Autodesk Construction Cloud (ACC) is currently transforming the building industry. For those not familiar, ACC puts all plans, documentation, and supply information on a cloud-based ecosystem that allows anyone associated with a construction project to collaborate and communicate in real time. ACC is rapidly being adopted by construction companies globally, and over the next few years we predict there will be few companies that don’t use it.
Sounds great, right? An all-in-one, real-time platform that breaks down silos, increases transparency and fast-tracks approvals. But what does that mean for you?
Fast and frictionless approvals
Let’s imagine that you need a conveyor in your new factory to be a foot higher than originally planned. Traditionally this variation would be processed through a very slow exchange of emailed documents and transmittals to get approvals, redesigns, budget signoffs and on-site implementation. It can take weeks, and especially if the project’s designers and engineers work for different companies.
But with ACC, and Wiley’s in-house multi-disciplinary team, a change like this is fast and frictionless. It can be drawn up, budgeted, approved and implemented on the one platform, saving you time and money.
One of our amazing engineering cadets using Autodesk.
A suite of powerful tools
Let’s breakdown a few of Autodesk’s various tools and how they’ll benefit you (and your bottom line).
Docs
Every project always comes with a plethora of documents, files, model, and drawings. In most cases, they’re saved on a local drive, with little visibility on who has sent it, received it, or read it. But Autodesk changes all this: it provides tracking and access management on all files. But most importantly, it means everything is always up to date.
Build
This is where the system stores all site management documents including drawings, manuals, and schedules. It also allows the user to track issues on site, to file permit applications and capture site related activities. For us, with our designs in-office and our construction managers on-site, this makes communication almost instantaneous.
Design Collaboration
Autodesk started in the 1980s with some of the world’s first computer-aided design programs. Autodesk’s modern offering is a full digital twin of every project, ready to be stress-tested before the first shove hits the ground. With a digital twin, you can track every component by their unique code that records specs, design history, quantity, pricing, and purchase information. Anyone with approved access can also make changes, which are updated for all users in real time. And this means that everyone from our construction managers to our designers has full visibility on a project’s design, right down to the doorknobs.
Cost
ACC has modules that can help manage the financial progression of a project with real-time clarity. There’s no need for exporting and emailing spreadsheets. ACC also have an in-built cost estimation tool which pulls in all quantities and materials to estimates rolling costs. At a time of unpredictable price increases, this is an extremely useful module.
The future of project management
This is just the surface of ACC’s power. There are additional modules in the system for clash detection on drawn variations to bid package coordination – all designed to save our clients time and money.
At Wiley, we know that one of the reasons our clients choose us is because we can take a project from feasibility to completion under one roof. A platform like ACC, with real-time updates, will turbocharge your project.
After conducting trials earlier in 2022, we’ve been training our teams in ACC and are currently rolling the program out on all projects. And sure, Autodesk is set to change the way everyone does business, but we’re using right now. Plus our integrated project delivery model means that our clients stand to benefit the most.
