and Sweden say the single biggest risk on their projects is time constraints and the need to make urgent decisions[ET1]

Beyond the pandemic, there is change ahead. Each country has committed to taking aleading role in the global green recovery. There will be pressure to work more efficiently and deliver greener builds, prompting changes for businesses.

In such a fast-moving industry, how can Nordic construction companies improve their operations, while preparing for further changes ahead?

Winning business

Winning new business is of course a core part of construction success. But organisations in the Nordics are missing out on a key means of creating competitive advantage and winning more business – and that’s effective data management.

In most businesses, each project team decides on the processes and tools based on their specific needs. After the project, the data is rarely re-examined to gain insights and knowledge. In other words, businesses don’t have a strong learning loop – and can be liable to make the same mistakes again and again.

Implementing a common data environment and using business intelligence (BI) modules can enable organisations to gain a more holistic view of their data, in a way that’s effective and sustainable. By not only capturing, but really using, past data, organisations can find opportunities to improve, gain a competitive advantage and ultimately win more business.

Maintaining quality

Delivering quality in a construction project comes down to three things: people, processes and tools. Unfortunately, it’s clear that some employees in the Nordics need a mindset shift. In the past, it was accepted wisdom that in construction you learned by getting things wrong – and many professionals acquired their skillset in this way.

These people can be reluctant to change and act as a blocker to adopting technology. For example, 40% of Norwegian construction firms say the reason they don’t have a data strategy is a lack of support from the leadership team and wider organisation[ET2]. Changing attitudes will be key for many businesses.

Once the right people are on board, organisations must take a holistic approach to their processes and examine how they can be improved with technology. Many businesses have tended to focus on optimising individual tasks – for example, finding the best tool to support quality inspections.

But in fact, we’re now realising the value of linking all the phases of a project from ideas and design through to construction and handover. Collaborating more closely, from design to operations, will mitigate errors and improve quality – and of course, that depends on having the right digital tools.

To maintain quality, it’s vital that information can be shared and accessed in real-time, enabling teams to avoid errors and make the best decisions. Equally, it’s important to ensure that tools aren’t siloed – or the data will be too.

Finally, remember slowing down can be faster. It can be difficult given the frenetic pace of construction right now. Nonetheless, taking the time to follow quality control processes in full will save issues down the line, and there are digital tools to help teams do this more efficiently.

Managing costs

When it comes to finishing on budget, preparation is 80% of the work. However, when time is tight, organisations often rush to get underway before all the decisions and planning are complete. This is not an effective way to mitigate risk and manage costs; decisions made in earlier phases will have a long-lasting impact, and the later changes are made, the bigger the costs will be.

For example, think of Storebæltsbroen, a Danish bridge constructed using concrete and steel elements in the 1990s. The original design team estimated lifespans for each concrete element based on the predicted level of bridge traffic.

But ultimately, the bridge proved much more popular than predicted, lowering the lifespan of the concrete. By failing to consider operations, the team had missed the opportunity to design elements that could be easily replaced, which could have saved millions in future maintenance costs. Giving every stakeholder enough time to plan will significantly improve the process – and reduce costs for everyone involved.

Owners especially need to take a holistic view of their assets. As they will be responsible for managing the building long after the handover, owners should take responsibility for project data from the beginning of the project. This will lead to cost-savings over many years.

Optimising schedules

Given the very high levels of demand in Nordic construction right now, finishing on schedule – and working as efficiently as possible – is essential. Again, this starts with good planning. During the preconstruction phase, organisations should focus on the critical components that will make up most of the build and consider all the constraints that will apply.

Once the project is underway, the schedule should be updated in real time. Currently some organisations work on a weekly basis – but by the time changes are made, you might already be four days behind.

This is an even bigger issue if data related to the plan is split across multiple locations: for example, the schedule in MS Project, the budget in an Excel spreadsheet and the contractors in a resource management tool. Simply keeping everyone up to date with accurate information will take significant resource – and it will be easy to make errors.

