Over the last decade the construction industry has been through a rapid pace of change, with the whole supply chain starting to digitize critical processes and workflows alongside the relentless use of emerging technologies across the jobsite. With new technology and innovative practices becoming the norm, what does the future of construction project management—and more importantly, the project manager—look like? This session will explore how digital processes are improving the way we work, walk through the upcoming technologies to be aware of, and examine how you can include these in your company road map to prepare for the future while not neglecting the need to provide scalable solutions to improve business outcomes today.

With a campus in rural Rwanda—more than 100 kilometers from the capital Kigali, half of which is unpaved road—the University of Global Health Equity (UGHE) always planned to deploy BIM 360 Ops software to support and sustain facility maintenance functions. A pioneering global health science university, UGHE had proactive facilities maintenance as a top priority when opening their campus in January 2019. In April 2020, our team helped to facilitate the launch of BIM 360 Ops during COVID-19. Working remotely with UGHE’s facilities maintenance team, Skanska uploaded information to support the computerized maintenance management system. Using BIM 360 Ops, UGHE’s staff and outsourced service contractors share maintenance information across the 350,000-square-foot campus for an integrated facilities maintenance system. Attendees will learn best practices for asset and space naming, traditional and alternative strategies for managing preventative maintenance, and ways in which to virtually deploy BIM 360 Ops during COVID-19.

Last year we did a class (“How to Use Fusion 360 and Inventor for Effective Designs”) where we linked Fusion 360 files with Inventor using Desktop Connector. The most requested addition to that was to link those files into Vault software, so this year we’ll go through some of the different configurations for how we can load and manage these Fusion 360 files in Vault. Some of the things we will look at include creating the connection and adding the files, as well as managing the files; and we’ll also discuss version and revisions of the files in Vault.

This masterclass will cover how to link PlanGrid with next-generation BIM 360 Docs software by utilizing the power of data collection through BIM 360 workflows and PlanGrid field reports. The speaker will be able to demonstrate the added benefit of being able to maximize data for trend analysis via Microsoft Power Bi and automatic modeling by integrating the output with Dynamo software. We will cover basic principles of PlanGrid and usability for the average user, alongside best practices, work-arounds, shortcuts, limitations, and benefits. We will explore an array of case studies, giving live project application examples and how they’ve integrated with external tools, such as What3Words.

Introduced at Autodesk University 2019, Construction Cloud brings together the most powerful portfolio of construction management software products in the industry, supporting workflows spanning all phases of construction—from design, to planning, to building, to operations. There is tremendous breadth of supported workflows, depth of capabilities in each of the software products, and connectivity of data between those products. Over the past year, Autodesk has focused on three main areas of advancement with Construction Cloud: continuing investment into improving Assemble, BuildingConnected, PlanGrid, and BIM 360 software; delivering more integrations and connectivity between the products; and building a unified platform. This class will show how Construction Cloud has advanced over the course of the last 12 months, and we’ll explore the workflows from design through operations that can be supported by the products.

This session is for admins who want to learn more about the steps required to transition to named user. We will cover step-by-step instructions that will help you add users with our four invite workflows, assign users to your subscriptions with import to assign and active directory group sync, update your license type to a named user subscription using automation or self-service by end users, and detail the new sign-in process for your users. Attendees will leave the session ready to transition and set up their new named user subscriptions in the most efficient way possible.

Are you working on ways to help automate design and make workflows for you or your customers? Are you trying to share product information between applications such as Fusion Lifecyle software and Fusion 360 software, or those outside the Autodesk ecosystem? Learn about how Forge data is powering a shared product information model to enable your design and make data flow more seamlessly across your workflows, teams, and the applications you use.

This award-winning panel is back with a new list of topics to discuss. Learn from the experiences of this group of diverse CAD managers who are widely respected as leaders in their field. Hear their unique perspectives and solutions to challenges faced by CAD managers from organizations of all sizes and backgrounds. This year we’ve faced working remotely and supporting remote users more than we could have imagined. Panelists will discuss ways in which they’ve approached these challenges and what they’ve learned. Other topics include CAD standards, as well as keeping up with rapidly changing technology, managing users, communicating with management and other non-technical people, budgeting, and much more. This panel discussion has become an anticipated Autodesk University tradition. Bring your questions and get answers from four CAD managers who have been there and done that.

Have you ever wanted to automate complicated or time-consuming design processes? Maybe you've been intimidated at the idea of learning how to program, or even where to start? In this class, you'll learn how to write your first plug-in for AutoCAD software, using the C# language. If you've already started your programming journey, you'll benefit from learning some coding best practices. Join a two-time Autodesk University Top Speaker for this exciting introduction to programming in AutoCAD.

This award-winning panel is back this year with a new list of topics to discuss. Learn from the experiences of this panel of diverse CAD Managers that are widely respected as leaders in their field. Hear their unique perspective and solutions to challenges faced by CAD Managers from organizations of all sizes and backgrounds. Topics include CAD standards, keeping up with rapidly changing technology, managing users, communicating with management and other non-technical people, budgeting and much more. There will also be time for Q&A where you can ask these experts the questions you’ve always wanted to find answers to. Join us for a panel discussion that has become an anticipated AU tradition. Bring your questions and get answers from four CAD Managers who have been there and done that.

