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New Autodesk Report Shows Singapore’s Construction and Manufacturing Sectors Lead APAC in Sustainability

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Singapore takes the lead as the only country in APAC to achieve two out of the five United Nations Sustainable Development Goals, according to the latest research report by Autodesk

Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ: ADSK) today launches its newest research report in collaboration with Frost & Sullivan, Enabling a Sustainable Future through Digitalisation: Trends driving the Design & Manufacturing and Architecture, Engineering and Construction Industries in APAC. The report surveys companies across architecture, engineering, construction, design and manufacturing (AEC and D&M) industries to determine current factors driving sustainability across APAC.

Out of the nine countries surveyed, Singapore leads as the only country that has achieved two out of the five United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) that are impacted by the AEC and D&M sectors. The SDGs achieved were ‘Affordable and Clean Energy’ and ‘Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure’. Singapore is also close to achieving a third SDG, ‘Sustainable Cities and Communities’.

These results are a testament to the nation’s sustainability efforts to ramp up capabilities in these sectors. Trailing behind the city-state are India, Japan, New Zealand, and the Philippines, which have each achieved one of the five SDGs.

Singapore leads the charge for sustainable development in construction and manufacturing

The massive impact on climate change, driven by the increasing consumption of energy and materials, is accelerating the demand for sustainability across the AEC and D&M sectors. APAC now contributes 53% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with manufacturing and construction industries accounting for 17% of total emissions.

Singapore is no exception to this trend, contributing around 0.1% to global carbon emissions and ranking 27 out of 142 countries in terms of emissions per capita, higher than Malaysia, India, and the Philippines. Buildings alone account for more than 20% of the nation’s carbon emissions.

Despite its small land size, Singapore has made a concerted push in driving sustainable impact across construction and manufacturing. For instance, the Resource Efficiency Grant for Energy aims to support manufacturing facilities and data centres to be more energy efficient. Additionally, initiatives were established to have green buildings make up 80% of Singapore’s building stock by 2030. These efforts are also accompanied by low-carbon research and innovation to catalyse progress.

“As a dense, urban nation, Singapore has had to overcome great odds to emerge as a front-runner in achieving these three SDGs. A combination of policy and capacity-building initiatives has enabled its AEC and D&M sectors to make substantial headways towards a net-zero future, without compromising economic and business growth. Singapore’s efforts can serve as an example for APAC countries struggling to suppress the increase of GHG emissions driven by high economic growth,” said Haresh Khoobchandani, Vice President, APAC, Autodesk.

Digital adoption is a critical enabler for sustainability

Compliance to standards related to energy consumption and emissions reductions requires increased monitoring, measuring, reporting and verification – which data can provide.

According to Khoobchandani, efficient and structured data management is important to achieving sustainability goals. “Digital technologies are providing a bridge to approach sustainability challenges in a new way. Key environmental issues such as climate change, resource depletion, and environmental protection are being addressed through digital solutions, paving the way for the design and make of safer, healthier and more resilient products and places.”

Advanced technologies such as building information modelling (BIM), generative design, and digital twin can boost predictive capabilities, optimise resources, save costs, and improve efficiency. These tools have created buildings that are more sustainable, perform better, and ultimately last longer. Digital tools can also help to ensure sustainability standards and optimisations are met, such as those outlined in the Singapore Building and Construction Authority Green Mark standard.

Ravi Krishnaswamy, Senior Vice President, Energy & Environment; Industrial of APAC at Frost & Sullivan, added, “With increasing focus on adopting sustainable development goals and gaining a competitive advantage, digital technologies are driving the convergence necessary for achieving a balanced growth between business and environment. Digitalisation has emerged as one of the top strategy agendas for many corporations worldwide.

“Companies are increasingly adopting digital solutions for compliance-related data measurement and reporting, easy collaboration with supply-chain partners, data on low-carbon materials, and machine-learning and artificial-intelligence capabilities for improving their sustainability quotient.”