Digital tools can enable teams to integrate their processes and data. Project managers can then visualise the impact of any changes across the whole project, making adjustments and sharing updates instantly. This can help Nordic construction firms to optimise their schedules in a very busy period.

Health, safety and the environment

Health and safety have formed a mandatory part of projects for many years – and new regulations are constantly being introduced to set higher standards. However, there is a tendency in construction firms to view these requirements as an inconvenient time-drain, particularly when schedules are tight. People filling in checklists on-site might question the value of these activities or rush to complete them.

We need to reconsider our approach to health and safety, to instead view these activities as a worthy time investment. By completing checks upfront, organisations can ensure the proper protections are in place – avoiding incidents, injuries and of course the counterproductive time delays that will result on the project. Likewise, these processes can capture errors that would otherwise cause issues and costs later in the project.

Importantly, digital tools can help checks to be completed more efficiently, as well as supporting collaboration – as the faster the communication between the relevant parties, the faster the error can be rectified.

All of this can contribute to a real mindset shift in construction. People who feel safe about where they work will be more engaged and productive. Altogether, we should consider health and safety as a means of being more efficient and effective in Nordic construction.

Looking ahead to greater integration

As Nordic construction businesses look to the future, getting the right people, processes and tools in place – not only within your organisation, but together with your collaborators – will be crucial. Organisations have been forward-thinking in their adoption of digital tools, but approaches have often been siloed and limited to a single function.

Relying on standalone solutions will prevent firms from winning business in the future. It’s only by using integrated platforms, that automate processes and fully leverage data, that organisations will be able to save time and money, capture errors before they occur and ultimately gain the competitive edge they need.

Now, it’s time to create integrated processes that will improve your business and support your project partners. This will enable you to make decisions based on real-time information and learn from past data. And remember, if digital technologies are used correctly, it isn’t a cost – it’s a means of enabling everyone in the industry to improve.

Learn more about connecting workflows, teams and data at every stage of the construction processes withAutodesk Construction Cloud here, or reach out to me directly.

Click here to read the European version of the FMI report.

The post The Changing Face of Construction in the Nordics appeared first on Digital Builder.

The quality of construction data matters. Here’s a look at five characteristics of good data, how to avoid some common pitfalls that lead to bad data, and how to tell the difference.

In the construction industry, we’re no longer dealing with the issue of not having access to data, but instead with a lack of information to drive decision-making. What’s the difference? While there’s no shortage of data, many firms are still learning to use that data in an insightful way. The benefits of mastering this skill are plenty; they include having a stronger competitive advantage and greater project outcomes. 

Good project outcomes stem from good decision-making, and nothing affects the decisions you make on a construction job like the quality of your data. The information gathered can have an impact on everything from timelines to budgets, bid performance, and even site safety. What’s more, using bad data over the course of a project has the potential to affect your current work and future jobs. Its predictive nature can create systemic inaccuracies down the line.

Why Quality Data Matters

All construction data is not created equal, and time spent gathering poor data is time lost. According to a new report from Autodesk and FMI, Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction project data has grown exponentially — doubling in the last three years. Yet not all of that project data is created equally. Roughly half of the survey’s respondents shared that “bad” project data (e.g., inaccurate, incomplete, or inconsistent data) contributed to a poor outcome for one in three project decisions. What’s more, bad project data is costly. Avoiding rework triggered by bad project data could save the global construction industry over $88 billion annually.

How do you tell the difference between good and bad project data? Let’s take a look at five characteristics of good data, how to avoid some common pitfalls that lead to bad data, and how to tell the difference.