If you’re a Civil 3D user being asked to provide data to your geographic information system (GIS) department, if you are being asked to use GIS data as background data for your designs, or if you think GIS is a four-letter word—this class will answer this all-too-common question: “Why should I care about GIS?” You’ll learn to import GIS data not only as AutoCAD objects, but also directly as Civil 3D objects, like Surfaces and Pipe Networks that use the existing database information. We’ll also explore the new ArcGIS Connector to access ArcGIS Online data in real time. Once that data is in Civil 3D we’ll explore ways to use it with labeling tools and other display techniques. This popular class has won the award for Best Hands-on Lab at Autodesk University. Don’t miss your chance to learn how the GIS tools in Civil 3D can make you more productive by automating common everyday tasks.

Last year we brought you “Tips, Tricks, and the Future for Forge Model Derivative Services.” We’re bringing even more goodies to this year’s presentation. We will include more details around the Revit flag to generate rooms and spaces for viewing. We will cover how you can use the model derivative data to do model version comparison. Finally, again we will preview some of the coming features in Model Derivative Service, including the improved SVF2 Forge Viewer format.

In this class, we will get in-depth with the Sheet Set Manager and discuss and create sheets and sheet sets. We will learn about custom properties and how to use them to store huge amounts of reusable data. We will learn about sheet views and how to use them to make adding our design details to the plans a breeze. We will discuss how we can use the Sheet Set Manager as a lightweight project explorer to navigate all our projects’ design files. We will discuss and learn about labeling our sheets and sheet views. We will learn how to create blocks with predefined attributes that will fill in data from the sheet set automatically. We will learn how to quickly plot or publish individual or multiple sheets with minimal clicks. Lastly, we will learn how to organize our sheets with subsets or with selection sets to track additional stages in the design or construction processes.

If you took Part 1 of this class (today or during a previous year at Autodesk University) and you’re ready to learn even more, this class takes the next step as we look at the geographic information system (GIS) capability in AutoCAD Civil 3D software and how it can benefit civil engineers and surveyors. GIS data can be created directly in AutoCAD Civil 3D or imported from other programs. Once you have access to that data, the real fun begins. This class will explore ways to analyze, display, and use this information to answer questions and automate common tasks. The request to provide design data to GIS departments is becoming more common every day. This class will explore the details of why just sending them a drawing is often not an adequate way to satisfy that request. You’ll learn ways to export AutoCAD Civil 3D objects to GIS formats that can be used easily and consistently by your GIS department.

Managing the metadata associated with your designs can be a confusing task. If you are using Vault software, the first step in the process is realizing that Vault Properties and Inventor software’s iProperties are actually different. Also, you have to understand the difference between a Vault system property and a Vault user-defined property. Once you understand all the different types of properties involved, how do you get them to work together? This class will guide you through the journey, from understanding the difference between iProperties versus Vault properties and Vault system properties and Vault user-defined properties. Then we will demonstrate how to create the proper mappings that will enable them to work seamlessly together. We will discuss different ways to use this data, from searching Vault for these properties to how to use those properties on drawing title blocks and parts lists.

Has your design firm worked hard to get to your current level of success? Is everything firing on all cylinders, with clients coming in and great designs going out? Is the IT barrier the only thing preventing you from successfully scaling further? IT doesn't have to be a mystery any longer. Don't miss out on the session that will pull back the curtains and reveal the secrets of success IT in the design firm. Learn the basics of networks and file management. Get tips on servers, backups, and more. Find out why investing dimes today in prevention and good hardware will return dollars in production uptime. If you want your tech to work for you, then this is the session to attend! Never feel like a stranger in the server room again.

Learn how to increase efficiency in your development process by implementing Vault software and Fusion Lifecycle software. In this class, you will hear about the journey Reynaers Aluminium took to move from its old product data management (PDM) system to a fully integrated solution: CAD, PDM, PLM (product lifecycle management), and enterprise resource planning (ERP). You will learn about the how and why behind our architecture and the lessons learned during implementation. Get insight into the place PDM and PLM have in our organization today, how they are connected with other core databases, and what our further digitalization road map looks like. Also discover how Fusion Lifecycle offers article lifecycle management as well as full project management by streamlining our NPI (new product introduction) flow. All project phases are implemented into Fusion Lifecyle, including a customized project management tab to enable real project planning. Integrating Fusion Lifecycle with Vault creates one common platform, resulting in an efficient way of collaboration as well as a single source of truth across the company.

The Fusion 360 platform is an extremely powerful tool for design and manufacturing, and with the inclusion of an easily accessible API, it can become even more powerful to automate user workflows. This class is NOT an introduction to the API. Rather, this class will focus on a number of powerful techniques the presenters have developed throughout the years to significantly enhance developer workflows and increase what you may think is possible with the Fusion 360 Client API. The class will focus on a number of specific problems and use cases commonly encountered when building automations and application integrations. Come learn how to do things you may never have thought possible.

CAD standards matter. Yet so few of us have taken the time to develop, document, and deploy the CAD standards we desperately need. The reason is simple—developing CAD standards is hard work. Never fear—we’re going to outline the entire process of installing CAD standards in your company. This class will share with you a framework, including knowing when it’s right for you to create standards, identifying which standards are needed, and deploying your new CAD standards. Learn a tried-and-true process that anyone can put to use, regardless of how busy she or he is. Get supportive milestone information, a checklist to help you go home and document your own effective practices, and a complete framework to help you start. This is the class you’ve been waiting for. Not another day should go by without you and your staff having excellent CAD standards at your fingertips.