Although Singapore is ahead in terms of SDGs within the AEC and D&M realms, the city-state has some distance to go before achieving true net-zero. Action must now be taken to embrace digitalisation as an enabling pillar and increase the commitment towards sustainability, contributing to the global cause while upholding often divergent stakeholder interests. To learn more about Autodesk’s commitment to sustainability, visit www.autodesk.com/impactreport.

Accelerate the Move to BIM for Infrastructure with Enhanced Autodesk InfraWorks 360

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Autodesk, a leader in 3D design, engineering, and entertainment software, recently announced that it is enhancing its Autodesk InfraWorks 360 product by including new Road Design, Drainage Design and Bridge Design Modules at no additional charge or separate subscriptions.

These advanced capabilities were previously found separately in vertical Autodesk application modules. By including these features in the core InfraWorks product, users will no longer need to purchase modules individually.

A rendering of the E16 Highway in Norway created in InfraWorks 360 by Autodesk customer, COWI. Image courtesy of COWI

A rendering of the E16 Highway in Norway created in InfraWorks 360 by Autodesk
customer, COWI. Image courtesy of COWI

InfraWorks 360 is Autodesk’s next generation BIM for Infrastructure offering that enables true parametric modeling in spatial context. It uniquely offers customers the benefits of maintaining a BIM workflow through planning, design, construction and operations of infrastructure assets. Many customers worldwide like Parsons Brinkerhoff, VHB, David, Evans & Associates, Soethe Cursino (Brazil), and others have leveraged the power of InfraWorks 360 to optimise their project delivery process.

AutoCAD Civil 3D users are also now able to attach InfraWorks 360 to their traditional CAD-based workflows and improve their productivity through enhanced BIM workflows. The seamless interoperability between InfraWorks 360 and Civil 3D provides customers an unparalleled opportunity to fuse BIM’s contextual visualisation capabilities with detailed CAD design in their projects.

“We’re constantly working to expand the capabilities of InfraWorks 360 and help customers improve their project workflows. By integrating more functionality into the core InfraWorks 360 product at no additional cost, we are lowering the barriers to adoption for customers and helping them to accelerate their move to BIM for infrastructure,” said Gianluca Lange, Head of Sales for Architecture, Engineering and Construction, Autodesk ASEAN.

Existing users InfraWorks 360 simply need to update their version of InfraWorks 360 to gain access to the complete package. New subscribers to InfraWorks 360 will also immediately have access to all the capabilities available within the InfraWorks 360 portfolio.

Beyond including these new Road Design, Drainage Design and Bridge Design Modules at no additional cost: Students, teachers and schools worldwide can take advantage of free* access to InfraWorks and other 3D design tools and curricula via the Autodesk Academic Resource Center

Interested users can access a free* 30-day trial of InfraWorks 360 via Autodesk.com.

Autodesk expands availability of Revit’s collaboration service

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Autodesk recently announced the expanded distribution of A360 Collaboration for Revit, a service that works with Revit software to connect project teams with centralized access to BIM project data in the cloud. Released and available in North America only since December 7, 2014. Collaboration for Revit will be available for commercial global use as of today.

Collaboration for Revit helps project teams conquer the barriers of corporate firewalls and physical location by enabling centralized access to Revit models. Team members in all disciplines from multiple firms or sites worldwide can access and work in models hosted in the cloud. This virtual colocation is an improvement over costly and inefficient workarounds for sharing models such as use of FTP sites, sharing software, or email, and adds up to significant benefits that are amplified for global building project teams.

A360 Collaboration for Revit revolutionizes project collaboration by connecting team members within the Revit models where they work.

A360 Collaboration for Revit revolutionizes project collaboration by connecting team members within the Revit models where they work.

Centralized access to project data contributes to more efficient and easily managed collaboration whether within a firm or for projects involving remote participants. “Collaboration for Revit provides us greater flexibility,” says Leo Gonzales, BIM Manager at Newman Architects. “If they’re on the road, at a job site, or just working from home, our users can access their Revit projects as if they’re sitting in one of our offices.”