How to Spot Bad Construction Data: Siloed, Unreliable, Inaccessible

Bad project data doesn’t come down to a single reason. Research indicates that data management solutions and the challenges the industry faces vary and are unique to each organization’s way of working. In Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction, the most common contributors to bad project data included:

Inaccurate/Incorrect data* (24%) Missing data* (24%) Wrong data* (21%)

*Please check out the report for definitions

While it’s not always easy to spot the difference between good and bad data, there are a number of key attributes of bad data that can help construction professionals avoid using it in the first place.

For one thing, bad data is siloed, meaning there’s a disconnect between the systems used to access the data, and the possibility that not everyone is on the same page regarding which data is most reliable and relevant to the project at hand. Unreliability is another characteristic of bad data, and professionals can spot it by ensuring that data is not outdated and doesn’t contain mistakes. Finally, poor quality data is difficult to access, making it hard to pull up relevant project information.

5 Qualities to Look for in Construction Data

Beyond identifying poor quality data, construction professionals must understand the characteristics of high quality data. Doing so not only helps to avoid wasted time but it also sets projects up for success by providing as many resources as possible. So what characteristics make for good construction data? Read on to learn more about the five attributes of quality construction data and a few resources to help you collect and use it.

1. Consistency

The nature of data captured by the construction industry is often what is considered “heterogeneous” data, or data that has multiple variable types, (e.g., comparing apples to oranges). This type of data is ambiguous and inconsistent in the ways it measures something and what it measures that something against. 

As industry data expert Jit Kee Chin shared, construction professionals must gather “a lot of information across contracts, across text documents, across drawings and across financial information. So the challenge in construction data is heterogeneity in terms of the data that we historically collect.”

With the variety of data formats available in construction, how is it possible to maintain consistency? It all starts with how data is collected. Consistent data requires collecting insights in a uniform way like adopting a common data environment, which helps create a standard platform to capture data. A common data environment typically takes the form of a digital hub, where all information comes together during a building project. Any information gathered for or about a project during any part of the process should be stored in the common data environment to ensure the consistency and accuracy of all project data. 

Organizations committed to quality data typically share these three most common efforts or investments made to ensure decision-makers have access to actionable, high-quality data:

Regularly reviewing data at set intervals for quality purposes (40%) Having established data reporting and monitoring practices, both at the time of collection and use (38%) Structuring data in a common data environment (38%)

2. Cleanliness

Just like clean job sites are integral to successful project outcomes,clean data is vital to ensuring the information you’re relying on is as up-to-date and accurate as possible. In fact, data cleansing — the process of reviewing all project data and eliminating data that is not currently relevant or accurate — often leaves construction professionals with only the best quality data to work with, thus elevating the likelihood of the successful completion of a job. In contrast, data that is not clean creates increased opportunities for mistakes and rework, as well as wastes professionals’ time when they must go back and search for correct information.

The first step toward achieving clean data is to fine-tune your information collection and management processes. Examining vital tasks like data entry, including how and where information is entered into a common data environment, and the controls around what information is considered clean data can go a long way to help ensure the timeliness and accuracy of the data used in a project.

3. Transparency and accessibility

When working to improve your construction data, ask yourself, “Can your team see the data in real time? Can they access it across devices like mobile, and from remote locations?” These are two of the most common issues facing construction professionals when it comes to the transparency and accessibility of data. 

Quality information should be accessible and transparent to reflect what is currently happening. Even something as seemingly innocuous as a one-day lag in accuracy can lead to immense setbacks for a project. Survey respondents from the report Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction, shared that having access to data was essential to accurate project decision-making. When asked what the greatest risk was to project decision-making, 43% said “time constraint/urgency of decision”.

The quality of project data needs to improve if project leaders are to make critical decisions in the field quickly and autonomously. Accessibility is also important for  distributed teams, especially those out in the field. The ability for a team to obtain quality data across devices and locations is essential to the success of a job.

To improve the transparency and accessibility of quality data on a project, industry professionals should consider adopting connected and cloud-based construction technologies that ensure project information is always up-to-date, accurate, and accessible across devices, locations, and project phases.

