Pete Baxter of Autodesk knows just what his customers want, because he asks them! No wonder, the AutoCAD product is virtually the generic for the software used throughout the building services industry. Paul Braithwaite discusses the program
AUTOCAD is virtually the generic term for the design software which most architects, structural engineers, consulting engineers and m&e contractors use to design buildings and what goes in them.

It is also the product which made Autodesk renowned.

For Pete Baxter, sales director, building solutions division (BSD) of Autodesk Northern Europe, AutoCAD is a platform on which he can build the BSD business.

About two years ago, the company reorganised into vertical business units - building solutions; infrastructure (ISD) for the civil engineering and mapping products; and manufacturing (MSD) for the product design and engineering.

Pete says vertical reorganisation came about because its products were becoming more specialised.

'As AutoCAD was enhanced, it became apparent different disciplines had their own requirements.'

The company began looking at how each would need a specialised version of each product, hence Autodesk Architectural Desktop (ADT) and Autodesk Building Systems products.

'Both of these are still based on the AutoCAD technology but they have features and benefits which are specific to the disciplines,' says Pete.

Much of the development is driven by the users and Autodesk is constantly talking to them.

They use these programmes all the time, he says. They know what else they want and what is wrong. And they are using the program in ever more creative ways.

Pete adds the company has 'gunslingers' or groups of heavy users. Researchers visit these users, show them the kind of features which are being considered for the next release, get feed back and help to prioritise or indeed change direction.

'We could spend our time trying to second-guess users but this way makes sense.'

However, Pete says, the initial idea for any new programs usually comes from somewhere else -examples are the acquisitions the company has made. For instance, before Autodesk bought the company, Revit was a concept which had been applied to product design but not developed for the architectural and building markets.

'Revit developed the concept of the single 3D model which could be a prototype of the building.'

Needless to say Autodesk has moved the product on. Latest releases allow everyone in the building chain to pick up the drawings. For instance, the architect will design the building and send the drawings to a central point.

The drawings can then be picked up by the structural engineer and the design discussed or changed. Next comes the m&e contractor who can drop in all his pipes, ductwork and plant rooms.

Each discipline updates the drawings.

'All the consultants can be involved at an earlier stage in the process. It encourages collaboration and better decision making.'

It also allows the process to standardise on certain aspects. For instance, typically, the interface of components is the same whatever the building - how a suspended ceiling abuts the wall or how fireproofing works on a beam column.

'Within the building model, inter-relationships can be set so much of the drafting becomes automated. More time can be spent on the design and the program takes care of the detail.'

Pete maintains: 'Imagine the benefit to the building services engineer who is able to go into the 3D model and work on that model.' The engineer can also automatically calculate the room volume or see fire compartments or where the dampers should go.

'There is no design decision to be made and these elements could be missed.'

Further, if, for instance, a firewall is moved in the drawing, then the dampers will move too.

So how much time would be saved on a building with this system? Typically, says Pete, on an office or retail project, with the Autodesk Revit Building model, the savings are about 30% to 35%.

'These savings come mostly from being able to test different design options more easily as well as automating the production of the general arrangement drawings, elevations and sections.'

The cost of Revit is virtually the same as Architectural Desktop and the training takes about the same time - two-to-three days.

Autodesk Revit Systems and Autodesk Revit Structure are new products. When these come on stream, the potential is even greater, says Pete. It is about growing the community around it.

'We are working with a number of analysis partners in structural engineering so after building the structure in Revit, it can be exported into a structural analysis package for testing.'

He adds: Autodesk has created links from Revit Structure to the software so that it can seamlessly run an analysis from that model.

Lighting simulation or environmental analysis software can be added.

'It is about building a better building, one which is more energy efficient.

'The developer can be shown, instead of drawings, an as-built model which contains data about air flow rates in ductwork, materials and finishes, and maintenance information about individual components.'

Pete says the last part can, potentially, save more money.