A360 Collaboration for Revit opens doors to participate in joint ventures and multi-location projects. “Seamless information sharing between joint ventures and project partners is the future of doing business,” says Gonzales. “And Collaboration for Revit gives us that future… today.” The reduced need for in-person meetings or co-location of teams translates to lower travel expenses and better work-life balance for project team members.

Physical distribution of teams enabled by Collaboration for Revit can relieve the requirement for office space for all project team members. Finally, with location not a limiting factor, project leaders have more options for accessing people with the right skill set for a project, resulting in better allocation of team resources

With the Communicator for Revit chat tool that comes with Collaboration for Revit, project team members can communicate directly with each other in real-time, within the project models. A designer in any location can chat with other team members and attach files, images, or Revit screen captures. Using real-time chat within project models helps designers not only to stay in touch but also to know instantaneously who is working in the model and what they are doing.

Collaboration for Revit is tightly integrated with Autodesk A360, providing Revit design and engineering teams a centralized cloud-based workspace in which to work together more efficiently on projects and make more effective decisions. External team members and project contributors who do not use or have access to Revit software can view, search, and socially interact on models, discuss challenges and successes, and stay current with project activities. This is ideal for building owners or others who want to have visibility to the project status, but don’t need full access.

Timely feedback and input from an extended team speeds communication timelines and can help ensure project understanding and buy-in. A360 Collaboration for Revit revolutionizes project collaboration by connecting team members within the Revit models where they work.

Autodesk announces new cloud-based service for early 2016

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Autodesk BIM 360 Docs will help to save time, reduce risk and errors in construction projects.

Autodesk BIM 360 Docs will help to save time, reduce risk and errors in construction projects.

At its flagship annual user event Autodesk University, Autodesk, Inc. announced Autodesk BIM 360 Docs, a comprehensive, cloud-based service for the construction industry that provides a virtual workspace to create, access, maintain, mark-up and share 2D and 3D project documents, plans and models.

Up to 25 percent of construction is rework, and approximately 10 percent of materials are wasted, according to the 2013 industry report by Autodesk, “Making the Grade.” Much of this waste can be attributed to the error-prone process of managing hundreds to thousands of project documents. Today, the construction industry must contend with a tangled web of multiple document management solution providers, contributing to significant inefficiencies and risks on construction project sites.

Formerly known as Project Alexandria, Autodesk BIM 360 Docs will help to save time, reduce risk and errors in construction projects. BIM 360 Docs is designed to ensure that the entire project team is building from the correct version of documents and plans.

“Autodesk is delivering a new world order for construction management,” said Amar Hanspal, senior vice president, Products at Autodesk. “A comprehensive solution is long overdue, and the delay has cost the construction trades too much money and too much time. Autodesk saw the challenge, owns the expertise, and is delivering a powerful step forward for the industry.”

Autodesk BIM 360 Docs connects construction project team members through collaborative, real-time access to construction documents throughout the project lifecycle. Planned capabilities include:

  • Linked 3D and 2D experience, allowing users to interact with models in 2D views and visualise them in 3D on the same page, and vice-versa
  • Permission-based access control and approval processes to manage the updating and release of documents, preventing project teams from working from out-of-date information
  • Blazing-fast viewing experience for large-format PDF design documents, optimized for Apple iOS devices; and
  • Automated organisation of original and updated construction docs into sets, including highly accurate and customised optical character recognition (OCR) of title blocks.

Industry leaders from designers to general contractors and from engineers to owners/operators tested and provided feedback to the Autodesk BIM 360 team throughout the product’s development.

“Document management has historically posed a significant challenge for much of the construction industry, yet many still rely on a cobbled-together web of one-off solutions, which isn’t really a solution at all,” said Jason Reece, technology and innovation improvement lead at Balfour Beatty Construction. “We’ve collaborated with Autodesk throughout the development process and based on what we’ve seen so far, BIM 360 Docs is on the right track to offering the industry an integrated technology solution for this generations-old problem.”