4. Usability

Let’s say you have consistent, clean data that can be accessed universally across team members’ devices and locations. Oh, and that data transparently provides up-to-date information about a project. What more could you want? 

Usability. Usability is a major factor in whether this data can actually be put to work to solve real problems you might face on the job. Good data can be used to inform work decisions as well as to solve both present and future issues that may arise on the job.

To help support your project staff over data management and analysis, make sure you have a formal data strategy in place. This framework will help to alleviate burdens on busy supervisory staff, and improve data consistency moving forward. Formal data strategies combined with data-rich environments could reduce the number of delayed or poor decisions, saving the industry $50 billion annually. 

Furthermore, adopting solutions with advanced analytics and machine learning can provide insights for both today and the future that can improve project outcomes. According to McKinsey & Company, quality data “increases in usefulness and generates a competitive advantage as it increases in analytical richness” or, put another way, data that does the work of enhancing the quality of available information in the most efficient way possible—on its own. Moreover, companies that use machine learning and other advanced tools like predictive analytics and simulation modeling are best positioned to make the most effective data-driven decisions throughout the entirety of a project.

5. Connectivity

The final attribute of good construction data is connectivity — ensuring that information does not live in silos and shares a common access point among team members. Most projects involve a constant flow of information that originates from multiple stakeholders and takes a variety of formats. Back in the days of paper documentation, data connectivity was nearly impossible, and miscommunication was common. Even now, when more projects than ever are digitized, construction professionals are facing connectivity issues regarding the data they gather and use during a project.

To avoid the risk of siloed data, which can lead to communication issues, all project information systems must interoperate, with common access to critical information and documentation across the entire workstream. One way to achieve this is through integrated construction technology, which helps different data systems communicate and work together. This integrated approach to data is vital to connecting and automating workflows to improve project efficiency.

 

Download the Data Strategy checklist

Don’t settle for less than high-quality data. High quality construction data can save time, improve teamwork, and greatly contribute to a project’s overall success. Spotting the difference between good and poor quality data, and ensuring that the information you’re using for a project is consistent, clean, transparent, accessible, usable, and connected might sound like a heavy lift.

Nevertheless, adopting a formal data strategy can make a huge difference when it comes to promoting a good project outcome, a happy team, and an efficient work process. What’s more, putting quality data standards in place through advanced analytics and other innovative construction technologies can set you up for success not just now but also in the future.

Start building managing your data more profitably with the 4-step process revealed in our latest report, Harnessing the Data Advantage in Construction, made in partnership with FMI. Download the data strategy checklist here.

The post 5 Attributes of High Quality Construction Data appeared first on Digital Builder.

Join McKinstry live on October 7, 2021 at 2:00 PM PT for the much-anticipated Autodesk University session, Successful Digital Transformation Through a Product Management Organization. The industry talk will be led by Dace Campbell, Director of Product Management for McKinstry and full of actionable insights.

Firms are adopting new technology at a rapid rate today — but they aren’t necessarily implementing solutions to their full potential. There are plenty of reasons behind this, though the most common ones are largely related to budget and staff. 

In a 2020 study by JBKnowledge, respondents were asked what they considered is the top limiting factor in trying and/or adopting new technology at their firms. Nineteen percent of respondents cited budgetary reasons and another 19% pointed to the lack of staff to support new tech. Meanwhile, 17% cited employee hesitance as their top limiting factor in technology adoption. 

The construction industry clearly has challenges when it comes to tech adoption and implementation, and this was even more apparent during the pandemic, when companies struggled to stay connected. If there’s one thing that the year 2020 taught us, it’s the importance of being technologically fluent at every step of the construction process. 

Fortunately, there are companies such as McKinstry, which are setting the bar high when it comes to establishing processes and strategies for better technology adoption. 

As a large specialty contractor, McKinstry has a unique perspective on construction teams and technology. 