'Look what happens all the time in buildings. Internal partitions are erected and removed. Spaces are sub-divided, all of which change air flow. Can the system deliver what it is supposed to under those changed constraints?'

It is easy to find this out with a model. And the building legislation is constantly moving on.

'It will soon be a requirement for building designers and clients to be able to measure and test the performance. Part L requirement is a case in point. The carbon footprint of the building has to be proved.'

Revit's building information modelling allows users to test scenarios and calculate performance of buildings.

'I understand the next stage of the legislation is to measure the design assumptions against performance.'

And if the two do not marry up, then perhaps remedial work has to be undertaken with the building to increase performance and this, he adds, is where the building model comes into its own.

'There has been a subtle but significant change. It is not just about producing drawings. It is about producing more complete designs and presenting that data in a way which can be used in all the downstream functions.'

AutoCAD, Revit, AutoDesk Architectural Desktop and Autodesk Building Systems are all registered trade marks.



Managing information

BUZZSAW is a collaboration software for the building industry.

It is a program which manages the publishing of information. Different versions of drawings sit on a secure Buzzsaw server.

Pete Baxter says research shows lots of mistakes happen between the different disciplines because the wrong version of a drawing is used. Buzzsaw should stop these mistakes happening.

“If what happens to a set of drawings is analysed, it is procedural,” says Pete.

Users have access rights as necessary. For instance, when the drawings are ready the architect can send them to the server. The server will then e-mail the next person in the chain and he can pull off the drawings and do his work. Each variation is logged so there is an audit trail.

There can be an approval process if needed.

“If the drawings need to be signed off before they go to a sub-contractor, then the system will flag that the drawings are ready and only issue them when all have signed.”

Once the sub-contractor has added his specialist requirements, they are returned to the server for the next sub-contractor and so on.



Growing business

TURNOVER for the US-owned Autodesk was $1.6billion, up 30% on the previous year. Growth in northern Europe for building solutions is in excess of 40%, which is significant for a company which has been around for 25-plus years. Revit seat sales were up 200% in the last financial year.

Autodesk sells its program to its customers who buy the rights to that release only. It also sells subscription models. For an annual fee, customers have on-line support and receive annual upgrades of the programs.



Fitting together

WHERE do Revit and AutoCAD fit within Autodesk? In pure revenue terms, in relation to The Building Solutions business, AutoCAD and the AutoCAD-based applications are significantly more important to the company - at the moment!

However, the 3D technology which is used for Revit is becoming more accepted and therefore attractive to clients. Pete admits Revit is showing significant growth.

'It is more in tune with the way designers think'.

Autodesk is committed to developing both products in the long term.

'The choice of which program comes down to the individual company's attitude to technology.'

Everyone, says Pete, has made the transition from drawing board to AutoCAD. This was an evolution in the same way as moving from AutoCAD to Architectural Desktop or the Building Systems, the m&e product, which is built on AutoCAD is an evolution.

'Customers move to Revit because they want to make a fundamental change to the way they work.'

But many are not moving exclusively to Revit so Autodesk is working to give engineers the ability to exchange data between the two. For instance, the structural engineer might work solely within Revit Structure.

It is the architect's job to clad the steel frame and he might use ADT. Revit Structure has an export to ADT and the design appears as an ADT model.

'Basically, while it might be smarter to use Revit, there is a route to import Revit data into AutoCAD or ADT.'

Autodesk sells bundles of programs with Revit included in an AutoCAD package.

'What Autodesk wants is an easy transition. A consulting engineer cannot be expected to put every project on hold while he retrains his staff for a move from AutoCAD to a Revit platform.'

So will AutoCAD disappear eventually?

'No, although we wish to move AutoCAD users up to Revit which is a more powerful program. AutoCAD can be seen as an entry level program.'

He wants to refill the bucket.

Nevertheless, the AutoCAD release this year is full of new 3D features as well as basic modelling and visualisation.