New Release: View and Extract Asset Info Directly from the Model
With projects regularly growing past scope of work in the field, teams can’t afford to risk any loss of productivity when it comes time to equipment installation and commissioning. The model is one of the best sources of truth for viewing equipment and system components that need to be installed in a construction project. This is because asset information originates during the design phase, when the model is first created.
Unfortunately, all that rich, model information isn’t seamlessly transferred to the teams working on the project during the building phase.
As such, teams have to manually extract asset information from the model and import assets into their equipment tracking tool. From there, they use tools like Autodesk Build to track and manage the status of each asset, identify defects, complete inspections, and integrate information with other processes.
While this is a solid process, it does have two major shortcomings.
For starters, any process involving the manual transfer of information risks data loss. When teams re-enter info from the model into the Assets tool, they can lose data and there’s no guarantee that the information entered is accurate and up-to-date. In fact, incorrect data could cost companies an estimated 30% of their revenue. In construction, “bad data” was estimated to cost the global construction industry $1.85 trillion in 2020.
Secondly, the attributes and terminology in models may not align with owner requirements. So, the information in the model needs to be conditioned for field teams to quickly get the information they need.
Introducing model-based workflows in the Assets tool
To improve efficiency with tracking and managing assets, we’re excited to introduce model-based workflows in the Assets tool within Autodesk Build.
Project leaders can now map and extract asset information from the model directly—essentially tying required assets to the design model—allowing field teams to view assets in the 3D environment. The feature makes it easy to see an asset’s location, view and edit its properties, and interact with other construction workflow references, including Issues, RFIs, Forms, and more.
What can you do with model-based workflows?
This new capability makes your (and your team’s) life so much easier in the following ways.
Extract and map asset and equipment info from a model. Rather than manually importing information into the Assets tool, you can transfer the data from the model so there’s virtually no risk of information falling through the cracks. Being able to extract directly from the source (i.e., the model) also eliminates data inaccuracies from human error.
That way, you can have more confidence knowing that the info you have is correct and up-to-date.
The feature also allows teams to condition the model data based on what users need in the field or to comply with owner requirements. Since field teams and owners usually just require a subset of information from the model and have different terminology, this workflow lets users translate between designers and downstream stakeholders by mapping model properties to asset fields.
View asset information in 3D models. When you select the asset model link, you’ll be able to view the asset within the model itself, providing you with a clear context of where it should go during construction.
This is incredibly helpful because it reduces uncertainty around where or how the asset should be installed. Plus, it makes tracking and verifying installation much easier.
View asset information in 2D sheets. This feature lets you see any 2D information and navigate to the section of the plan that provides details about how the asset should be installed and allows teams to markup sheets.
Get full transparency into asset changes. When the source model changes, admins can choose to update their assets based on the latest version of the model. The feature enables them to preview the exact impact on their assets, including additions, which fields are changing, and what assets are no longer found in the model.
Connect assets to other model-based workflows: When an asset is tied to a model or sheet, users can also reference other workflows like Issues, RFIs, Submittals, Schedule, and more.
See assets model-based workflows in action
At Autodesk, our goal is to make the lives of construction teams easier—and this release is a testament to that.
Not only does this feature help improve progress tracking by connecting design workflows, it also helps you save time, ensures data integrity, improves schedule control, and ultimately drives better decision-making.
We released over 40 product updates across Autodesk Construction Cloud this month. Learn more here.