Happy Birthday to us,
Happy Birthday to us,
Happy Birthday Beyond Design!!
Happy Birthday to us!
Five years ago today myself and Paul Walker launched this Beyond Design blog. When we first launched our aim was to "focus on the functionality, workflows and interoperability between Autodesk Construction solutions". At that time that was mostly Navisworks and certain tools in Revit and AutoCAD. What a difference a few years makes in technology as BIM 360 and the cloud have become our core platform for coordinating and delivering models to site, and fabrication is no longer a siloed part of the process. In the five years since we started this blog mandates for usage of BIM have come in place all over the world and many governments now see digital construction as a high priority to reduce waste and costs in major building and infrastructure projects.
So whilst it doesn't seem that long ago since Adele topped the US charts with Rolling in the Deep and the fourth Pirates of the Caribbean film was number one around the world, the construction site has changed considerably.
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Mobile devices have gone from a rarity on the most tech savvy sites to commonplace across industry. Powerful computers in your pocket or the size of a notebook allowing you to do multiple jobs in one go rather than needing 6 or 7 devices, printing bills have dropped and more people are using tools like BIM 360 Docs to load the latest construction documentation straight to their phone or tablet and feed issues back to the office.
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Connectivity and the Cloud has shifted from the latest buzzword to a normal part of our everyday lives. Think back 5 years, most people were still adding to their CD, DVD and Bluray collections, now they're gathering dust in many people's attics due to companies like Netflix and Spotify. In construction, the link between office and site has changed the way technology is perceived by many firms with investment in decent internet connection on site and suitable hardware becoming a priority.
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Drones and UAV's have become the must have toy for many children and big children but the real life applications to help with inspections of hard to reach areas, and ability to create 3D models accurate enough for cut and fill calculations from photos taken by these self-piloted devices, would five years ago have been dismissed as something from a sci-fi film.
- Reality Computing is an area that already had traction back in 2011 but was still scarce, over the last five years drops in hardware costs, innovative new data capture methods like from backpacks, cars and UAV's and new technology like Project Tango from Google have made a conventional laser scanner look boring.
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Wearables such as the prototype Google Glass, DAQRI smart helmets, smart watch's and location and sensor technology embedded in safety vests might not have taken over construction yet but we are seeing a change in tone from why to how, in five years' time I think we'll see more of this technology becoming standard on larger projects and filtering down to certain personnel on those smaller projects, like tablets are doing today.
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The Internet of Things and sensor technology in buildings, again have gone from a rare example of how things could be done to a common part of many people's lives. For example I can't imagine how I'd get on without my Nest, a thermostat that allows me to switch off my heating from my phone on the other side of the world, now many of the largest projects in the world such as Hudson Yards, are looking at sensor technology as an essential part of their design.
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Increase in use of Big Data as a way to measure projects to identify problems early in an industry notoriously bad at predictions, allowing contractors to make better decisions about which subcontractors they work with and when to invest in additional resources.
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With 3D printing we've seen a couple of false starts such as the story of ten 3D printed houses in a day which was found recently to be faked, however there's still a lot of interest in how this method of manufacturing on site could change how buildings and infrastructure are delivered in the future with many proof of concepts that just weren't around five years ago. There's starting to be more of a push to 'local factories', where items are built on or very close to site for quicker assembly, mirroring some of the trends we see in manufacturing.
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We have seen a surge in the interest in Advanced Robotics for construction with companies such as MX3D are looking at how to 3D print a bridge in the middle of Amsterdam using these robots, and other examples of robots being used for bricklaying!
That's how our world has changed over five years, here's some interesting stats about that journey you've joined us on: -
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Nearly half a million views!
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35% of users from the US, 10% from the UK, and 5% each from Australia, India and Canada
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In fact the only countries I couldn't see any visitors for were Chad and Vatican City (hurry up Pope, get into BIM!)
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Around half of you find us by searching through things like Google!
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10 Authors who have contributed regularly so far (with 2 more added today)
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277 posts (that's over one a week!)
Some of the most popular posts were about: -
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Navisworks Keyboard Shortcuts (update here)
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Autodesk Graphics about an improved view in Navisworks
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BIM 360 Glue on the go about the mobile app
So to celebrate we have had a reshuffle of our authors and would like to welcome Lejla Secerbegovic and Julien Drouet to the Beyond Design Team! They'll bring a different perspective on how fabrication and improved use of the design tools can bring more to the contractor and more tips and tricks to improve your day to day workflows.
You may also notice a new look to the blog, one of the things this allows is better mobile access so you can view our blog on the move!
Our aim hasn't changed in the last five years, so it leaves us to thank you for your support, feedback and continued use of our software, and here's to another five years and more!
Hi Lee,
This is an awesome post and I have been meaning to comment on it for a while.
Also as a construction professional, I wholeheartedly agree that it has been fascinating to sit back and watch the industry we work in turn digital, especially over the last couple of years in the UK where the government has pushed for the BIM Level 2 standard by 2016!
I particularly found it interesting how you mentioned that just 5 years ago Adele 'Rolling in the Deep' was a hit song and pirate of the Carribean was no. 1 film... When you look at it that way it really makes you realise how fast technology can actually move.
When looking at the figures for BIM Implementation in the UK it is crazy to see how many people and organisations are starting to use BIM on their projects and how in just a few years BIM will become commonplace on nearly all UK projects.
Bearing this in mind, I 100% agree, the construction site both in the US and the UK will continue to develop and change in terms of the technology we use on a daily basis to improve the way we work...
Mobile and cloud applications such as BIM 360 are a good example of something which is already happening across the UK. The use of Drones is not far behind this and is already beginning to emerge on many sites construction sites in the UK. We can only look forward to the benefits that Internet of Things and Big Data can provide.
It's true, there no better time to be involved with the construction industry.
I wanted to share a post I did about how BIM will continue to grow after 2016 as I feel it relates well to this post. As well as this I have also recently created a post about Drones in Construction which I think you could find useful.
If you get a couple of minutes it would be great if you could check them out! Feedback is always appreciated!
Either way, Happy Birthday Beyond Design. Keep up the good work!
You can check the content out here:
http://construct-digital.uk/latest/bim-after-2016/
http://construct-digital.uk/latest/10-ways-use-drones-construction/
Posted by: Martin Watson | 07/27/2016 at 06:28 AM
Ideas worth sharing! So where's the cake?
Posted by: Ben | 07/06/2016 at 10:12 AM