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AUGUST 2017 | 45 PHOTOGRAPHY COURTESY BLUEBEAM SOFTWARE INC. Software for AEC F Software for architecture, engineering and construction is faster and stronger than ever by STACEY MCLACHLAN From word processing to smartphones, technology per- vades almost every aspect of the construction industry today. So it's not surprising that an ever-growing suite of workflow and planning software is responsible for some of the most exciting changes to how architects, engineers and construction companies work. "The software industry changes fast, and seem- ingly faster every day," says Michael Copas, contract administration consultant and software developer for StatsLog Software Corporation. "Designing and build- ing have always been about deliverables; drawings, bricks and mortar, and space. Nothing has changed in that regard, and yet the entire process surrounding those activities looks completely different than it did even a decade or two ago." Software allows designers to view a design before it's built, see an analysis of performance and help you mentally prepare, so it's no surprise that the indus- try is starting to really embrace the power of tech- nology for the planning stages of a project. "It's slowly becoming the norm to use a lot of software," says Mike Thornber, president of Innovative Technology Inc. W H AT ' S N E W N O W It's been an eventful year at Bluebeam, Inc. In response to numerous customer requests, the company launched an exciting new release for its flagship prod- uct, Revu. "Revu 2017 introduced robust estimation tools such as automatic sloped area calculation and a 'live' link between Excel and pdf quantity markup data," says David Rekker, senior account manager at Bluebeam. Beyond that, the program also allows the user to digitally sign and seal large batches of multi- page drawings and specifications, all with a few clicks. The other impactful recent release from Bluebeam HQ is Bluebeam Studio Prime, which takes the cloud- based collaboration platform that works with Revu and adds data- and user-management and security capabilities for companies. Both programs feature an Application Program Interface (API) to allow auto- mated, scripted workflows and the ability to integrate with third-party software applications – good news, as the industry is starting to realize that one application can't do it all. "We need to find ways to allow our sys- tems to play nicely with others," Rekker explains. An API allows others to create links between their plat- form and yours, allowing a company to find the best applications for different business needs and link them together. For example, with Bluebeam's Studio API function, users can use Revu to markup and collabo- rate in Revu, but when it comes time to house all the data in a central database, it's the API that facilitates a seamless file round-tripping experience. StatsLog's flagship product is FIVE, a cumulation of everything the company learned over 32 years of con- struction contract administration software business. "Built on a relational database, FIVE helps design profes- sionals and their project teams perform their CCA duties more efficiently and accurately," explains Copas. "FIVE makes it easy to create, distribute, store and search proj- ect documentation and related attachments." Innovative Technology Inc., meanwhile, has just launched a new specification-editing program called SPECEdit, which connects the Autodesk Revit to extrapolate the properties of a building and inserts them into the specification automatically. Though owners are asking for building information model- ling, the design industry has been slow to pick up on it. "There's been a slow growth in the use of building information modelling," says Thornber, "but new proj- ects are requiring that." L E T ' S G E T T O G E T H E R As project teams become less siloed, interoperabil- ity between platforms becomes a crucial component in the workplace. "We're being asked by our custom- ers to give them ways to eliminate re-work, allow real- time collaboration, and connect the office to the field, all while providing software that has quick access and is easy to use," explains Rekker. With both risks and costs being shared across project teams, the industry is looking for ways to improve quality assurance and communication. If these two things are accomplished, the ultimate goal of time-savings can also be achieved. "Collaboration has been a trendy buzzword for a while now. The promise of collaboration is that all project partners will pitch in and share the workload by contributing their information to a common data store," explains Copas. "The concept has been heavily pitched as a panacea by emerging software companies for the past few years, but we're seeing a growing back- lash to this – particularly from the professional side." There's a realization that while there may be a short- term gain from having the contractor do some of your Get With The Program CCA work for you, this can have serious implications in the longer term. "Certainly there can be conflicts of interest that cannot be resolved under current legisla- tive roles for professionals, and there can even be the potential for insurance liability issues," warns Copas. "I strongly believe that there is a real value for profes- sionals to curate their own data as a check and balance to data provided by others." H A U T E H A R D WA R E When combined with other emerging technologies, there could be some even more exciting applications for AEC software in the future. Augmented reality, for one, could have profound effects on the AEC space. "Imagine walking through the construction site and having virtual deficiency lists, change orders, site instructions and highlighted 'hot' spots overlaying the physical world," says Copas. "The technical chal- lenge is that we'll require an up-to-minute 3D-model of the building that is tightly coupled with document con- trols, but there's no question that AR has the potential to greatly streamline administration during the con- struction phase, resulting in better outcomes." Hardware may also play a critical role in the years ahead. "I think that in the future we are going to see users interacting in new ways with software by way of hardware," Rekker predicts. "Certainly what's making headlines right now is the use of virtual reality to pro- vide users with a 3D experience of design variations. But we're also seeing advancements beyond the famil- iar keyboard-mouse-touchscreen trifecta." The Microsoft Surface Studio, for example, is a desk- top computer that can emulate a drafting table and comes with a new tool called the Dial. "This brings the user back to the experience and satisfaction of using both hands to do the work – one hand on the Dial and the other with a pen or mouse," Rekker says. E V E R Y T H I N G I S A U T O M AT I C Software for automation is another likely advancement we'll see in the near future. "The manufacturing sec- tor has been reaping the rewards of automation for a long time, and the AEC industry's time has come," says Rekker. As the workflow becomes increasingly digital, there's an opportunity to identify sequences that can be replicated. "This can free up the designer or con- tractor to do those tasks that feed their sense of mean- ing and add value to the project, rather than being bogged down with performing mouse clicks in the cor- rect order," says Rekker. Of course, he points out, there are also experiments being conducted with AI to show how computers can be "taught" to perform iterative design; so the future of automation may go even fur- ther than we could ever imagine. Thornber agrees that automation will likely be a huge part of AEC software in the future. "One big issue is that consultants working with spec writers are often not providing models that are rich enough to grasp the data that specification writers need," notes Thornber. But he believes that specification generation will slowly become more automated, allowing architects and models to be more connected "and help the spec align more closely with the owner's vision." The tech to create even more efficiency may already be on the market. Copas suggests a future where the technology behind voice controlled digital home assis- tants, like Amazon Alexa, could be adopted for contract administration and dramatically reduce time spent on the task, whether asking that digital assistant to start a new document with automatically populated data or performing a search with natural language queries. A Revu 2017. 1:28 PM

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