The company understands that the structure of many AEC firms aren’t conducive to technology adoption. IT departments are often disconnected from high-level business objectives, which makes execution difficult. What’s more, calculating the ROI of technology — plus measuring the opportunity costs of not adopting tech — isn’t a clear-cut task.

McKinstry has a way to address this with their Product Management Organization (PdMO). We’ll get into the details below, but this organization of strategic thinkers guides implementation of critical, ROI-boosting technology for their clients at every step of the construction process. 

Simply put, McKinstry’s PdMO is able to efficiently connect the threads of common need across all lines of a business.

Let’s take a closer look at the issues that many builders face and how McKinstry is helping. 

What stops builders from making informed business decisions?

Industry-wide pain points — which often come in the form of inefficiencies, confusion, and mistakes — lead to a whole lot of wasted time and money on projects. As Brian Antonsen, VP of Mechanical Construction at McKinstry put it, “At McKinstry, we believe that half the energy in buildings is wasted, and half of construction costs are waste.”

While pain points may vary from one builder to the next, they often share the following themes.

Disconnected stakeholders

Project teams are composed of several people in a variety of roles. Difficulties arise when these stakeholders struggle to articulate needs or plans, especially when it comes to important details such as dates and scopes. Problems can also come up when extended stakeholders can’t access the info they need because of multiple points of data entry. These issues can leave people in the dark and wreak havoc on a project’s timeline. 

Inability to forecast effectively

Not having access to reliable data is a major pain point for builders because it prevents them from planning effectively. Without accurate forecasting, teams can easily mismanage their time and budget.

Manual and cumbersome processes

The lack of automation in projects means teams have to manually carry out tasks like entering and reviewing data. On top of that, manual processes are often fraught with human error and duplication of tasks, which of course is time and labor-intensive.

Poor coordination across different locations

Construction work doesn’t just happen on the jobsite. With people working remotely as well as being in the office, teams are often scattered across different locations. When builders don’t have tight systems that connect various team members, projects suffer.

Inefficient task and progress management

Tracking progress is critical in any project. Unfortunately, many builders have difficulties doing so because of uncoordinated task management. What’s more, many teams rely on guesswork based on outdated data. 

Uncertain estimates

The lack of data and inefficient procedures also lead to inaccurate and uncertain estimates, which means builders can’t get a solid handle on the scope and cost of the project. This results in a poor bidding process and overall experience.

“At McKinstry, we believe that half the energy in buildings is wasted, and half of construction costs are waste.”

The above-mentioned pain points greatly hinder builders from making informed decisions. 

Fortunately, the folks at McKinstry have come up with a way to attach real dollar figures and other metrics to just about every pain point a builder could face. This is extremely valuable, because it enables their team to quantify not just their ROI, but the opportunity cost of not using technology to address their pains. 

How a PdMO can help firms pivot to digital workflows

How exactly does McKinstry’s PdMO help transform their digital workflows? Let’s explore how a PdMO can truly be revolutionary for firms struggling with technology adoption and decision-making.

What is PdMO? 

Before we go any further though, it’s worth defining what “product” means in the context of PdMO. The “product” is essentially a technology solution being developed and deployed. That could be in the form of software, a website, an app, etc.

Example of Augmented Reality (AR), a technology product, in use on a real job site. Image courtesy of McKinstry

Product Management Organization (PdMO) then refers to the team responsible for implementation of those technology solutions, or “products”. Essentially, it acts as a strategic organization chartered with implementing, managing, and measuring the impact of technology to ensure alignment between the organization’s technical roadmap and business needs

Some specific responsibilities of a PdMO are to identify market opportunities and commercial viability for new products, guide development, launch and management of technology — all the way to the eventual retirement of that technology. More often than not, the technology the PdMO helps implement is an internal enterprise system, set of tools, or solution that addresses a firm’s specific business need.

