For many, the most satisfying part of construction is seeing all of your hard work physically come to life as the project nears completion. The worst part? Going back to the project afterwards to fix quality issues. To help ease the pain of that process, Autodesk is offering a new Assets Module on its BIM 360 platform to more efficiently track relevant information for materials, fixtures, and equipment.
BIM 360 Assets aims to create a single source of truth for tracking all of your construction assets from the beginning to end of the project. As a project manager, there’s no sweeter sound than “single source of truth.” That’s one of the reasons I love electronic drawings…it’s hard to use the wrong version when they’re all updated in real time and available in the field.
In relation to Assets, a “single source of truth” entails tracking the flow of materials and equipment, installation status, cut sheets, training materials, certifications, and warranty documents, as well as aligning those assets with your project’s BIM model.
In my personal experience as a project manager and a facility maintenance manager, it’s not an easy task to find cut sheets, training materials, and warranty information after installation. Most of the time, the package with all of that information is never opened and thrown away immediately. One of the coolest things Assets will offer is the ability to scan a Barcode of QR code with a mobile device to pull up the history of a specific piece of equipment.
As we all are painfully aware, even brand new equipment can come with issues from the factory or even issues from improper installation. BIM 360 Assets helps you keep a log of those issues, which can assist in resolving issues in the future or even minimizing risk and litigation.
Of course, contractors are not the only group that can benefit from utilizing Assets, owners can gain valuable insights for lifecycle costs and build a maintenance history after the project is complete. That’s a strong selling point that a contractor can add to the project to differentiate themselves from the competition.
"The world in which we live today underscores the importance of resiliency, including project and data continuity," said Sameer Merchant, head of research and development for Autodesk Construction Solutions and associate vice president at Autodesk, in a press release. "For project owners and contractors, this means spreadsheet-based asset tracking must evolve into a single source of truth for all assets, accessible by all teams at any time. BIM 360 Assets will improve both day-to-day workflow and handover, and subsequently become a part of any successful company's future resiliency program...”
The Assets module will be available in mid-June 2020 and will be included in the BIM 360 Build subscription.
Shane is the creator of Construction Junkie and an active construction project manager. In his career, he has managed interior remodel projects, site development, construction safety, governmental project compliance, and facility maintenance. He has a strong passion for construction technology and safety, as well as sharing the knowledge or insights he has gained throughout his career.