Autodesk Aims to Improve Construction Document Management

Up to 25% of construction is rework, and approximately 10% of materials are wasted, according to a 2013 industry report by Autodesk, Inc. The company contends that much of this waste can be attributed to the error-prone process of managing hundreds to thousands of construction project documents.

To help save time, reduce risk and errors in construction projects, Autodesk has announced Autodesk BIM 360 Docs, a comprehensive, cloud-based service that provides a virtual workspace to create, access, maintain, markup and share 2D and 3D project documents, plans and models.

Formerly known as Project Alexandria,  BIM 360 Docs is designed to ensure that the entire project team is building from the correct version of documents and plans.

Autodesk is 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.

“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 visualize 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and approval processes to manage the updating and release of documents, preventing project teams from working from out-of-date information;
• A fast viewing experience for large-format PDF design documents, optimized for Apple iOS devices; and
• Automated organization of original and updated construction docs into sets, including customized optical character recognition (OCR) of title blocks.

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.

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