The Product Management Organization streamlines a firm’s digital transformation processes, ensuring that the technology being adopted truly addresses the business’ needs. They develop success metrics that align with a desired outcome. Then measure business improvement or progress towards that outcome. 

How McKinstry’s PdMO works

McKinstry’s PdMo gives them a framework for innovation with enough structure and predefined processes to be effective in executing projects. They’re able to develop products, or technology solutions, on the fly with minimal business disruption. This allows them to implement the right technology at the most optimal time for the firms they’re supporting. This is typically done on a five-year Construction Technology (ConTech) Roadmap.

By fully digitizing all lines of business and projects, they’re able to serve as designers, contractors, and manufacturers – operating in and across multiple industries in the same enterprise. Ultimately, McKinstry’s PdMO enables them to iron out a firm’s technological needs, so they can reap the benefits and see an ROI much faster. 

As one example, according to Dace Campbell, Director of Product Management in Construction at McKinstry, their PdMO is an essential resource to the success of the company’s data standardization efforts

A construction field crew pilots new technology to validate uses cases & identify business value — in support of diagnosing before they prescribe a solution. Image courtesy of McKinstry

“Best practices championed by our PdMO include a ‘“diagnose before you prescribe’” approach, with a thorough discovery process to identify pain points, root causes, and impacts of not having data standards,” he says. 

“By qualifying and quantifying this pain in terms of business value, we can articulate and prioritize the need to standardize our data among other important process and technology improvements across our enterprise.” 

McKinstry’s PdMO also allows their teams to be more agile and adapt to the changes to their market, so they can stay competitive. 

Why is measuring implementation of technology important?

The common line, “you can’t improve what you don’t measure,” rings very true in construction technology. 

Successful digital transformation isn’t just about adopting the newest tools. You also need a way to track and measure the performance of your initiatives. Metrics such as your ROI, profit, productivity, and opportunity costs should be quantifiable and accessible — meaning team members shouldn’t have difficulty finding, sharing, or applying data to make better business decisions

Since McKinstry is able to prescribe real dollar values to its technology solutions through its PdMO, business leaders have a clear understanding of what they’re getting out of technology and what they could be missing out on. 

Ultimately, this helps McKinstry’s clients make informed decisions around technology and beyond. 

Other notable innovation initiatives at McKinstry

Aside from their Product Management Organization, McKinstry is also leading a number of projects that empower their teams to innovate and accelerate digital construction workflows faster.

Such projects include McKinstry’s 2020 Construction Hackathon, a two-day event involving 50 employees across multiple backgrounds and departments. The Hackaton encouraged participants to come up with innovative solutions to minimize waste in design and construction.

The McKinstry team makes progress on new technology as part of their 2020 Construction Hackathon. Image courtesy of McKinstry

There’s also MSUITE, a cloud-based shop management platform designed to connect BIM, Fab, and field construction teams. MSUITE has a Shop Manager capability that enables you to improve production efficiency in manufacturing as well as gain visibility into shop performance data. And thanks to the PdMO, McKinstry is well along its way to implementing MSUITE across their network of shops, with just a few more trades to go in a few more locations. 

Bringing it all together

As the construction industry continues to advance, the need to efficiently implement technology grows. A Product Management Organization is one strategy that builders can emulate to do just that. A “PdMO-like” approach enables firms to assess their needs and ensure that they always have an effective technology roadmap.

Thanks to McKinstry’s ability to attach quantifiable and qualifiable business value to technology, the firm is setting an example in how to properly measure implementation of new technology. And they’re able to make smarter, more informed business decisions because of it.

To close on some learned wisdom, when implementing any construction technology solution — whether operating with a formal Product Management Organization or not — McKinstry recommends you “define a clear change management process, identify the business problem, quantify business value, and align outcomes and success metrics to ensure you meet the needs of your business.”

Sage advice.

Learn more about McKinstry by checking out their website

The post McKinstry Paves the Way for Smoother Tech Adoption in Construction appeared first on Digital Builder.