Autodesk is now accepting reservations for a limited release and free preview version of Autodesk BIM 360 Docs at www.bim360.com/docs. The product is expected to come to market in early 2016. In addition to the free, limited version of BIM 360 Docs, Autodesk will offer the option to subscribe to additional capabilities that scale to meet more advanced needs of construction firms. The product will initially be available in English only.

Autodesk 2016 Design & Creation Suites

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Autodesk design and creation suites provide customers with expanded toolsets, unique interoperability and a consistent user experience.

“Our customers are pushing the boundaries on how products are designed and made, how buildings are built, and how entertainment is created,” Amar Hanspal, senior vice president at Autodesk. “Autodesk Suites address the entire workflow: from capturing reality and iterating on a deisgn, to physically making that design through 3D printing or other forms of fabrication.”

Each suite includes AutoCAD 2016, ReCap and 3ds Max. AutoCAD 2016, the most advanced AutoCAD yet, that delivers faster, more precise detailed design and documentation with rich visual accuracy. Autodesk’s ReCap technology, also included in every suite, continues to bring Reality Computing to a new level of accessibility and affordability across the Suites with the additions of more native laser scan formats, smart measurement tools, advanced annotation and sync capabilities and more. Autodesk 3ds Max provides customers with the 3D tools they need to create inspirational experiences no matter what their industry demands.

Sophisticated Tools for Industry-Specific Challenges

Customers in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) and natural resources & infrastructure industries can look forward to enhanced software capabilities, increasingly powerful cloud services and flexible subscriptions options, in addition to the following enhancements:

 

  • Building Design Suite offers improved software performance and better interoperability for visualization, clash detection and detailing.
  • Infrastructure Design Suite features connected workflows between preliminary engineering and the detailed design phases, better collaboration with extended data exchange capabilities, online casino enhanced project organization tools and improved software coordination with consistent user interfaces.
  • Plant Design Suite introduces significant enhancements to AutoCAD Plant 3D including tight integration with Autodesk Vault and attachment of Navisworks models as reference models while modeling, plus inclusion of AutoCAD MEP to model electrical raceways and ductwork.

The manufacturing industry offerings provide the most comprehensive technology to design, engineer and fabricate products with new and enhanced capabilities for modeling, simulation and fabrication. The company is debuting new Autodesk AnyCAD interoperability for any third-party design files, and Autodesk 3D Print Studio, based on the Spark open 3D printing platform, which directly integrates additive fabrication into Suites workflow.

  • Product Design Suite: In addition to AnyCAD and 3D Print Studio, 2016 provides enhancements for visualization, electromechanical design, data management, advanced simulation and includes subscription access to the cloud-based Autodesk fusion 360.
  • Factory Design Suite: Numerous enhancements have been added for converting CAD assets from 2D to 3D with improved accuracy and efficiency, and factory customers will experience an improved workflow for integrating point cloud data from laser scans.

Digital artists, film makes and gamer will find Autodesk tools helping to address the entire production process, especially when collaborating with multi-discipline teams spread across multiple locations

  • Entertainment Creation Suite: Major enhancements focus on animation performance, ease of use, content creation, collaborative and connected workflows and ease of use.

2016 Subscriber Benefits

Autodesk continues to innovate and improve its Suites and Desktop Subscription products to tightly integrate with Autodesk 360 cloud services. Subscription customers gain access to additional cloud services such as faster rendering and visualization capabilities, simulation, analysis and collaboration tools.

Customers will also experience the new Autodesk Account, a personalized and easy-to-use portal where customers can track and manage all Autodesk products, services, and benefits in one place. Customers will experience a simplified installation, management and upgrade experience, flexible payment terms, and broader access rights across multiple devices.

Availability

Autodesk 2016 Design Suites will become available starting April 16, 2015. Availability varies by country.