Project delays in construction happen quite frequently, and typically result from poor planning. With such long time-tables, it’s difficult to plan for unforeseen schedule disruptions while managing the many moving parts of a project. Arguably the toughest part of a project manager’s job is managing the impact of those schedule disruptions across several teams working on the same project.

Looking closer, schedules are typically managed on a whiteboard in the trailer or by coordinators in the office. As a Project Manager or Schedule Coordinator, it’s often frustrating if you lack the tools to quickly relay the most current schedule information to your teams. From milestones, dependencies, and tasks, keeping teams up-to-date is crucial to avoid potential delays and costly rework. In fact, research from Dodge Data & Analytics shows that 66% of general contractors are carrying added costs from overtime shifts on at least three quarters of their projects due to schedule slippage, with 50% of them needing to extend the project end date.

Today, we are excited to announce the new Schedule Tool available in Autodesk Build. The Schedule Tool enables teams to collaborate, connect, and integrate with the most up-to-date schedule. Schedules uploaded from traditional CPM software can be imported to the Autodesk Build project, delivering real-time access to master schedule data in the field to ensure that everyone is on the same page at the same time. Let’s explore four capabilities in the new Schedule Tool that help you keep projects on track.

Key features of new Schedule Tool

1. Schedule surfacing

Upload schedule data from CPM software such as Primavera P6, ASTA PowerProject, or Microsoft Project into Autodesk Build. Teams can instantly access the project schedule and comment on specific activities to update teams or suggest changes back to HQ.

2. Filter by relevant items only

Schedules can be thousands of activities long and not all users need to see everything. Leverage the Schedule Tool’s search options to find exactly what you’re looking for, when you need it. Set filters to create custom views to display only relevant items. Look three weeks ahead or behind the current schedule, and view items on a Gantt chart.

3. Connect references to schedule

Teams can seamlessly link references—Submittals, RFIs, Sheets, Assets, and more—to the activity Item, providing the necessary context between the two.

4. Connecting schedule & cost

 

With the Schedule and Cost Management integration, teams can import schedule data into Cost Management to connect cost to time, as well as more accurately forecast cash flow. This is done by linking budget line items to schedule activities. Teams can then use built-in forecast distribution curves to visualize cost spending based on the timeline. And when all budget line items are forecasted, teams can access a project-level cash flow analysis for better planning, insight, and risk mitigation. This allows teams to achieve their project margins. 

See more of the Schedule Tool in action

By creating a centralized schedule ecosystem for all project team members to refer to, comment on, and share out during the project lifecycle, the Schedule Tool in Autodesk Build connects projects, teams, and businesses and sets them up for success.

If you’re interested in the Schedule tool or Autodesk Build in general, request a product demo.

What customers are saying

“The Schedule Tool in Autodesk Build is easy to use and has reduced the amount of time I spend on distributing the schedule to our teams. Before Autodesk Build, I had to update the schedule, publish it as a PDF, and email the PDF to the entire team. Now, the process is automated. I upload my Microsoft project schedule into Autodesk Build, and it distributes a link to a web-based version of the schedule to the team, with notifications about the changes.” —Bryan Nuckolls, Project Manager at BOLDT

“One thing that’s cool about the Scheduling Tool in Autodesk Build is the ability to link different references together to understand how Issues or RFIs are impacting the schedule. This capability allows us to have more context into what items may affect the schedule and have more meaningful conversations with our subcontractors and owners for faster issue resolution.” –Brian Popis, VDC Engineer at Barton Malow

 

More Product Updates Across Autodesk Construction Cloud

This month, we announced over 35 new product updates across Autodesk Construction Cloud. Learn more about all of our product releases in our blog. For the latest updates specific to Autodesk Build, you can check out this blog post.

The post Keep Projects on Track with the New Schedule Tool in Autodesk Build appeared first on Digital Builder.